Discovering Essaouira

Essaouira -previously named “Mogador”- is a small Moroccan coastal charming city that I visited the first time in 2011. I fell in love with its peaceful and simplistic sides to the point I managed to revisit it many times after over the years

The road to Essaouira

There are three main roads to Essaouira depending from which major city you will be coming from: Safi from the north, Agadir from the south and Marrakesh from the east
The first two cities are coastal too so if you come from there you’ll enjoy a sea view on a big portion of the road. In my case, I come from Marrakesh so the landscape is mainly plains, which is fine but I’d love to try the Agadir-Essaouira trip one day God willing. Nevertheless, coming from Marrakesh, a few kilometers away, if it’s a sunny day, there is a big chance that you’ll enjoy a wonderful view of goats scattered on the branches of trees, perhaps even accompanied by a large, peaceful camel

The first impression

A bit further on, due to our elevation above sea level, the entrance to Essaouira offers a panoramic view of the coastal city on a kind of balcony with some camels around too so make sure to take some good pictures there
The first impression you’ll get when entering is one of calm and tranquility, almost no traffic lights and very few police officers
You’ll find young people on either side of the main avenue gently waving keys, hinting if you might want to rent an apartment. I personally never spent a night over there so I don’t have something to say about that in terms of quality and prices but as of any other city, you’ll have to browse and negotiate if you don’t plan to stay in a hotel

What to do first

If you don’t plan to spend the night there then I’ll advice that you arrive in the morning, at most at noon if you want to have enough time to visit the main sites. If you’re driving, the strategic spot is to park near the port at the very end of the main avenue. You’ll find a parking lot there or you can park around if it’s full
Now head to the big yard on the coast and have a fresh smell of the sea and watch seagulls circling around. I love to start the day with a freshly pressed orange juice and always find one or two people offering the service there

My favorite lunch

I don’t know about you but I like fish and if you’re like me then take a walk to the port until you find fish vendors all over the place, the fish there are fresh and relatively cheaper. If you want to save some money overall, I recommend you buy your fish directly from the port and sit in the nearest grill. The overall cost will be much less then if you go directly to a restaurant, and the bonus is you got to enjoy a nice view on the coast with boats aligned along the port
One thing you’ll notice about cats in Essaouira in general and at the port in particular is that they are very different from regular cats as they don’t beg for food to the point that some are obese and need to slim down a bit. No wonder why you’ll tell me

Time to stroll the Medina

It’s time to stroll through the city so head the other side of the yard and prepare yourself to see everything from: paintings, wooden sculptures, cakes, rugs, spices, leather… In short, authentic traditional crafts in all their colors
If you don’t like fish then this is where to find a diversity of restaurants with diversity of dishes, the prices mostly shown on the board at the entrance
Don’t forget to walk along the Souk -which is the Arabic name for “market”- and you don’t want to miss taking some good Argan oil and Amlou
For the record, Argan oil has many healthy properties both for cosmetic and culinary use and the Argan tree grows only in Morocco with Essaouira being one of the main cities producing it. On the other hand, Amlou is a kind of paste constituted from almonds pressed with Argan oil then mixed with honey and I can guarantee you’ll enjoy pasting some toasts in breakfast

An 18th century fortress

From the end of the Souk avenue, turn left heading to the ocean to experience another piece of history called “Sqala”: an artillery platform constituting one of the main fortresses of the historical town. It rises about 10 meters above sea level, offering a stunning view of the ocean through a dozen of ancient cannons scattered along
I tend to keep the Sqala for near the end of my tour, making it a pause there for about an hour or less enjoying the view before going back along the big ancient Wall

A beautiful sunset ending

Heading back to the parking, I love walking along the main avenue shore at sunset time just before leaving, which just makes it the best way to end the journey in my opinion

There you have it. My Essaouira 1 day tour routine. Of course the city doesn’t stop here, as there are many other things you can do and places to see if you spend a few days in this charming little city, but you can be sure I covered the most important here and I wish you a wonderful trip… Enjoy!

Behold the photo album