Mohammed V Square
Colonial-era grandeur meets modern Casablanca at the city's civic heart.
Mohammed V Square is the grand civic centerpiece of downtown Casablanca, a wide, stately plaza ringed by some of the finest French Protectorate architecture in North Africa. Built during the French colonial period in the early-to-mid 20th century, the square was designed to project authority and modernity — and it still does. The buildings that frame it, including the Palais de Justice, the French Consulate, the Bank Al-Maghrib, and the Wilaya (Prefecture), are masterclasses in what architects called Mauresque or Neo-Moorish style: classical European bones dressed in arabesque tilework, carved stucco, and geometric latticework. At the center sits a tiered fountain that lights up at night, and palm trees line the surrounding walkways. It's the kind of place that makes you stop and recalibrate what you thought you knew about Casablanca.
Most visitors walk a loop around the square, pausing to look up at the ornate facades and photograph the fountain. The Wilaya building — the regional administrative headquarters — is particularly striking, with its clock tower and colonnaded entrance. Early evening is when the square really comes alive: families promenade, vendors sell snacks, and the fountain illuminations kick in. It's not a museum or a ticketed attraction; it's a living public space, and that's exactly what makes it worth lingering in.
The square sits in the heart of the central business district, a short walk from the old Medina and the Habous quarter. It's an excellent anchor point for a walking tour of central Casablanca — from here you can easily reach the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (now a cultural center), the pedestrianized Boulevard Mohammed V, and numerous café terraces. Come in the late afternoon, stay through the evening fountain show, and you'll see it at its best.