Best of Essaouira

Essaouira has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, with Andalusian- and Portuguese-influenced blue and white painted houses, surfing, and art all contributing to the popularity of the white city on the Atlantic. Though the city was built in the mid-1700s, it became a favorite of the hippie movement in 1967, drawing dropouts, artists, and tourists to its shore; the spirit lives on when the bohemian crowd flocks to the city every summer for the Gnaoua and World Music Festival. The wide, bright alleys of the medina are home to traditional souks, city gates, art galleries, and locally created crafts, leading to the central Mulay El-Hassan Square and its restaurants and hotels. Meanwhile, fishermen pull up to the port where fishing boats are made by hand, nets are mended and fishing lines are baited. 

In addition to the city itself, previous kimkim travelers have explored the Berber market in Had Draa, where farmers and traders, mostly men, ride donkeys and negotiate over horses, goats, fruit, ceramics, honey, and oil. Or pay a visit to the wild beach of Sidi Kaouki, with wide, clean sand and waves waiting to be windsurfed.