Where Was Casablanca Filmed?

The Short Answer

Casablanca was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, on soundstages and the studio backlot, with some exterior airport shots at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. No scenes were shot in Morocco despite the story's setting. Filming ran 59 days from May 25 to August 3, 1942, mostly indoors due to wartime restrictions.

The most famous film ever set in Morocco was never filmed there. Production on Casablanca took place entirely in California, with Warner Bros. building the streets of Rick's Casablanca on its Burbank lot while World War II made overseas shooting impossible.

That means fans hoping to walk in Humphrey Bogart's footsteps should head to Burbank, not North Africa. Several of the locations survive in some form and can be visited today, primarily through the Warner Bros. studio tour.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
French Street	Burbank	Exterior street scenes including Paris flashbacks and Casablanca streets	Ticketed
Warner Bros. Stage 7 (Lucky Seven)	Burbank	Rick's Café Américain interior and most interior scenes	Ticketed
Van Nuys Airport (Metropolitan Airport)	Los Angeles	Strasser's arrival and some airport runway shots for finale	Outside only
Warner Bros. Backlot	Burbank	Bazaar, train station (redressed from Now Voyager), other exteriors	Ticketed

Filming Locations Map

4 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

French Street on the Warner Bros. backlot stood in for the exteriors of Casablanca itself, including the Paris flashback sequences with Rick and Ilsa. It remains part of the studio lot today, sometimes in original form and sometimes redressed for later productions. Visitors can see it on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, which passes through the backlot streets; access is ticketed only, so book the tour to walk the same stretch of street Bogart and Ingrid Bergman did.

Stage 7, nicknamed 'Lucky Seven' because it hosted multiple Best Picture winners including Casablanca, held the interior of Rick's Café Américain and most of the film's interior scenes. The soundstage is still in active use by the studio. It is part of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour route, so visitors can see the historic stage where the piano played As Time Goes By, though working stages may vary by production schedule.

Van Nuys Airport, then known as Metropolitan Airport, provided exterior shots for Strasser's arrival and some runway footage used in the finale. It was here, rather than a soundstage, that the production staged the departure sequence's exteriors. The airport remains active today with limited public access to specific areas, so travelers can view it mainly from outside. No tour covers it; it is a stop for determined fans with a car.

The broader Warner Bros. backlot carried much of the film's exterior work, including the bazaar and the train station, the latter redressed from sets built for the 1942 film Now, Voyager. Studio ingenuity saved time and money by reusing standing sets. The backlot areas are covered on the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, which takes visitors past standing sets and working locations still used by current productions.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The story is set in Casablanca, French Morocco, during the early days of World War II, but no footage was shot in Morocco. All of the sets were constructed on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, with limited exteriors filmed at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. Wartime travel restrictions kept the entire production stateside.

The Studio Side

Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank is the production home of Casablanca and the single most important stop for fans. The studio is visitable today through the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, which covers the backlot and stages, including Stage 7 and French Street. The tour offers the only ticketed access to the places where the film was actually made.

Tours That Visit These Locations

One bookable tour covers the filming locations directly: a studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles that includes the backlot sets where Casablanca was shot.

Backlot Studio Tour, Burbank

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood

This general studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank passes through the backlot and stages where Casablanca was filmed, including French Street and Stage 7, alongside sets from many other Warner productions. It holds a 4.6 rating from 5,668 reviews.

4.6 out of 5 · 5,668 reviewsLos Angeles

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Frequently Asked Questions

Was any of Casablanca filmed in Morocco?

No. Although the story is set in Casablanca, French Morocco, every scene was shot in California, mostly at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. World War II travel restrictions kept production close to home.

Can you visit the Casablanca filming locations?

Yes, in part. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Burbank covers the backlot, French Street, and stages including Stage 7, where Rick's Café interior was built. Van Nuys Airport, used for some exteriors, is active and has limited public access.

How long did Casablanca take to film?

Filming lasted 59 days, from May 25 to August 3, 1942. Most of the shoot took place on soundstages due to wartime restrictions.

What is Stage 7 at Warner Bros.?

Stage 7 is a soundstage nicknamed 'Lucky Seven' because it hosted multiple Best Picture winners, including Casablanca. The café interior and most other interior scenes were shot there, and the stage is still in use today.

How did the famous airport finale get made?

The final airport scene relied on movie trickery, including a plywood model plane with little person extras positioned to simulate full scale, combined with runway exteriors shot at Van Nuys Airport.

Were any sets reused from other films?

Yes. The Paris train station set was reused from the film Now, Voyager, also released in 1942, and redressed for Casablanca's flashback sequence.

For most travelers, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is the practical way to see where Casablanca was made, since the backlot and Lucky Seven stage sit behind studio gates. Diehard fans can add a drive past Van Nuys Airport for the finale's exterior shots, but Morocco itself offers nothing from the production.