Abderrahman Slaoui Foundation Museum

The Abderrahman Slaoui Foundation Museum is one of the most rewarding small museums in Casablanca, and a good antidote to the scale of the city outside. It was opened to the public in May 2012 by the family of Abderrahman Slaoui, a businessman, collector and patron who died in 2001, to share the collection he built up over his lifetime. The museum is run by the foundation that carries his name.

The building dates from the 1940s and sits in the centre of the White City. Its three floors cover around 600 square metres, and the interior has been arranged to evoke a traditional Moroccan house, modelled on a house in Fez, the city where Slaoui was born. The scenography is by the French designer Philippe Délis, and you move through sections identified by the colours of the tapestries on the walls, which gives the visit a domestic, intimate feel.

The collection is varied. Highlights include a large group of vintage Orientalist travel posters from the late 19th century onwards, Moroccan jewellery including gold pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries, paintings by the Moroccan artist Mohammed Ben Ali R'bati and landscapes by Jacques Majorelle, along with crystal and other decorative objects. The posters are particularly enjoyable for the way they show how Morocco was sold to European travellers. The foundation also runs temporary exhibitions, workshops and artist residencies, so there is often something new to see.

The museum suits art lovers, design enthusiasts and anyone who prefers a focused collection to a sprawling one. It is compact, so allow around an hour, a little more if a temporary exhibition is on. Opening hours are not published on the regional tourism site, and one tour operator notes that the museum closes on Sundays and throughout August, so check before you go. Children who enjoy colour and pattern will find plenty to look at, though there is little aimed specifically at them.

The museum is on Rue du Parc in the city centre, a short walk from the Sacré-Cœur and Parc de la Ligue Arabe, and about ten minutes on foot from Mohammed V Square. That makes it easy to build into a walking day around the centre's Art Deco streets. Finish with lunch or coffee in the nearby Gauthier district, or carry on to the Central Market for a seafood lunch.