Art Deco Downtown

Why visit

Few cities have as much early 20th-century architecture as Casablanca. French planners and architects such as Henri Prost and Marius Boyer, along with Moroccan craftsmen, built a whole new city with wide boulevards, elegant facades and clever details: curved corners, carved balconies, stained glass and mosaics. Some buildings are beautifully kept, others are faded, and spotting them is half the fun.

What to see

• The Central Market: a 1917 covered market with a carved gate, still selling fish, flowers and food.
• Cinema Rialto: a famous Art Deco cinema from about 1930, with a curved facade and a grand interior.
• The Shell Building: Marius Boyer’s striking 1934 block on Boulevard Mohammed V.
• The Hotel Lincoln: a landmark from 1917, long derelict and under restoration.
• The former Sacré-Cœur Cathedral: a white concrete church from 1930 beside the Arab League Park, no longer used for worship.
• The Villa des Arts: an elegant 1930s villa that is now an art gallery.

Tips

• Look up: much of the detail is above the shopfronts.
• The Moroccan heritage group Casamémoire runs tours and open days, usually including its yearly heritage days.
• Walk early on a Sunday morning, when the streets are at their quietest.
• Follow our Art Deco walking route.