Casablanca

Casablanca runs on commerce, not nostalgia — this is Morocco's economic engine, a city of gridlocked boulevards, glass office towers, and relentless deal-making that has little patience for sightseeing. The French Protectorate left wide Haussmann-inflected avenues and a handful of Art Deco facades along Boulevard Mohammed V, but development pressure has replaced much of that fabric with mid-century concrete and modern towers, leaving almost no legible historical core. The Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993 and cantilevered over the Atlantic, is the city's single architectural spectacle — its 210-metre minaret visible from half the city. Infrastructure works for Moroccans navigating a city of four million; visitors arriving without local contacts or Arabic will spend real effort on basics like hailing a reliable taxi or reading menus in the Maarif district. The Corniche draws an evening crowd to its seafood restaurants and beach clubs, giving the Atlantic a social role even if the waterfront itself is more concrete than promenade.