Planning a trip to Casablanca or the surrounding area? Don’t miss a visit to the Hassan II Mosque! A true architectural feat, we were impressed by its monumentality and meticulous craftsmanship. A masterpiece built in the late 1980s, it boasts the highest minaret on Maroc, at 210m. The jewel in the crown of the White City, we took a tour of this unique edifice, which reflects the late King Hassan II’s desire for openness and dialogue between religions. A beautiful architectural project that won us over! Did you know that this is the only mosque in Maroc that allows non-Muslims to visit?
In this article, discover our opinion and our immersive experience in images at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca to best prepare your visit.
This opinion is completely independent, based on our experiences. We visited the region anonymously, making our own choices and paying our bills in full.
Why visit the Hassan II Mosque?
Is the Hassan 2 Mosque worth it? Our opinion:
Yes, the Hassan II Mosque is well worth a visit in our eyes. It was an experience combining contemplation, artistic beauty and genuine emotion in the face of the grandeur of the place:
- When we first arrived, we were overwhelmed by the height of its minaret, which rises to 210m, the highest in Maroc!
- This architectural feat is well worth the detour, combining monumentality and fine craftsmanship. The richness of the local materials used also testifies to Moroccan know-how.
- This place, a blend of contemplation, spiritual heritage and artistic creation, also embodies a desire for openness and dialogue between religions, championed by the late King Hassan II.
- Finally, we learned during our visit that 10,000 Moroccan craftsmen helped design this splendid place of worship and culture – impressive, isn’t it?
This is one of Casablanca’s best activities.
Why is the Hassan II Mosque famous?
The Hassan II Mosque is famous for being the 5th largest mosque in the world and the largest at Maroc. What makes it special is that it is the only mosque in the country open to non-Muslims outside prayer times. This accessibility makes it one of the few major mosques in the Muslim world to welcome visitors of all faiths, which remains a notable exception. In addition to its religious function, we discovered an educational site with a museum, library and cultural mediators. This opening testifies to a clear commitment to cultural and religious dialogue.
Our favorite moments
During our visit, we particularly appreciated:
- Stroll along the esplanade in front of this monumental building overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The view is simply spectacular!
- We marveled at the interior prayer room, whose structure is reminiscent of a cathedral nave, and whose balconies are reminiscent of a synagogue. This architectural symbol of inter-religious dialogue touched us deeply.
- Finally, the carved wooden balcony, also in the prayer room, is a not-to-be-missed feature, both for its beauty and its spiritual significance.
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History in brief
The history of the Hassan II Mosque is intimately linked to the vision of the late King Hassan II, and represents a powerful symbol for the modern Maroc. Here are the milestones in its creation:
- July 11, 1986: Laying of the foundation stone by the late King Hassan II
- 1987-1993: Construction of the building under the direction of French architect Michel Pinceau, various Moroccan craftsmen and the Bouygues company.
- Financing by national subscription, allowing all Moroccans to contribute
- August 30, 1993: Inauguration of the mosque, coinciding with the commemoration of the birth of the Prophet Mohamed that year.
- The building is part of a vast development and restructuring plan for Greater Casablanca
Access: Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
Where is the Hassan II Mosque?
The Hassan II Mosque is located in Casablanca at Maroc:
- In downtown Casablanca
- On the Corniche, boulevard Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah
- Between the port and the El Hank lighthouse
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How to get there?
You’ll find that getting to the Hassan II Mosque requires a little organization, as there is no public transport in the immediate vicinity. In fact, the nearest streetcar stop is a 30-minute walk away (Casa Port Terminus stop – line T3).
We advise you to take a cab or VTC from your hotel or the city center, which remains the most practical option. As the mosque is an emblematic monument of Casablanca, all drivers are familiar with its location. Plan to arrive around 30 minutes before the guided tour time to allow time to buy your tickets and admire the building’s exterior. You can also book your ticket in advance to avoid queues.
