Morocco Mall

Morocco Mall opened in 2011 at the western end of the Casablanca corniche and is among the largest shopping centres on the continent - around two hundred thousand square metres with several hundred shops, an IMAX, a food court, a musical fountain outside and, in the atrium, a cylindrical aquarium several storeys high with a lift running up inside it, which is the feature everyone photographs and which divides opinion between spectacle and gimmick. It is a straightforward international mall with the usual chains and a Moroccan section, and the honest reason to mention it in a guide is that it is a genuine part of how urban Morocco spends its weekends, air-conditioned and free to walk in a city where summer is punishing. Divers feed the fish in the tank at set times. There is a small souk-styled section and a large supermarket that is useful for anyone self-catering.

What you actually see

• A cylindrical aquarium - several storeys high with a lift running up through it.
• Continental scale - around two hundred thousand square metres and several hundred shops.
• A weekend institution - how urban Morocco spends hot afternoons.
• Feeding demonstrations - divers in the tank at set times through the day.

When to go

All year; weekday afternoons to avoid the crowds. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is a shopping mall - people looking for Morocco should look elsewhere. Weekends are extremely busy. The aquarium is charged separately and is small for the price. Parking fills.

Nearby

The Ain Diab corniche runs east; the Hassan II mosque is beyond it.