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

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For a little over thirty years in the early 16th century Safi was a Portuguese stronghold, and the sea fortress, the town walls and a cathedral date from those years. A Jewish family exiled from Spain played its part: Rabbi Abraham ben Zmirro helped the Portuguese take hold of the town, and his family's graves are still a place of pilgrimage. This walk goes from the fortress on the water through the medina to the rabbis' plot, and ends with a drive south to a Moroccan fortress built after the Portuguese left. About two hours on foot plus a 35 km drive each way.

A short history of Safi

Safi was already a port on the Atlantic coast in the Middle Ages, and in 1488 it became a Portuguese protectorate. The Portuguese held it directly from 1508 and built the sea fortress, the Ksar el-Bahr, and the cathedral, until they left in 1541. Since the 20th century it has been a centre for sardine fishing and the phosphate industry, and it is considered the ceramics capital of Morocco, with the Potters' Hill, where workshops and kilns are in operation.

The ten best sights in Safi

1
Château de Mer (Ksar el Bahr)
The Portuguese sea fortress; part of it collapsed in 2025, so check what is open and keep to the safe side
2
Portuguese Cathedral
A vaulted chapel reached by a passage near the Great Mosque; easy to miss, ask in the souk
3
Great Mosque
Closed to non-Muslims, as in most of Morocco; the cathedral ruin is right across the lane
4
Ouled Ben Zmirro shrine
The walled burial plot of the Ben Zmirro rabbis by the medina; busiest at the mid-August hillula, otherwise ask in the medina about the guardian
5
Bab Chaaba
The gate between the medina and the potters' hill; the stream through it flooded the quarter in December 2025
6
Kasbah Hamidouch
Ruins of Moulay Ismail's fortress at the Tensift mouth, 35 km south; no facilities, bring water
7
Colline des Potiers
Kilns and workshops you can walk into; tip the potter or buy a bowl if you stay to watch
8
Safi port
Come in the morning, when the sardine boats unload
9
Plage de Safi
The town beach north of the port; fine for a walk; the Atlantic is rough here, swim only on calm days
10
Sidi Bouzid
The cliff-top shrine above town: the best view of Safi, its harbour and the coast

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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 Safi:

Free walking tours in Safi

Portuguese walls, a rabbi's grave

Château de Mer (Ksar el Bahr) · The Portuguese built the sea fortress between 1508 and 1523, in the late-Gothic Manueline style of King Manuel I, to guard the harbour. Ocean waves have undermined it for centuries, and on 3 April 2025 part of it collapsed.
Portuguese Cathedral · It was the first cathedral Portugal built outside its own land. After the Portuguese left, the naves were pulled down and covered with houses, and the altar area was turned into a women's bathhouse — which is why only a chapel and the choir survive.
Souk of the medina · Rue du Souk is the spine of the old town, a long narrow street of shops climbing from the sea to Bab Chaaba. Along it, buildings of Muslim, Jewish and Christian origin stand side by side.
Ouled Ben Zmirro shrine · Abraham ben Zmirro, a rabbi and poet born in Spain, became rabbi of Safi after the expulsion of 1492, and in 1508 helped the Portuguese establish their rule here. By tradition seven rabbis of his family lie in this plot, and pilgrims come for the hillula in mid-August.
Safi port · In 1541 King John III of Portugal gave up his fortified towns on this coast, and Safi was abandoned to the Saadian sultans. The harbour the Portuguese fought for is now one of Morocco's busiest fishing and industrial ports.
Kasbah Hamidouch · The great fortress at the mouth of the Tensift goes back to Sultan Moulay Ismail, who ruled from 1672 to 1727. Its outer walls run about 150 metres on each side and enclose a second wall, a ditch and the remains of a mosque.

Clay and sardines

Safi lives from two things: clay from its hills and sardines from its sea. The potters' quarter just outside the medina fills Morocco's kitchens with tagines and its mosques with green roof tiles, and the harbour below has long been the country's main sardine port. This walk starts at the gate between the two, climbs among the kilns, goes down to the boats and ends on the cliff with the whole town below. About three hours; go in the morning, when the potters and the fishermen are both at work.

Bab Chaaba · A stream crosses the quarter around the gate, and over the centuries floodwater has broken into the medina through Bab Chaaba again and again. In December 2025 a flash flood through Bab Chaaba killed at least 37 people, many of them traders and workers.
Colline des Potiers · In the early 20th century the master potter Boujemâa Lamali founded a pottery school in Safi and helped make the town's ceramics known well beyond Morocco. Before the pandemic the city had some 2,000 registered artisans in 212 workshops.
Potters' market · Most of the green glazed tiles on mosque roofs across Morocco come from Safi's kilns. Look for them stacked by the workshops before they are shipped out.
Safi port · Safi is the main port of Morocco's sardine industry. In 1968 the town had 38 canneries, which canned nearly 33,000 tonnes of sardines that year.
Plage de Safi · On 8 November 1942 American troops landed at Safi in Operation Blackstone, part of the Allied invasion of North Africa. The French garrison surrendered that afternoon, and the town and port were in American hands eleven hours after the landing.
Sidi Bouzid · The shrine of Sidi Bouzid stands on the cliffs about 120 metres above the sea. From here the medina, the harbour and the long line of coastal cliffs are all in one view.

