Hotel, furnished apartment or standard lease: it all depends on how long you stay
The right home depends first on how long you will spend in Casablanca.
- Under 4 weeks
- A hotel or a short-term rental. Easy, but costly once the stay gets longer.
- 1 to 11 months
- A mid-term furnished apartment: a real home, move-in ready, without a one-year commitment. This is Staytle's specialty.
- A year or more
- A standard lease, with utilities, furniture and paperwork to sort out.
Where to live: four neighbourhoods for an assignment
Staytle homes are in Casablanca's central neighbourhoods. Four pointers to choose yours.
Triangle d'Or
Chic Casablanca, halfway between the centre and the ocean.
- The feel
- modern residences, boutiques, pastry shops and good restaurants.
- Best for
- managers who want quiet evenings, with restaurants close by.
- Good to know
- street parking is hard; look for a home with a parking space.
Racine
The calm, residential favourite.
- The feel
- quiet streets, well-kept buildings, cafés for breakfast.
- Best for
- families and longer assignments, when a good night's sleep matters.
- Good to know
- quieter at night; restaurants are a few minutes away, in Triangle d'Or.
Maarif & Palmier
Everything on foot, around the Twin Center towers.
- The feel
- shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, gyms and a café on every corner.
- Best for
- a single employee or a couple without a car.
- Good to know
- the busiest area by day. Palmier, next door, is quieter.
Gauthier
Art Deco Casablanca, best lived on foot.
- The feel
- 1930s façades, restaurants and cafés, with the Arab League Park close by.
- Best for
- those who want to live the city and go out without a car.
- Good to know
- the liveliest area at night, and the closest to the historic centre.
Before you sign: the assignment housing checklist
- A lease and an invoice in the company's name
- All-inclusive rent: water, power, internet, cleaning
- Fast internet and a proper workspace
- An equipped kitchen, so dinner isn't always out
- A photo inventory at check-in and check-out
- A contact reachable throughout the stay
Getting around town
- Red petits taxis
- Everywhere in town, metered, up to three passengers.
- Uber
- Back since November 2025, with licensed transport vehicles. A ride across town: MAD 14 to 21.
- Tram and busway
- Four tram lines and two busway lines cross the city.
- Aerobus
- From Mohammed V airport to Casa-Port, 24 hours a day, every 25 to 40 minutes, MAD 50.casabus.ma/aerobus
- Al Boraq
- The high-speed train, from Casa-Voyageurs: Tangier in about 2 h 10.oncf-voyages.ma
Stay connected from day one
- Three operators
- Maroc Telecom (IAM), Orange and inwi, with counters at Mohammed V airport and shops in town.iam.maorange.mainwi.ma
- SIM card or eSIM
- A passport is all a foreigner needs. All three operators also offer eSIM.
- Top-ups
- Data plans and top-ups are sold everywhere, even at the corner shop.
- At home
- In a Staytle apartment, internet of at least 50 Mbps is included in the rent.
Groceries and home delivery
- Marjane
- Marjane hypermarkets, Marjane Market supermarkets and Marjane City convenience stores.
- Carrefour
- Hypermarkets, Carrefour Market and Carrefour Express, run by the Label'Vie group.
- BIM and Kazyon
- Neighbourhood discount stores, with hundreds of shops across the country.
- The corner shop
- The "hanout", open late, for bread, water and phone top-ups.
- Glovo
- Meals, groceries and everyday items, delivered to your door.glovoapp.com
- Kooul
- The Moroccan meal delivery app.kooul.ma
- The retailers
- Marjane and Carrefour also deliver groceries through their own apps.
Paying and banking
- The dirham (MAD)
- A closed currency: get it locally, from a cash machine or an exchange office.
- Card or cash
- Cards work in supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. Keep cash for taxis and small shops.
- Main banks
- Attijariwafa bank, Bank of Africa, Banque Populaire, BMCI, CIH Bank, Crédit du Maroc and Saham Bank (formerly Société Générale).
Paperwork, health and emergencies
- Beyond 90 days
- For most nationalities, visa-free stays are limited to 90 days. After that, apply for a residence permit at the police Foreigners' Office.
- Local contract
- A foreign employee's work contract must be approved by the Ministry of Employment. HR usually handles it.
- Healthcare
- Many private clinics in Casablanca. Make sure you have international health insurance.
- Duty pharmacies
- Every pharmacy displays the list of pharmacies open at night and at weekends.
Emergency numbers
- Police 19
- Fire brigade and ambulance 15
- Medical emergency (SAMU) 141
- Royal Gendarmerie 177
From a mobile phone, 112 also reaches emergency services.
Useful landmarks
- Time zone
- GMT all year round since 20 September 2026.
- The working week
- Monday to Friday, often with a longer break at Friday lunchtime.
- Languages
- Arabic and Amazigh are the official languages. French dominates in business, English is growing.
- Electricity
- 220 V, European plugs (types C and E).
The rhythm of the city
- Climate
- Mild all year: around 18 °C in winter and 26 °C in summer, during the day. Rain from November to March, humid ocean air.
