Morocco's commercial capital — Art Deco boulevards, Atlantic seafood, and the Hassan II Mosque over the ocean
The largest city in Morocco and its financial engine, Casablanca is less medina-labyrinth than Fez or Marrakech and more European-Moroccan hybrid — wide Art Deco boulevards, a working corniche along the Atlantic, fresh seafood, and the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993 and built partly over the ocean on a promontory designed so worshippers pray facing Mecca across the water. The Moroccan tagine, harira soup, and pastilla (pigeon or chicken pie in filo) are all here, but Casablanca's real specialty is grilled Atlantic fish served with chermoula marinade.
Founded by Berber traders at the site called Anfa, Casablanca was largely destroyed by the Portuguese in 1468 and rebuilt as a modest port town. French colonial administration from 1907 transformed it rapidly into Morocco's main commercial port and administrative capital, imposing Haussmann-style boulevards and Art Deco architecture that still dominate the city center. It became globally famous after the 1942 Humphrey Bogart film, though that film was shot entirely on a Hollywood backlot and had no particular connection to the actual city.