Things to Do in Essaouira: The Essential Guide

What are the top things to see in Essaouira?

The Skala de la Ville — the sea bastion the Portuguese raised in the 18th century — is the postcard image: a line of antique brass cannons trained west over the Atlantic from a windblown white rampart. The late-afternoon light here is something else, with spray and gulls and constant wind. Below it, the older Skala du Port looks south across the working harbour, where the cobalt-blue boats come and go and fishermen gut the catch on the quay — one of the most photogenic working scenes anywhere in Morocco, and a world apart from the inland bustle of Marrakech.

The medina is UNESCO-listed and, unusually, laid out on a regular Portuguese grid — a relief to navigate after the organic tangle of Fes or Marrakech. The main spine, Avenue de l'Istiqlal continuing as Rue Mohammed el-Qory, runs straight from the main gate down to the harbour. In the lanes behind the Skala de la Ville, thuya workshops turn out astonishingly fine marquetry from the fragrant burr-roots of the local thuya tree — a craft you will not find back in the Marrakech souks.

• Skala de la Ville — sea bastion with antique cannons; best at sunset.
• Skala du Port and fishing harbour — working port; fresh catch auctions at dawn.
• Medina ramparts walk — full circuit takes about 40 minutes.
• Thuja wood workshops — behind the Skala; unique fragrant marquetry craft.
• Musée Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah — 19th-century regional museum of music and crafts.
• Galerie Frederic Damgaard — important contemporary Essaouira art gallery.

What is the windsurfing and kitesurfing like in Essaouira?

Essaouira sits high on most lists of the world's great windsurfing towns. The Alizé — a dependable north-east trade wind blowing at 20–35 knots for much of the year — sets up steady flat-water, side-shore conditions on the wide beach south of the medina (Plage d'Essaouira). The wind is strongest April to October, with June through August the most reliable months; outside that window it still blows, just less predictably. It is the single biggest reason wind-sport travellers base here rather than making Essaouira a quick hop from Marrakech.

Ocean Vagabond and Explora are two long-established beach centres renting kit and running lessons and storage. Windsurfers and kitesurfers share a generous spread of beach, and the shallower water by the Oued Ksob river mouth is the spot to learn. Swimmers and body-surfers should respect the power of this stretch of Atlantic — the rip currents near the river mouth are genuine — and a wetsuit is needed year-round in water that holds at 17–20°C.

• Best wind months: June–September (20–35 knots Alizé trade wind).
• Windsurfing level: intermediate to advanced; consistent side-shore conditions.
• Kitesurfing: established and popular; local schools offer IKO-certified tuition.
• Surfing: bodyboarding and shortboard surfing work in autumn and winter swells.
• Camel and horse rides on the beach — offered by licensed operators south of the medina.

Where should you eat seafood in Essaouira?

The harbour fish market — the morning's catch laid out on ice and grilled to order at open-air stalls — is one of the great eating experiences in the country, and reason enough to make Essaouira a day trip from Marrakech. Point at what you fancy, settle the price first, and eat it straight off the grill with bread and harissa at a plastic table on the quay. Sardines, sea bass (loup de mer), sole and monkfish are the staples; lobster and prawns appear in season. Reckon on MAD 60–120 for a full grilled-fish plate.

For a proper sit-down, Chez Sam — a timber shack hanging out over the harbour — is an Essaouira institution, charming precisely because it is a little ramshackle. Les Alizés Mogador in the medina is a reliable Moroccan table, and La Table by Madada takes a more polished, contemporary line on local seafood. And the café culture along the medina lanes — strong coffee, fresh-pressed orange juice, warm bread — is part of the slow morning rhythm that the city does so much better than hurried Marrakech.

What day trips can you do from Essaouira?

The argan forest spreading between Essaouira and Agadir is the only place on earth the Argania spinosa tree grows wild. The goats that famously clamber into its branches for the fruit are part of the scene; the kernels are gathered and pressed by women's co-operatives into argan oil. Co-ops dot the roadside, where you can watch the painstaking hand-cracking and buy certified oil at source — and the same argan road is the one you travel on the drive in from Marrakech, so it folds neatly into a longer excursion with a beach stop.

Sidi Kaouki, a windswept beach village 25 km south, draws surfers and anyone after even more solitude — the sand is wilder and emptier than Essaouira's, and a handful of guesthouses make an overnight possible. Diabat, just 5 km south across a river ford, is a tiny village with the ruins of the Borj el-Berod (the so-called Fortress of Mogador) half-swallowed by sand on the dunes — a lonely, wind-scoured scene that puts the raw Atlantic into perspective after the closed-in lanes of Marrakech.

What is the Gnaoua Music Festival and when does it take place?

The Gnaoua World Music Festival is Essaouira's signature event — usually four days in late June — and turns the city into one of the most atmospheric music venues anywhere. Gnaoua is a centuries-old tradition of trance music and healing ritual carried to Morocco by sub-Saharan enslaved people; the festival sets Gnaoua master musicians (mâalems) alongside international jazz, blues, reggae and world-music acts in free open-air concerts across the medina squares and along the ramparts. Beds vanish months out, so anyone hoping to attend — including those planning to base in Marrakech and travel over — should reserve close to a year ahead.

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