Essaouira: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Essaouira, known for centuries to Europeans as Mogador, was built from scratch in the 1760s by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah as Morocco’s royal port, laid out by a French engineer behind sea walls. Its Arabic name is usually explained as the well-designed one. The wind blows almost every day, which keeps it cool and makes it a kitesurfing town. Ninety minutes.

A short history of Essaouira

As early as the 1st century BC King Juba II produced purple dye from shellfish here. The Portuguese built a fort on the coast in 1506 and called the place Mogador. In 1764 Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah ordered a new port city to be built here, and a French engineer designed it with walls and fortifications in a European style. The sultan invited Jewish merchants to the city, and in the 19th century Jews made up almost half its population and controlled trade with Europe; their memorial house reopened in 2020. Orson Welles filmed "Othello" in the city in 1949, and in 2001 the old town was declared a World Heritage Site.

The ten best sights in Essaouira

1
Place Moulay Hassan
The main square between the medina and the port
2
Skala de la Ville
The sea ramparts and their bronze cannon
3
Skala du Port
The harbour bastion; the classic view of the port
4
Bab Marrakech
The gate toward Marrakesh
5
Bab Doukkala
The northern gate, by the old Jewish quarter
6
The Mellah
The Jewish quarter and its synagogues
7
Jewish Cemetery
The grave of Rabbi Haim Pinto
8
Notre-Dame de l’Assomption
The small Catholic church of the new town
9
Essaouira Beach
A wide windy bay for kitesurfing and camels
10
Mogador Island
The island that gave the town its old name; seen, not visited

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Essaouira →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Essaouira:

Free walking tours in Essaouira

Mogador on the ramparts

Bab Marrakech · The gate on the road to Marrakesh, through which the caravans came to the port with goods from the interior and from beyond the Sahara — ostrich feathers, gum, ivory and almonds — for ships to Europe.
Souk Jdid · The medina is laid out on a grid, rare in Morocco, because it was planned by a European engineer, Théodore Cornut. At its centre the market sells fish, spices and argan oil, pressed from a tree that grows only in this corner of Morocco.
Woodworkers’ street · In the vaults under the ramparts craftsmen carve and inlay thuya, a fragrant wood from the roots of a local cypress, into boxes and tables. The smell of the wood fills the street.
Skala de la Ville · A long sea bastion lined with bronze cannon cast in Europe, where the waves break against the rocks below. Orson Welles filmed Othello here around 1950, and the ramparts played the slave city of Astapor in Game of Thrones.
Place Moulay Hassan · The open square between the medina and the sea, with cafés where the town sits in the afternoon. Every June it fills for the Gnaoua festival, the music of the descendants of West African slaves, with its iron castanets and trance rhythms.
Skala du Port · The harbour bastion with the most famous view in town: the blue fishing boats below, the gulls, the ramparts and the island of Mogador out in the bay.

The Jews of Mogador

Jewish merchants were at the heart of Mogador from its founding: the sultan invited them to run the trade of his new port, and in the nineteenth century Jews made up around half the town. Most left for Israel, France and Canada in the 1950s and 1960s. One hour; much is still being restored.

Skala de la Ville · The rich Jewish families who traded for the sultan, the tujjar al-sultan, lived in the Kasbah near the sea, in large houses with their own synagogues. The best known, Slat Lkahal, has been restored, and nearby Bayt Dakira, the House of Memory, opened in 2020 as a centre for the shared history of Jews and Muslims.
The Mellah · The poorer Jews lived in the Mellah, the walled Jewish quarter at the north of the medina, crowded and close to the sea. Its houses still carry the marks of mezuzahs on their doorframes, and the synagogue of Rabbi Haim Pinto stands in it.
Bab Doukkala · The gate beside the Mellah. Outside it lie the old cemeteries — Jewish, Christian and Muslim — side by side, the history of the mixed port town in stone.
Jewish Cemetery · Here lies Rabbi Haim Pinto, a revered tzaddik who died in 1845. Every year on the anniversary of his death thousands of Jews of Moroccan origin come from Israel, France and America for the hillula, with prayer, candles and festive meals.
Notre-Dame de l’Assomption · A small Catholic church of the French period, a reminder that European consuls and merchants also lived in Mogador, which was once one of the most international ports of North Africa.
Place Moulay Hassan · André Azoulay, a Jewish son of Essaouira, became an adviser to the kings of Morocco and has led the restoration of the town’s Jewish heritage and its festivals, a rare story of a Jewish community remembered in an Arab country.

