Sunset in Essaouira

I've heard a lot of things about Essaouira before going there: the white city - because of the white wall surrounding it, the windy city - well, because of the strong winds... I've heard about the blue fishing boats & the seagulls... But I've heard nothing about its sunsets...

Although, in my opinion, it's something the city should be known for...

Don't you think? :)

To watch the sun disappear into the Atlantic ocean & the sky become bright red, while listening to the crushing waves, is a unique picture every night...

I do love sunsets & I do love being by the sea, so for me sunset hours in a seaside place are like the best thing in the world.

Where to watch the sunset in Essaouira :

But where to go in Essaouira to enjoy the sunset show, preferably with a drink in your hand?

I'm afraid that for that, I have to suggest some of the touristy places I usually try to avoid... But sometimes it worth it to make an exception to the rule ;)

• Beach & friends: directly on the beach, just next to Explora surf school, a beautiful restaurant & bar where you can relax on the comfy sofas & sunbathing on the deck-chairs, sheltered from the wind, while enjoying the view.

But it's at sunset that the place really worth it. Facing the sea & Mogador island, you'll have the most wonderful view in front of you

while drinking a beer & savor some nibbles

^local beer Casablanca was really tasty. Cheers! :)

^not the most local food ;p but sitting there after our last surf session of the day, was a real pleasure!

Camels were enjoying sunset with us ;)

• Taros: on the main square, the several terraces of Taros offer a fabulous view over the harbor, the ocean & the old city's roofs. 

Bands play live music every night & there's a relaxed & young atmosphere.

As well as a lot of people, especially at sunset,  so you may want to arrive early to have a table & be ready to share half of your table with other guests.

Grab a beer, some olives

Admire Moulay Hassan square & the giant fresco from Italian artist Giacomo Bufarini aka RUN.

He painted the biggest fresco of North Africa - 5.000 sqm - in February in occasion of the Marrakech Biennale.

It represents 2 human beings - not women nor men - standing on the opposite sides of a river, talking to each other to symbolize communication among people.

Have a look at the medina & the port from above

While waiting for the sky to turn red

& the show to begin

So what do you think about sunset in Essaouira? ;D

Essaouira : where to eat, where to sleep

I could happily live like this: waking up in the morning in a nicely decorated, bright room

walk down the stairs of a beautiful palace to the dining room, where a yummy breaky is waiting for me

have a walk along the beach

wear my wetsuit, grab my surf board & dive into the waves,

eat, surf again, eat, sleep, repeat...

All that with my love, of course <3

I already enough talk about surfing in Essaouira, it's time now to tell you about the cool, little places we discovered :)

Where to sleep in Essaouira:

We stayed at Palazzo Desdemona, a charming palace just at the entrance of the old city.

The location was more than perfect as we were in the old city, but really close to the main entrance door so that we could get very quickly to the beach.

Palazzo Desdemona is an old palace from the XVIII century that has been turned into a hotel. Artists like Orson Welles & Rita Hayworth used to stay there.

It's not the most luxurious riad you can find in Essaouira, but it's a beautiful place full of charme & history, that is much better in my opinion :)

There are a lot of sitting rooms, a nice tea room on the ground floor and rooftop from where you have a nice view of the medina & the clock tower.

Now that we solved the sleeping part, let's move on to the important things: the food :)

Essaouira is a very touristic place and so is also full of "fancy" restaurants offering a European inspired kitchen.

In search of something more authentic, we asked for suggestion to the hotel staff. 
When the guys from the surf school suggested the same places, we knew we picked the right ones!

Where to have dinner in Essaouira:

If, like me, you prefer authentic places & local food, I have two gems for you :

• Laayoune : is a tiny restaurants & it's always full. You may want to arrive early to have a table or prepare to queue (it totally worth it!). 

We went there on our first night in Essaouira & we came back the last night as the food was delicious, the owner was super gentle & there was a nice atmosphere.  

As you seat, you're greeted with bread and some dippings, that the owner kindly refills while you wait for the main dish. 

You can chose among all the Moroccan specialities: couscous, tajines... 

May I suggest the royal couscous? Everything was delicious, but the couscous royal... Have a look at it for yourself

All washed down by mint tea (they don't serve alcohol anyway)

^ See how I master the art of serving mint tea ;))

If I really have to find a less positive thing, desserts weren't as good as all the rest

But don't worry, you know me, I have a solution: just go to the nearest bakery shop (there's one just around the corner that's open until late) & grab a couple of Moroccan pastries. 

Then you can quietly enjoy them in one of the sitting rooms of your riad

We could only eat couscous & pastries cause we were surfing 5 to 6 hours a day - just warning you ;p

• Ramsess : it's a family restaurant that serves good local food (& wine!). They also play live music. 

Nice atmosphere & food was very good. 

But, maybe we haven't been lucky: the service was way too long & the owners weren't that kind. As several persons suggested the place, I think that we were there on a bad night ;)

In addition to all the Moroccan specialties like couscous & tajines, fish is obviously super good in Essaouira. 

You can also try a mix: the fish couscous, it's different & very tasty. I already ate it a couple of years ago in Trapani, Sicily, where is one of the local dishes & I had it again in Essaouira.

Where to have lunch in Essaouira:

The reason I'm suggesting the following places for lunch is just that they seem to me more easy going & good for a quicker meal, but of course you can go there at night as well ;)

• Café Restaurant Ch'rif : this place is behind the beach in the new town. Honestly, seeing the place from the outside, I would have never stopped there. But one day we asked to the guy of the surf place where we could go for lunch not too far & he suggested this place. Let me tell you, I'm so glad we listened to him!

To find it, if you walking along the beach, going from the end of the beach to the medina, just turn right on the little street before the oil station.
If you're walking from the medina to the beach, you'll turn left on first little the street after the oil station.

Either way, the restaurant will be on your left 200-300 m after the beginning of the street. It's just near a kitesurf school.

Don't expect anything fancy inside, but super tasty, incredibly inexpensive (at least from a European point of view) local food  & local people.

We shared a mixed fruit & an avocado smoothie that were to die for (especially the avocado one!!) & had one of the best tajine we ever had!

I really can't recommend this place enough!!! 

• Fishing port restaurants : I already mention in one of my previous post, the restaurants on the fishing harbor. Just at the entrance of the harbor, there are several restaurants lined up, all serving grilled local fish. 

You can see outside the different kind of fishes they have. They're very simple places, but we found really relaxing sitting there in the sun. Plus, the fish we had was super good, very fresh & perfectly cooked. It came with mixed salad. Price was very reasonable as well. ;)

All the restaurants offer the same kind of food at more or less the same price (price is mentioned outside, if not you may want to check it before), so I cannot really recommend a particular one. We just picked one that was in the sun, feeling bad for the one before it & the one after it because we didn't sit there...

I still have a couple of nice places to tell you about, more to have a drink & watch the beautiful Essaouira sunset. I'll tell you about that in the next post ;)

Have you been to Essaouira? Do you know other good places there?

xx