Why does Essaouira look European?

The Atlantic-facing ramparts of Essaouira's fortified medina at sunset

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Essaouira Walls

Hours

Always open

Entry

Free

Duration

30 minutes

Location

Seafront

Portuguese walls redesigned by a French engineer for a Moroccan sultan. The cannons still point to sea, stamped with the names of European foundries that supplied both sides.

The Walls Mogador Built

Sultan Mohammed III commissioned the French engineer Théodore Cornut to design Essaouira's fortifications in 1760. Cornut used European military engineering — straight walls, bastions, embrasures for cannon — which gives Essaouira its distinctive non-Moroccan feel. The town was built to a grid plan inside these walls, the only city in Morocco designed by a European.

The Fortifications

The walls run along the Atlantic front with cannon emplacements facing the sea and the Îles Purpuraires offshore. The stone is local — the same golden calcarenite that gives Essaouira its warm colour. The ramparts connect to the Skala de la Ville (the main battery) and the Skala du Port.

Visiting

Walk the ramparts from the Skala de la Ville. The cannon are still in place, aimed at the Atlantic. Sunset from the walls is Essaouira's best free show.

Best Time to Visit

Sunset. The walls face west over the Atlantic.

Getting There

The walls surround the medina. Access the ramparts from the Skala de la Ville in the northwest.

Local Tip

Walk the full circuit for different views

Common Questions

It was designed by a French military engineer in 1760 — the only Moroccan city built to a European grid plan. The fortifications are explicitly European in style.

Walking Distance