The bay, the island and the dunes

South of the ramparts a wide bay curves toward the island of Mogador and the dunes of Diabat. Half a day on foot, by camel or on horseback; the wind is strongest in the afternoon.

The Port · Every morning the blue boats unload sardines and fish onto the quay, and at simple stalls beside the port you choose your fish and it is grilled in front of you.
Essaouira Beach · A wide bay where the trade wind blows steadily most of the year — Essaouira calls itself the wind city of Africa — making it one of the best places in Morocco for windsurfing and kitesurfing.
Mogador Island · The island that gave the town its European name. Phoenicians traded here, and around the time of Christ the Berber king Juba II made purple dye from its sea snails, prized in Rome. Today it is a reserve for Eleonora’s falcons and cannot be visited.
Diabat · A Berber village behind the dunes, near the ruins of an old fort half buried in the sand. A legend says Jimi Hendrix wrote Castles Made of Sand about the fort when he visited in 1969; the song had in fact come out two years before.
Sidi Kaouki · A long wild beach south of Essaouira with a white saint’s tomb on the shore and steady surf, reached through the argan forest, where goats famously climb the trees to eat the fruit.
Skala du Port · Back at the harbour bastion at sunset, the gulls wheel over the boats and the light turns the ramparts gold.

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Getting to Essaouira and getting around

Essaouira-Mogador Airport · Few flights; Marrakesh is two and a half hours by road
Bus station · Buses to Marrakesh and Agadir, by the medina gate

Cheap eats in Essaouira

Essaouira eats from the sea: sardines and fish grilled on the quay, fish tagine with olives and preserved lemon, and bowls of harira soup. Then amlou, a spread of argan oil, almonds and honey on warm bread, and mint tea poured from high. The port stalls are the cheapest meal in town.

The Port · Grilled fish on the quay
Souk Jdid · Amlou, argan oil and spices
Place Moulay Hassan · Mint tea on the square
Sidi Kaouki · Tagine by the surf beach

Museums in Essaouira

Essaouira’s history is written in its walls, its gates and its Jewish quarter.

Skala de la Ville · The ramparts and Bayt Dakira nearby
The Mellah · The Jewish quarter
Woodworkers’ street · Thuya craftsmen at work

Nature and day trips near Essaouira

Wind, dunes, an island of falcons and the argan forest, the only one of its kind in the world.

Mogador Island · Eleonora’s falcons
Diabat · Dunes and the sand-buried fort
Sidi Kaouki · Surf and the argan forest
Essaouira Beach · Kitesurfing in the wind

Things to do in Essaouira with kids

With children: camel and horse rides on the beach, cannons on the ramparts and the boats of the port.

Essaouira Beach · Camel rides
Skala de la Ville · The cannons
The Port · Boats and gulls

Holy places in Essaouira

A port of three faiths: synagogues, mosques and a church, with their cemeteries side by side.

Jewish Cemetery · The hillula of Rabbi Haim Pinto
The Mellah · The synagogues
Notre-Dame de l’Assomption · The Catholic church

Nightlife in Essaouira

Essaouira’s nights are music: Gnaoua rhythms in small bars, rooftop terraces over the medina, and the festival every June.

Place Moulay Hassan · The Gnaoua festival
Skala du Port · Sunset on the ramparts
Souk Jdid · Rooftop terraces

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Frequently asked questions about Essaouira

What is there to see in Essaouira?

The top sights in Essaouira are Place Moulay Hassan, Skala de la Ville and Skala du Port. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Essaouira?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Essaouira without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Essaouira?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Essaouira, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Mogador on the ramparts.

How do you get to Essaouira and get around?

The main ways are Essaouira-Mogador Airport and Bus station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Essaouira, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Essaouira that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

Looking for a hotel in Essaouira for your dates?

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