The "new town" built by the French during the international zone period (1923-1956) extends south and west from the Grand Socco. The main spine, Boulevard Pasteur and Boulevard Mohammed V, is lined with European-style apartment buildings, cafes, banks, and the major hotels. The architecture is a mix of stripped Art Deco, Spanish neo-colonial, and 1930s rationalism — a less spectacular sister to Casablanca's far better-known modernist heritage, but worth a walk for those interested.
The Café de Paris on Place de France was the centre of the international zone's espionage and journalism scene; the Gran Teatro Cervantes, currently in slow restoration, is the largest Spanish-built theatre in Africa. The neighbourhood is where most modern Tangerines live and shop, and where the French and Spanish consulates still face each other across small green squares.