Parking
You’ll benefit from a vast 800-space underground pay parking lot. Built on a single underground level, it covers some 5 hectares and offers covered parking. Pedestrian access leads directly to the esplanade and the mosque’s hammams. For vehicles, entry and exit are possible from the 2 East and West traffic circles, accessible from boulevard Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah and boulevard Moulay Youssef. This parking lot is a convenient solution if you wish to drive to the mosque and park easily nearby.
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Best time to visit
To make the most of your visit to the Hassan II Mosque, we recommend weekday mornings, outside the Ramadan and summer high seasons. These periods are generally less crowded, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of the site in more serene conditions. The morning light also sublimates the architecture and artisanal details of the building. You’ll have the opportunity to take magnificent photos without being hindered by the crowds. By avoiding peak periods, your experience will be all the more pleasant and authentic.
Length of visit and main difficulties
Allow around 1h for the compulsory guided tour of the mosque, depending on the time slot you choose, then allow a further 30min to 1h to explore the esplanade and the mediatheque at your leisure. During the visit, we had to follow a few specific rules that are worth knowing in advance. Dress codes must be respected for this place of worship (shoulders and knees covered). You’ll also need to remove your shoes before entering the prayer hall – the guide will provide you with a bag to carry them in during the visit. Remember to wear socks for greater comfort when walking on the building’s carpets and floors. Please note that it is forbidden to use video cameras indoors, to smoke, and to consume drinks and snacks during the visit. We recommend that you behave respectfully and calmly in places of worship and contemplation. Find out more on the official website here.
In addition to your visit to the mosque, you can also access the traditional hammams on site at different rates (see details here).
Toilets are available at the ticket office, in the ablutions room inside the mosque and at the end of the guided tour.
Advice on how to visit
Visits to the Hassan II Mosque must be accompanied by a guide, which imposes a pre-established tour direction. We appreciated this way of organizing the tour, which allows you to discover the site in a coherent way and understand all its subtleties. Following this guided tour, which lasts around an hour, you’re free to explore the esplanade, which offers a breathtaking view of the ocean. Then allow another 30min to 1h to discover the adjacent mediatheque, a remarkable cultural space that we found particularly interesting with its multilingual collections spread over three levels. You’ll get the full experience of this exceptional site.
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Visiting with children
Visiting the Hassan II Mosque can be an enriching and entertaining experience to stimulate children’s curiosity and artistic sensibilities. There are no specific tours for younger visitors, but we were pleasantly surprised by the educational aspect of the guided tours. Indeed, the guides know how to adapt their discourse to help visitors discover Moroccan crafts, local culture and religious rituals in a simple and captivating way. Your children will be amazed by the monumentality of the site and its spectacular dimensions. After the interior tour, offer them a moment to relax on the esplanade, where they can watch the waves and rocks at the foot of the mosque, always under your supervision. It’s also a great gateway to tolerance, giving you the chance to discuss religious and cultural diversity with them.
Schedules and rates
The Hassan II Mosque offers guided tours at set times:
- Saturday to Thursday: tours at 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm and 3pm
- Friday: tours at 9am, 10am and 3pm
Rates:
- Non-Moroccan adults: 140 dhs (MAD)
- Moroccan adults, residents and foreign students: 70 dhs (MAD)
- Children aged 4 to 12 and Moroccan students: 30 dhs (MAD)
- Children under 4 (accompanied by parents): free
Visit the official website for more info here.
Guided tours
The guided tour is compulsory to discover the interior of the Hassan II Mosque and lasts around 1 hour. We found this formula perfectly suited to our needs, as it provides an in-depth understanding of the history, architecture and symbolism of the site. The guides are multilingual (Arabic, French, English, Italian, German) and highly trained, able to answer even the most specialized questions. You’ll receive detailed explanations of the materials used, the craft techniques and the spiritual significance of the various spaces. We found that this guided tour greatly enriched the experience and gave us access to information we wouldn’t have been able to discover on our own. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, the guides will be happy to answer them! Please note that there is no audioguide available.
Catering
There are no restaurants directly on the site of the Hassan II Mosque, and it is forbidden to consume food or drink during the visit. However, there are plenty of options nearby before and after the tour. We’ve discovered a number of quality establishments in the vicinity, which we’ve listed among our top places to eat in Casablanca:
- Restaurant Rick’s Café, inspired by the mythical setting of the film Casablanca, offers upscale cuisine in elegant surroundings.
