What to See in Essaouira, Morocco: Free Audio Guide

Looking for things to do in Essaouira? This Atlantic city is best discovered through its historic gates, mosques, museums and Jewish heritage sites, all gathered within and around its eighteenth-century medina. Its whitewashed streets and layered history make Essaouira a rewarding place to explore on foot. Neywo has a free audio guide for Essaouira with 9 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

Essaouira is one of Morocco’s most distinctive coastal cities, also known as Mogador. Its old city brings together fortified architecture, religious buildings and museums that reflect the city’s history and cultural diversity. For more destinations across the country, see the guide to Morocco.

What to see in Essaouira

The best way to explore Essaouira is to follow the historic medina and its landmarks in sequence. These are the principal places to include in an Essaouira self-guided walking tour.

Bab Marrakech

Bab Marrakech is one of the principal entrances to Essaouira’s medina. Standing in the city’s southeast, the fortified gate dates from the eighteenth century, when it formed part of the city’s defenses. Its name means “Marrakech Gate”, and its stonework offers an immediate introduction to the historic character of the old city.

Ben Youssef Mosque

In the southeastern part of the medina, the Ben Youssef Mosque forms a link between the Kasbah and the rest of the old city. It is one of Essaouira’s most important and imposing buildings, and its position makes it a useful landmark while walking through the historic centre.

Kasbah Mosque

The Kasbah Mosque, also known as the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah Mosque, is regarded as Essaouira’s oldest mosque. Its traditional Moroccan design reflects the city’s architectural heritage. Several restoration campaigns have helped preserve the building’s character and identity within the kasbah.

Bayt Dakira

Bayt Dakira, or the “House of Memory”, is a Jewish heritage museum and cultural centre in the medina’s historic Mellah. It preserves Essaouira’s Jewish memory while presenting the city’s religious and cultural diversity.

The complex includes exhibition spaces, the Haim and Célia Zafrani Research Center, and the restored Slat Attia Synagogue, also known as the Simon Attias Synagogue. Its greeting, “Shalom Aleykoum, Salam Lekoulam”, brings Hebrew and Arabic together and reflects the site’s focus on memory, research and dialogue.

Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum

The Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum introduces the history of Essaouira, also known as Mogador. It is housed in a nineteenth-century mansion on Rue Laâlouj, where the historic setting forms part of the visit.

Its collection includes ancient pottery, coins, jewellery, carpets and other historical artefacts. The museum is named after Mohammed ben Abdallah, described as the founder of the city and the third sultan of the Alaouite dynasty, connecting the institution to Essaouira’s origins.

Sidi Ahmed Mosque

The eighteenth-century Sidi Ahmed Mosque was built by Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah. It takes its name from Sheikh Sidi Ahmed ben Mohammed, after whom the Sultan named the building. Its history connects the mosque directly with the period when Essaouira’s fortified city was taking shape.

Simon Attias Synagogue

The Simon Attias Synagogue is one of the most important reminders of Essaouira’s Jewish heritage. Built in 1882, the former synagogue is now incorporated into Bayt Dakira.

The building once included shops on the ground floor and the home of Simon Attias. The synagogue occupied the second floor, while offices for rabbinical courts were located on the third. Its prayer space rises through two floors and contains tall rounded-arch windows, a women’s section and a wooden interior carved in London. Floral carving decorates the Torah ark, columns and rounded pediment, while several memorial lamps have survived.

A little further into the Jewish quarter, the Slat Lkahal Synagogue is known as the “Synagogue of the Community” and the “Synagogue of the Poor”. Its story adds another perspective to the history of the Mellah.

Chaim Pinto Synagogue

The Chaim Pinto Synagogue brings together Jewish history, pilgrimage and the personal story of Rabbi Chaim Pinto. Although Essaouira no longer has a Jewish community, the synagogue remains active when pilgrims and Jewish tour groups visit.

It occupies the second floor of a three-storey building arranged around an inner courtyard. The same building once contained Rabbi Chaim Pinto’s home and office, making the synagogue part of his everyday life as well as a place of worship. The prayer room has two women’s sections, and its wooden Torah ark and bimah are painted light blue.

Bab Doukkala

Bab Doukkala is one of Essaouira’s most imposing gateways. Built in the eighteenth century, it forms part of the medina’s historic walls and stands in the northeastern part of the city, in the Mellah.

The gate is also known as Bab Sidi Bouzerktoun and Bab Safi. These names reflect its place in Essaouira’s history and make Bab Doukkala a fitting final landmark when exploring the old city’s fortified perimeter.

An Essaouira audio guide for exploring at your own pace

Neywo’s Gates, Mosques and Mellah: Essaouira’s Walled Medina is a 1.9-kilometre walking tour lasting 72 minutes, with 9 narrated stops. It includes Bab Marrakech, the Ben Youssef Mosque, Kasbah Mosque, Bayt Dakira, Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum, Sidi Ahmed Mosque, Simon Attias Synagogue, Chaim Pinto Synagogue and Bab Doukkala.

Download Neywo to explore Essaouira with a free audio guide that tells the story of each place as you reach it. Walk at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. The city currently has 1 walking tour and 9 narrated places, with narration available in 11 languages. If you are continuing through Morocco, you can also explore Marrakesh, Casablanca or Rabat with Neywo.