Casablanca
Casablanca almost universally referred to as ‘Casa’, is the cosmopolitan, industrial and economic heart of Morocco and its largest city, as well as perhaps one of the less obviously endearing cities in the country. With a small, unassuming medina and a busy ville nouvelle, travellers arriving via Casablanca may be tempted to find the first train out to nearby Rabat. The awe-inspiring Hassan II Mosque and happening nightlife, however, are worth at least a day of your Moroccan itinerary. And if you are the more adventurous, independent sort of traveller who wants to go beyond what is ‘pretty’, this is North African big city life in all its grit and glory, with its cultural diversity (there are immigrants here from many other parts of Africa), and its many neighbourhoods of vibrant day- and night-life.