North to the oysters

North of Safi the coast road runs along cliffs and empty coves to Oualidia, a village on a sheltered lagoon. Ancient writers knew this shore: the Carthaginian admiral Hanno is said to have sailed past it, and the headland of Beddouza is thought to be the cape where he built a temple. A day by car, about 65 km each way: a beach under the cliffs, the cape, the sea caves, and lunch of oysters straight from the lagoon. In July and August Oualidia fills with Moroccan families; out of season it is quiet.

Lalla Fatna beach · Lalla Fatna is probably Safi's best-known beach: the high cliffs around it break the wind, which makes it a favourite of the town's surfers.
Cap Beddouza · Cap Beddouza, once called Cape Cantin, is usually identified with Soloeis of the ancient voyage of Hanno, where the Carthaginians are said to have built a temple to Poseidon.
Grottes de Oualidia · There are six sea caves in the cliffs here. The most visited, the Grotte des Portugais, is reached by a narrow tunnel from the plateau above, and local legend says Hanno himself camped in one of them.
Oualidia · The village is named after the Saadian sultan al-Walid, who ruled from 1631 to 1636 and built a kasbah here to guard the harbour. Only a few ruins of it are left.
Oualidia lagoon · A row of small rocky islands closes the lagoon off from the ocean, so its 3 km of beach have calm water while waves break outside. Before Morocco took back El Jadida from the Portuguese, the lagoon served as a harbour.
Ostréa II · Morocco's first oyster farm opened in the Oualidia lagoon in 1957. The farms now produce about 200 tonnes a year, most of it eaten in Morocco itself.

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Getting to Safi and getting around

Gare Routière de Safi · CTM and private buses to Marrakech, El Jadida and Essaouira; a petit taxi to the medina
Gare de Safi · Few trains a day; most journeys change at Benguerir for Marrakech or Casablanca

Cheap eats in Safi

Safi eats sardines: grilled, fried, rolled into spicy balls in tomato sauce, or stuffed with chermoula, the herb and cumin paste of the Moroccan coast. The cafés of the new town serve coffee and mint tea all day, and the bakeries sell msemen in the morning. It is a working town, not a resort, and prices are well below Marrakech.

Café des Remparts · Mint tea and coffee by the medina walls, about 8-15 dirhams
Café Le Jardin · Coffee and a pastry near Bab Chaaba before the potters' hill, about 10-20 dirhams
Boulangerie Oukaimden · Bread, msemen and sweets for the road, a few dirhams each
TACO · Moroccan-style tacos and sandwiches in the new town, about 25-45 dirhams
Café Le Phénicien · Coffee near the port, about 10-15 dirhams
Café Colibris · Juice and coffee on Place Idriss II, about 10-20 dirhams

Museums in Safi

Portuguese Cathedral · The Manueline chapel and choir of an unfinished cathedral
Ouled Ben Zmirro shrine · Graves of the Ben Zmirro rabbis; hillula in mid-August
Château de Mer (Ksar el Bahr) · Portuguese fortress on the rocks; partly collapsed in 2025
Bab Chaaba · Medina gate onto the potters' quarter
Kasbah Hamidouch · Moulay Ismail's ruined fortress on the Tensift, 35 km south

Nature and day trips near Safi

Sidi Bouzid · Cliff-top view over the town at sunset
Lalla Fatna beach · Cove under high cliffs; surf, strong waves
Plage Lamaachate · Quieter beach just north of Lalla Fatna
Cap Beddouza · Headland and small village on the coast road
Oualidia lagoon · Calm water, birds on the mudflats at low tide

Things to do in Safi with kids

Colline des Potiers · Watch a bowl take shape on the wheel
Safi port · Count the sardine boats coming in
Plage de Safi · Sand to run on; paddle only, the waves are strong
Oualidia lagoon · The calm-water beach for small children
Grottes de Oualidia · Sea caves with a torch, at low tide only

Where to eat in Safi

Calypso Medina · Fish and seafood on the corniche below the medina
Mouchoirs fish · Simple fish plates by the port
Restaurant Maistro · Sit-down dinner in the new town
Ostréa II · Oysters from the lagoon at the farm itself
L'Araignée Gourmande · Seafood on the Oualidia beach road
Beddouza Auberge Restaurant · Fish lunch at the cape on the way north

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Frequently asked questions about Safi

What is there to see in Safi?

The top sights in Safi are Château de Mer (Ksar el Bahr), Portuguese Cathedral and Great Mosque. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Safi?

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

Is there a free walking tour in Safi?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Safi, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Portuguese walls, a rabbi's grave.

How do you get to Safi and get around?

The main ways are Gare Routière de Safi and Gare de Safi. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Safi, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Safi 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.

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