- Ramadan
- Working hours get shorter and many cafés open at the breaking of the fast. In 2027, it should start around 8 February.
- Public holidays
- About fifteen a year. Religious holidays follow the lunar calendar and move about 11 days earlier each year.
- Tipping
- Customary: about 10% in restaurants, a few dirhams for taxis or parking attendants.
- Tap water
- Drinkable. Many people prefer bottled water for the taste.
Cost of living
To get a feel before you arrive: the same meal, the same coffee, the same trip, in Casablanca, Paris, Madrid and London.
The Big Mac meal, our yardstick
-40%The same meal costs about 40% less in Casablanca than in Paris.
Big Mac meal or equivalent, average prices collected by Numbeo in October 2026. €1 ≈ MAD 11; £1 ≈ €1.19.
Everyday prices
In cafés and restaurants, you pay two to four times less than in Paris. The gap narrows for the cinema, the gym or a phone plan.
| Casablanca | Paris | Madrid | London | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A cappuccino | MAD 19€1.75 | €4.60 | €2.75 | €5.05 |
| A simple lunch | MAD 46€4.20 | €16.50 | €16.00 | €23.80 |
| Dinner out | MAD 160€14.55 | €35.00 | €30.00 | €47.60 |
| Water, 1.5 L | MAD 6€0.55 | €0.80 | €0.95 | €1.65 |
| Cinema | MAD 75€6.80 | €13.00 | €10.00 | €16.05 |
| The gym | MAD 314€28.55 | €34.85 | €44.45 | €50.90 |
| Mobile plan | MAD 98€8.90 | €14.10 | €15.90 | €16.35 |
Dinner: per person, mid-range restaurant. Gym and mobile: per month. Numbeo, October 2026; €1 ≈ MAD 11; £1 ≈ €1.19.
Transport prices
The biggest gap is by car: a taxi costs about seven times less than in Paris, and an Uber ride across town comes to less than €2.
| Casablanca | Paris | Madrid | London | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A tram ticket | MAD 8-9€0.75 | €2.50 | €1.50 | €3.55 |
| Monthly pass | MAD 250€22.75 | €90.80 | €33.00 | €221 |
| A 5 km taxi ride | MAD 23€2.10 | €14.50 | €10.10 | €19.75 |
| A litre of petrol | MAD 15.3€1.40 | €2.00 | €1.65 | €1.90 |
Uber across town: MAD 14 to 21 a ride (€1.30 to €1.90). From the airport: the Aerobus to Casa-Port, MAD 50 (€4.55).
Taxi: estimate, pick-up plus 5 km at the average rate. Uber: actual rides in Casablanca, October 2026. Petrol in Morocco: pump price on 16 October 2026. Other prices: Numbeo, October 2026; €1 ≈ MAD 11; £1 ≈ €1.19.
And housing? Why all-inclusive rent costs more than a standard lease →
Discover Casablanca
Exploring on foot
- The Ain Diab Corniche
- The seafront: beaches, beach clubs, cafés and restaurants, from El Hank lighthouse to Morocco Mall.
- Hassan II Mosque
- Set over the ocean, one of the few mosques in the country open to guided visits for non-Muslims.
- The Habous quarter
- The "new medina", built from the 1920s: souks, bookshops, olives and traditional pastries.
- Derb Ghallef
- The city's big flea market: electronics, second-hand goods, spare parts. Everything is negotiable.
- Arab League Park
- The large city-centre garden, for walking or running in the shade of palm trees.
Going out and culture
- Cinema
- Two multiplexes: Pathé Californie, and Megarama on the Corniche.
- Museum of Moroccan Judaism
- In the Oasis district, the only museum devoted to Judaism in the Arab world.
- Abderrahman Slaoui Museum
- Orientalist posters, antique Moroccan jewellery and paintings by Majorelle.
- Casablanca Memory Museum
- In Villa Carl Ficke, Mers Sultan: the story of the city and its architecture. Opened in 2025.
The city's calendar
- Jazzablanca, in July
- Ten days of concerts in early July, at Anfa Park and around town: international headliners and Moroccan acts.
- L'Boulevard, in September
- The festival of urban and alternative music: rap, rock, metal, fusion, plus a springboard for new talent.
- Andalusian music, in May
- The Moroccan Andalusian Music Festival (FMMA), at the Théâtre de l'Hermitage.
- Road races, in May and October
- The Casablanca 10 km International in spring, the International Marathon in autumn.
Dates change every year: check them on the organisers' websites.
Day trips by car
- Bouskoura forest
- Walks, jogging and picnics, on the edge of the city.
- Dar Bouazza and Tamaris
- Beaches and seaside restaurants, south along the coast road.
- Mohammedia
- Its port, beach and seafront promenade, about 30 minutes north.
- Azemmour and El Jadida
- A medina on the Oum Er-Rbia river and the UNESCO-listed Portuguese City, about 1 h 15 away.
- Rabat
- The capital, the Kasbah of the Udayas and its gardens, about 1 h by motorway.
A home for your assignment?
Verified furnished apartments in Casablanca, from 28 nights to 11 months, all-inclusive rent, lease in French and English.