Essaouira is a hidden Morocco. The ramparts, the port, the dance of the cawing seagulls, the immense beach, the perfume of the sea air…

Thanks to the ocean breeze, Essaouira benefits from cool air. At the end of the morning, don’t miss the colourful and lively spectacle of the return of the boats to the port, with their baskets full of fish. Grant yourself a rare pleasure: try the grilled sardines or taste a small lobster in the port. Their freshness is incomparable and the atmosphere forever engraved in your memory… Then, return to town through the Bab El Marsa gate.

The Sqala of the Kasbash, the artillery platform on the ramparts, offers from its north bastion an incomparable view across the medina, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, over the port’s Sqala and out over the ocean. Leave the old European canons and walk towards the casemates that lead to the street. Some of the Kingdom’s most famous marquetry craftsmen and cabinet makers have founded their workshops there. They work on the wood of the sandarac tree and are deserving of your visit: their work is of a rare intricacy. You will easily find the object that will eternally symbolise Essaouira, once you return home. In the Moulay El Hassan square, you can enjoy the numerous and lively café terraces and restaurants.

The Gnaoua, descendents of African slaves, practice trance and faith healing whilst playing a syncopated music accompanied by singing and dancing. Essaouira has been host for over ten years to a very popular festival, which takes place at the start of summer, and which promotes Gnaoua music whilst giving a wide opening to world music, jazz and blues.

Essaouira’s beach is a long ribbon of around ten kilometres bathed in surf. Its sheer size is surprising and its tranquillity is reassuring. There is an invigorating sensation from the ocean breeze as soon as you set foot on the immaculate sand.