Essaouira -- The Blue Wind City

The social and commercial heart of the medina. This broad square connects the port, the souks, and the ramparts. Lined with cafe terraces and flanked by the clock tower, it transforms after dark into an open-air gathering space where musicians, food vendors, and strolling locals create an effortless evening spectacle.

The fortified sea bastion guarding the harbour entrance bristles with 18th-century Portuguese bronze cannons aimed at the Atlantic. The elevated walkway offers unobstructed ocean views and a front-row seat to incoming fishing boats. Film fans will recognise the location from Game of Thrones (Astapor scenes).

The longer city-side fortification stretches along the northern medina wall, its cannon-studded battlements offering panoramic views of the ocean, offshore Mogador Island, and the medina rooftops. At sunset the warm light on the golden stone is extraordinary -- the single best sunset spot in the city.

Essaouira's working port is the town's pulsing artery. Blue wooden trawlers unload sardines, sea bream, and shellfish each morning while seagulls wheel overhead. Inside the port gates, open-air grill stalls serve the freshest seafood in Morocco -- choose your fish, negotiate a price, and watch it sizzle over charcoal.

A vast underground water-storage chamber dating from Portuguese-era Mogador, occasionally used as an atmospheric art exhibition space. The arched stone ceiling and reflecting water create a haunting, cathedral-like space featured in the film Othello by Orson Welles.

A vast crescent of golden sand stretching south from the medina walls, battered by the constant alizee trade winds that make it a pilgrimage for windsurfers and kitesurfers. Camel rides, horse rides, and football games animate the shoreline. The wind makes it less suited for sunbathing but perfect for walks and action sports.

A quieter, more bohemian alternative to the main beach. Sidi Kaouki is a laid-back surfing village with consistent waves, beachfront cafes, yoga retreats, and a fraction of the crowds. Accommodation ranges from simple guesthouses to boutique eco-lodges overlooking the break.

Morocco's premier kitesurfing beach with wide-open space, consistent thermal winds, and a dedicated kite community. The beach is vast and uncrowded with reliable wind conditions from April through September. Several kite schools offer lessons for all levels.

Gnawa music, rooted in sub-Saharan African spiritual traditions and recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, is Essaouira's defining soundtrack. The Zaouia of Sidi Bilal hosts trance rituals, while the Gnaoua World Music Festival (June) draws hundreds of thousands. Musicians play in the streets and riads year-round.

Essaouira is the centre of thuya-wood marquetry, a craft producing exquisite boxes, chess sets, and furniture inlaid with lemonwood, mother-of-pearl, and silver. Watch master artisans at their lathes along Rue Skala and purchase directly -- significantly cheaper than Marrakech souks.