Essaouira: The Windy City That Fixes Everything

Three hours from Marrakech, Essaouira fixes whatever Marrakech did to your nervous system. 

It is a walled Atlantic port city — blue and white, permanently windswept, smelling of salt and grilled fish. The medina here is calm enough to navigate without a map. The cats outnumber the tourists. The craftsmen working in thuya wood and silver are genuinely working, not performing for cameras. 

The ramparts face the Atlantic directly. Standing on them at sunset, with the wind coming off the ocean and the sound of waves below — this is a different Morocco than the desert or the mountains. Cooler, quieter, and surprisingly Portuguese in its architecture (because it was, briefly, a Portuguese fort). 

The fish market runs every morning. Small boats, fresh catch, open grills. A plate of grilled sardines with bread and harissa costs almost nothing and tastes like the best thing you have eaten in weeks. 

Essaouira also has one of the world's most consistent wind corridors — which is why it became a kitesurfing and windsurfing destination long before the rest of Morocco became fashionable. Moulay Bouzerktoun beach, 25 km north, is where the serious surfers go.

 As a day trip from Marrakech, Essaouira is the right length — you arrive, you walk the medina, you eat fish on the ramparts, you drive back. Three hours each way is manageable if you leave early. → Essaouira day trip from Marrakech — Samra Voyages 

For the bigger picture on Morocco: → Flee Morocco — 5 Reasons You Should Never Visit 

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By Tarik J. — Desert tour specialist, Marrakech | samra-voyages.com

Location: Essaouira, Maroc

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