- For lovers of traditional Moroccan cuisine, Restaurant la Sqala offers an authentic and tasty experience.
- If you prefer seafood and fresh fish, head for the Cabestan Ocean View Restaurant, which boasts, as its name suggests, a breathtaking view of the ocean.
These addresses are just a short cab ride from the mosque.
Moroccan art shapes a jewel of contemporary Islam
The Hassan II Mosque monument is an artistic achievement in itself. It bears witness to exceptional craftsmanship that combines tradition and modernity. Did you know that it is the fruit of the meticulous work of 10,000 Moroccan craftsmen who shaped every element of this monumental work? You’ll notice that almost all the materials used are of Moroccan origin, with the exception of the Italian chandeliers, which add an international touch to the whole. We were fascinated by the impressive titanium door at the royal entrance, weighing no less than 34 tonnes.
Built between 1987 and 1993, the mosque is 200m long and 100m wide, with a total surface area of 365m², symbolizing the number of days in the year. Its interior height reaches 65m under the ceiling, creating a vertiginous space. Don’t forget to look up to see the amazing details on the columns, arches, arcades and ceilings!
The cedar wood balconies, sourced from the Atlas Mountains (Fès, Azrou and Meknès regions), feature natural hues enhanced with saffron and gold leaf, much to the delight of our eyes.
These balconies welcome the women for prayer, while the men pray in the main space below where our visit began. The structure rests on reinforced concrete pillars from the town of Tafraout, designed to withstand earthquakes. The floor, meanwhile, is covered in magnificent marble from the regions of Agadir, Essaouira and Taroudant. Admire the 57 chandeliers that majestically illuminate the prayer room – what a sight! Equipped with a remote-controlled electrical system, they can be lowered for easy cleaning. The icing on the cake is the impressive 1100-ton sunroof, made of cedar wood and aluminum, which closes automatically when the wind exceeds 85 km/h.
As you continue your guided tour, you’ll discover other marvels of local craftsmanship. Head for the center of the prayer hall, where you’ll discover a central fountain that adds a unique spiritual and aesthetic dimension. Lean slightly forward behind the barrier to make out the ablutions room on the lower floor, which you’ll visit later on in the tour. Can you see it?
The main hall featured so much traditional jewelry that we didn’t know where to look! Do you know the mihrab, for example? This architectural niche indicates the direction of Mecca. Historically designed in a semicircle to resonate the imam’s words, it is now equipped with modern loudspeakers, as the room is too large for natural acoustics. Nearby is the minbar, a stepladder used by the preacher during Friday prayers. You’ll notice that the entire mosque is equipped with 360 loudspeakers to ensure optimal diffusion of the prayers. Like us, you’ll certainly be intrigued by the 3 mysterious spheres that crown the minaret and are also found inside above certain lamps – their interpretation varies according to tradition: they symbolize either the 3 elements (air, water, earth), or the stars (sun, moon, earth), or the ingredients of bread (water, salt, flour).
Include this must-see tour in a half-day exploration of Casablanca and its heritage!
A place of prayer open to the world: spirituality, peace, transmission
We were deeply moved by this concept of a place of worship that builds bridges between different religious traditions. The Hassan II Mosque perfectly embodies the vision of openness and tolerance espoused by the late King Hassan II. We quickly realized that the very structure of the building reflects this philosophy. A nave reminiscent of a cathedral and balconies evoking the interior of a synagogue – what a magnificent architectural synthesis! A perfect illustration of the message of peace and inter-religious dialogue that the monument aims to convey. You’ll also see practical innovations such as escalators that give women easier access to the prayer balconies, combining respect for tradition with modernity.
The minaret rises to 200m, reaching 210m with the 3 spheres that crown it. If you’re curious about what goes on behind the scenes, you’ll need to climb 1200 steps to reach the top, although an elevator is also available.
Another sign of intercultural dialogue: doors decorated with scallop shells, reminiscent of those found on the route to Santiago de Compostela, a symbol that intrigued us. Can you find them?
