A three-hour drive from Marrakech, Essaouira is a picturesque and charming city located by the sea, on the west coast of Morocco. A city whose architecture admirably reveals the passage through its history of occupants such as the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Portuguese, who notably made it a strategic port between Africa and Europe. Essaouira is also a traditional atmosphere, a rich culture that offers visitors many places to visit imperatively.
If you go to Essaouira, you cannot miss its medina. A maze of narrow streets, each as magical as the next, whitewashed, where hundreds of small colorful craft shops, including the intense blue doors typical of this Moroccan city, await you. The buildings are preserved there and still built using ancestral methods, including the use of a local cut stone called "manjour". A place in the picturesque and authentic city with crazy charm which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 for its originality and authenticity.
Essaouira is a fortified port city dating from the 18 th century, hence its old name "Mogador" which meant "small fortress" in Phoenician. Its ramparts reflect a mixture of European and Arab-Muslim military architecture. Essaouira has indeed long been the main port linking North and Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe. The city therefore had to be very well protected.
The ramparts of Essaouira, designed by a Frenchman (Théodore Cornut, a pupil of Vauban), are notably composed of four large gates to the north, west, east and south of the city, and a large wall on which it is very pleasant to walk and admire the sunset.
Nestled in the middle of the ramparts of Essaouira, you absolutely must take a walk in the fishing port of the city. Tourism and fishing are indeed the main activities of the city of Essaouira. A bewitching place where you can admire hundreds of wooden fishing boats painted blue, which are a delight for photographers in particular. Small fishing boats built on site thanks to the unique know-how of the cabinetmakers of Essaouira.
The port of Essaouira is very lively. You will be able, according to the arrivals of the fishermen, and in particular in the morning, to buy directly the fresh fish that they bring back, mainly sardines. The port of Essaouira is indeed the third sardine port in Morocco. Not far from the port, take advantage of your walk to also visit the fish market in the souks of the city.
Essaouira does not escape the peculiarities of Moroccan cities. It also has marvelous souks where it is possible to stroll pleasantly, to shop in small craft shops, or to meet the inhabitants of the city. The souks are organized around four main places:the fish market, the spice market with all its products based on argan oil grown mainly in the Essaouira region, the flea market and the jeweler's market. . A feast for the eyes and the sense of smell!
The current city of Essaouira was founded in 1765 by the Alaouite sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah. A museum that bears his name (the only museum by the way in Essaouira), located in a 19 th building century, traces and presents all the peculiarities of the cultural and historical heritage of the city.
