Essaouira

Perched on the Atlantic coast, Essaouira charms with its bohemian, laid-back atmosphere. Its fortified medina, listed by UNESCO, lines up white-and-blue alleys, artisan workshops and art galleries that feel a world away from the intensity of Marrakech. The working fishing port, the brass cannons of the Skala and the wind-battered ramparts compose a striking film-set of a town — Orson Welles shot scenes of his Othello here, Game of Thrones filmed its Astapor sequences along the walls, and a generation of musicians from Jimi Hendrix to the Rolling Stones famously hung out in the 1960s and 1970s. Known for its steady trade winds, Essaouira is a recognised surf and kitesurf spot — and the cool escape of choice when inland Morocco hits 40°C.

The city makes the perfect counterpoint to Marrakech: where the Red City overwhelms, Essaouira soothes. Two and a half hours by coach from Marrakech, it offers a smaller, more navigable medina, a near-absence of touts, a genuinely talented restaurant scene built around the day's catch, and a year-round Atlantic climate that rarely strays from 18-23°C. Two to three nights is the sweet spot for Essaouira: enough for slow medina walks, a sunset on the ramparts, fresh grilled sardines at the port and a surf or kitesurf lesson on the long southern beach.

The creative scene is another defining feature of Essaouira. Thuya marquetry workshops — using the scented golden wood from the surrounding forests — line the medina alleys, contemporary art galleries cluster around Moulay Hassan square, and the annual Gnaoua and World Music Festival in late June turns the town into an open-air stage of Sufi traditions meeting jazz and blues. Essaouira is one of the rare Moroccan stops where you can genuinely slow down for several days without feeling restless, and an ideal complement to the intensity of Marrakech for couples and creative travellers.