Essaouira was built to a plan, which is rare for a Moroccan town, and the plan was drawn up by a European. In 1764, Sultan Mohammed III decided to create a new port on the Atlantic coast, to trade with Europe and to draw commerce away from the rebellious port of Agadir, and he hired a French architect, Theodore Cornut, who laid out the walls, the straight streets and the great sea bastions. The town was called Mogador, and it quickly became one of the major ports of the country, with merchants from Britain, France, Spain and the Jewish community in the mellah.
The walled medina is now a UNESCO site, and it is a delight to walk, with its blue shutters and white walls, its workshops for woodwork in thuya, a fragrant local wood, and its fish market by the harbour. On the ramparts, the old bronze and iron cannons still point out to sea, and the bastion of the Skala offers a view across the water to the islets. The harbour is full of blue fishing boats and screaming gulls, and fresh sardines and crabs are grilled on the spot. Orson Welles filmed scenes of Othello here, and it is a legend that Jimi Hendrix visited in 1969, though the story is told more than it is proven. A Gnaoua music festival fills the town each June.
For a rider, Essaouira is the culmination of the coast road from Agadir, a day out of about three hundred and forty kilometres return, with the ocean on one side and the argan forest on the other. The medina is closed to cars, so you park outside the walls and walk in. Wind is constant, and a jacket is welcome even in summer. Traffic is light, and the main hazards are trucks and livestock.
Fuel is available in town, and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants, from simple fish grills to more elaborate places. Try the fresh grilled fish near the harbour, bargain for goods in the souk and watch the sunset from the ramparts. The place is relaxed, and you will want more time than you planned.