It should be noted that this architectural project was part of a broader vision of urban development. The construction of the mosque was part of a vast restructuring plan for Greater Casablanca, aimed at endowing the economic capital with an emblematic monument. The royal ambition was to ensure the city’s harmonious development, while at the same time conferring on it a worldwide spiritual influence based on faith and tolerance, following in the footsteps of Moroccan imperial cities such as Fez with Al Karaouyine, Rabat with the Hassan Tower, and Marrakech with the Koutoubia.
The mosque’s architecture is deeply inspired by the purity and cultural richness for which Maroc has been renowned over the centuries. In addition to its religious function, the mosque is also a cultural hub, thanks to its media library, which regularly hosts conferences. Impressive in size, it houses over 120,000 multilingual and multi-media documents spread over 3 levels, 2 of which are dedicated to young people. Covering an area of over 12,000m², it offers 860 seats, including over a hundred equipped with computers, as well as 2 activity rooms. Like us, let yourself be carried away by the atmosphere of this place where spirituality and culture meet in harmony!
Between sky and sea: a mosque on the Atlantic Ocean
Once the guided tour was over, we continued along the esplanade to admire the mosque’s exceptional location between sky and ocean. We were captivated by the beauty of this monument, most of which is built on water – a technical feat and a powerful symbolic choice. In fact, this location is a direct reference to the Koranic verse that “Allah’s throne was on water”. To realize this ambitious project, 15 hectares were reclaimed from the ocean, creating a permanent dialogue between the building and the Atlantic. You’ll be impressed by the sculpted arches rising 40m into the air, providing a majestic backdrop to the immensity of the ocean. The 210m minaret, visible for miles around, seems to watch over the city like a spiritual lighthouse, inviting you to look to the sky.
The colossal budget of one billion US dollars allocated to the construction of this mosque bears witness to the ambition of the project. The architecture was specially designed to create a symbolic link between the sky, the ocean and the earth – the 3 fundamental dimensions of existence according to Muslim spirituality. The impressive 2-hectare prayer hall can accommodate a considerable number of worshippers. Did you know that during major celebrations, the esplanade overlooking the ocean also becomes an open-air prayer space? A unique spiritual experience facing the immensity of the Atlantic. We were particularly moved by this dialogue between faith and the natural elements.
The uniqueness of this place also lies in its exceptional openness. By decision of the late King Hassan II, this mosque is the only one at Maroc to welcome non-Muslim visitors, a rare initiative in the world. This accessibility is accompanied by an important cultural dimension in the form of the adjacent media library, which you can explore before or after your visit to the mosque itself. Contemplating the building from the esplanade, you’ll understand why the Hassan II Mosque has become a must-see in Casablanca and the whole of Maroc. Its 1,100-ton movable ceiling, which opens onto the sky, reinforces the impression of a connection between the terrestrial world and the celestial dimension. Immerse yourself in this unique atmosphere where monumental architecture and spirituality meet against the blue immensity of the ocean. So, are you ready to take the tour?
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Frequently asked questions
How to dress for a visit to the Hassan II Mosque?
We strongly advise you to dress appropriately for your visit to this place of worship. To enter the mosque, we made sure that shoulders and knees were covered – this rule applies to both men and women. You will also need to remove your shoes before entering the prayer hall. We strongly advise you to bring socks for added comfort during your visit, as you will be walking on large carpets or on the cold floor. Your guide will provide you with a bag in which to store your shoes and carry them for the duration of the guided tour.
Can non-Muslims visit the Hassan II Mosque?
Yes, the Hassan II Mosque is the only mosque in Morocco open to non-Muslim men and women. This specificity is the fruit of King Hassan II’s desire to make it a place of dialogue and openness. We found this approach particularly enriching, enabling a respectful immersion in Islamic culture and spirituality. However, it is important to note that access is only permitted during official guided tour times. If you’re not Muslim, you can’t visit the inside of the mosque freely or during prayer times. These supervised tours guarantee both respect for the place of worship and a quality educational experience. You can therefore opt for:
- a guided tour of the mosque – see program and details
- a half-day exploring Casablanca and its heritage – see program and details
