Casablanca or Marrakech?

Casablanca has a real if imperfect beach life. The long sands of Ain Diab lie below a row of beach clubs, better beaches at Dar Bouazza and Mohammedia are less than an hour away, and a summer sea of around 22°C is swimmable for anyone who respects the swell and the currents.

Marrakech has no sea at all. A swim there means a riad plunge pool or a hotel pool, the Lalla Takerkoust reservoir makes a lakeside afternoon, and the nearest proper beach is at Essaouira, a long drive away.

The two eat equally well, but they eat differently. Casablanca is a port, and its best meals are fish: chosen at the Marché Central stalls, grilled at the fishing harbour or eaten as street snacks in the Old Medina, with French-style brasseries and pâtisseries in Maarif and Gauthier.

Marrakech has the deeper Moroccan tradition. Tanjia slow-cooked in hammam embers, mechoui lamb from underground ovens and the evening grill stalls of Jemaa el-Fna are things Casablanca cannot match, although medina menus soon start to repeat themselves.

Casablanca's culture can be covered in a weekend. Apart from the Hassan II Mosque, which non-Muslims can enter, there are the twentieth-century Art Deco and neo-Moorish streets around Boulevard Mohammed V, the tidy Habous quarter and a couple of small museums.

Marrakech is a historic city in its own right. A UNESCO-listed medina with the Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian Tombs, Ben Youssef's tilework and two palaces lies within one walk, and the Majorelle garden and the Yves Saint Laurent museum add a modern chapter.

Casablanca goes out more. At weekends the Ain Diab Corniche has proper clubs and beach lounges playing house and Arabic pop until late, and downtown keeps some old protectorate-era bars. It is still discreet and taxi-dependent, without a bar-hopping street.

In Marrakech the evening centres on dinner and the spectacle of Jemaa el-Fna. Drinking means a rooftop cocktail or a hotel bar, and the few big clubs in Hivernage are aimed at visitors at resort prices.

Casablanca's outdoors is the sea. You can surf for beginners at Ain Diab, walk the promenade out to El Hank and ride a bike through the eucalyptus of Bouskoura, but the flat plain gives no mountain scenery within easy reach.

From Marrakech, the snowy High Atlas is on the horizon and within about an hour and a half. You can walk between Berber villages from Imlil, see the Setti Fatma waterfalls, climb Toubkal or ski at Oukaimeden in winter. Agafay's desert and dawn balloon flights add a landscape the coast has nothing like.

Casablanca sits on the coastal rail line, which makes it the better base. Rabat's Kasbah des Oudayas, the Chellah ruins and the Hassan Tower are about an hour away by train, and El Jadida's Portuguese cistern and whitewashed Azemmour are easy outings down the coast. The Oualidia lagoon and its oyster beds make a longer day out.

From Marrakech, the places worth the journey, such as Essaouira and the kasbahs of Ait Benhaddou, really need a night away. Close to the city, the choice is limited to the weekly village souks at Asni and Amizmiz and the twelfth-century Almohad mosque at Tinmel.

Neither is easy with children, but Casablanca offers more to do with them. The Corniche mall has an aquarium and indoor rides, there is an amusement park and zoo at Ain Diab, and beach-club pools give a safe alternative to the rough sea.

Marrakech asks more of a family, with crowded medina lanes shared with motorbikes, persistent sellers and fierce summer heat. A riad with a pool, a camel ride in the palm grove and the acrobats of Jemaa el-Fna work best for older, adventurous children.

Neither is simple, and the difficulties differ. Casablanca is spread out but has tram lines linking downtown, the stations and the Ain Diab Corniche, with shared red petits taxis filling the gaps. Its huge roundabouts make walking between districts tiring.

Marrakech has no tram. The medina has to be walked, through a maze of unnamed alleys, and beige taxis with fares agreed in advance cover the trips out to Gueliz and Majorelle.

Casablanca does modern retail best. It has the vast Corniche mall, the fashion streets and local designers of Maarif and the Derb Ghallef flea market, while its crafts are limited to a calm, low-pressure selection in the Habous quarter.

Marrakech is where people come to buy Morocco. The souks north of Jemaa el-Fna are arranged by trade, with carpets, lanterns, leather and Berber jewellery, and design boutiques in Gueliz and the Sidi Ghanem showrooms add a contemporary side. Expect long bargaining and little in the way of fashion brands.

Both are cheap for daily life, but the costs fall in different places. In Casablanca the trams, market fish and café terraces cost little, but rooms lean towards business hotels with corporate rates, and character guesthouses are scarce.

Marrakech has the cheaper beds: simple medina riads with real charm, and palace and madrasa entries that cost little. What drives the bill up there is the luxury riad tier, alcohol and how well you hold your ground in the souks.

Casablanca has the more formal stage life. A large modern theatre on Place Mohammed V puts on concerts and dance, the cultural institutes run programmes, and a long-running jazz festival and an urban-music festival rooted in local rap give the year its highlights.

Marrakech's performance is mostly street performance. The gnawa players, drummers and storytellers of Jemaa el-Fna are unforgettable and free, but beyond them and the Popular Arts Festival there are mostly dinner shows aimed at tourists.

Marrakech is far better for slowing down. Spa hammams with argan oil and rhassoul treatments are everywhere, and the riad itself, a courtyard house with a fountain, orange trees and a roof terrace, shuts out the noise of the medina. The Agdal and Menara gardens offer quiet hours outdoors.

Casablanca has its own hammams and adds something Marrakech lacks, seawater thalassotherapy on the Corniche. Its loud, traffic-heavy streets offer few calm courtyards to return to, though.