Medina and Corniche on foot in Casablanca: guided walk or your own route?
Updated October 19, 2026 · 4 min read
If you want the old town with someone who explains it, the Casablanca cultural walking tour is the one aimed at exactly that: €45 per person, four hours, 4.5 out of 5 from 159 reviews. It is called a walking tour, but its description says it goes “by foot and taxi”, with light tastings and panoramic ocean views, so some of the distance is covered by car, not on your feet.
See prices and dates for the cultural walking tour
What the medina is, and is not
Casablanca’s old town is the oldest part of the city, and it is not large. Portuguese forces destroyed the town in 1468; the settlement they later built on the ruins was called Casa Branca, “white house”, and after the earthquake of 1755 Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah rebuilt it and gave it the Arabic name that means the same. In the 20th century the French planned a new European city outside its walls, which is why the centre of Casablanca looks the way it does.
The medina is a place for an hour or two: lanes of leather goods, crafts and everyday shops, more local than the medinas that tourists plan whole trips around. Do not expect Fès or Marrakesh. As a first-time visitor you gain most from the explanation, and that is the case for a guide.
What a self-guided route looks like
The Corniche, the seafront strip at Aïn Diab, is not served directly by the tram; you need a short walk or a taxi from the stop. A realistic self-guided afternoon:
- Start at the medina and its shops in the late morning, before the heat.
- Move on by taxi or tram to the Habous quarter, built in the 1930s, for crafts and a calmer lunch. Our guide to one day in Casablanca has the full day plan.
- Finish on the Corniche at sunset, by taxi, and eat there.
Three ways to do it
| Offer | Duration | From | Rating | What it says it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural walking tour: medina and local delights | 4 hours | €45 | 4.5 (159 reviews) | medina, architecture, local neighbourhoods, light tastings, ocean views |
| Private guided tour | 4.5 – 5 hours | €18.83 | 4.7 (564 reviews) | “iconic landmarks, vibrant markets, hidden gems” |
| Full-day city tour with round-trip hotel transfer | 5 – 5.5 hours | €18.83 | 4.7 (417 reviews) | Hassan II Mosque, old medina markets, Corniche, colonial district |
The cultural walking tour costs more than twice the other two. The description gives the tastings and ocean views as the extras but does not say how large the group is; check that on the booking page. The two cheaper tours are broader, with a full programme including the Corniche, and have higher ratings. For the medina alone, the walking tour is the one that treats it as the main subject.
Which one
If the medina and its food are the point and you like hearing the story, take the walking tour. If you want the medina as one stop among several, with hotel transport, the full-day city tour covers market, Corniche and mosque for far less; it also lists local flavours, so ask what that means in practice. If you would rather wander, skip the tours and use the route above.
When it is not worth it
Anyone expecting a big historic medina will find this one modest. And if you have little time in Casablanca, put the Hassan II Mosque first: it is the one thing the city is known for. More guided options are on our Casablanca city tours page.
