- Grilled fish at the port: pick it at the stalls, eat it at the grills.
- Seafood pastilla and fish tagine in the medina.
- Mint tea on the Sqala de la Ville at sunset.
Essaouira City Guide
Fishing boats in Essaouira's harbour. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Essaouira is Morocco's wind city: the 18th-century walled port, designed by a French engineer for Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, with its cannons, its blue boats and its permanent Atlantic breeze. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2001).
It is the relaxed counterpoint to Marrakech: seafood grills, Gnawa music, kitesurfing, and a medina you can actually navigate. The Gnaoua World Music Festival fills the town each June.
What to do in Essaouira
Town
- 1
Sqala de la Ville The 18th-century sea bastion with its row of cannons. - 2The fishing port The blue boats, the fish auction and the grill restaurants.
- 3
Essaouira medina The UNESCO-listed old town: thuya wood workshops and art galleries. - 4The beach The long windy beach: kitesurfing and camel rides.
- 5Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum The town's history in a 19th-century mansion.
Essaouira Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in Essaouira. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Where to eat
Getting there and around
Essaouira-Mogador (ESU) is 15 km southeast. CTM and Supratours buses run from Marrakech (3 hours) and Agadir (about 3 hours).