Essaouira is generally acclaimed as one of the most enchanting spots along Morocco's Atlantic coast.

It enjoys this status because of a unique combination of factors: its sunny and temperate climate which hardly varies from one month to the next, the generosity and warmth offered by its inhabitants, its inheritance of treasures both architectural and cultural and, most crucially, the liberal and tolerant atmosphere which so strongly characterises the mood of its streets, where fishermen, locals, tourists both Moroccan and European, merchants, craftsmen, musicians, and artists of all kinds come to share their work, perspectives and friendship.

Its architecture is both harmonious and yet varied, displaying at different times its French, Portugese, and Berber heritages. In 2001 UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site, describing it as ‘an outstanding and well preserved example of a late 18th century European fortified seaport town translated to a North African context’.