Day trips from Oualidia: El Jadida, Safi and the coast road

Oualidia sits halfway between two towns steeped in history, each about an hour’s drive away: El Jadida to the north and Safi to the south. Two easy day trips for a day away from the lagoon, with the pleasure of coming back to the quiet in the evening.

El Jadida and its Portuguese city

In the 16th century the Portuguese built the fortress of Mazagan here. Its ramparts, bastions and narrow streets now form the Portuguese city, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004. You can walk around the ramparts, with the ocean on one side and the town on the other.

The highlight is the Portuguese cistern: a vaulted hall held up by columns, covered with a thin layer of water that reflects the light falling through an opening in the ceiling. First an armoury, it was turned into a cistern in the 16th century.

To end the day, the long Sidi Bouzid beach south of town and a grilled fish facing the ocean.

Safi, the potters’ town

Safi is Morocco’s ceramics capital. On the potters’ hill, one workshop follows another: you can watch pieces being thrown, painted and fired, and leave with a hand-painted dish or bowl.

By the water stands the Ksar el Bahr, a 16th-century Portuguese fortress pounded by the waves, best seen from the seafront. Higher up are the medina and its walls, and the national ceramics museum, which tells the story of the town’s pottery.

The coast road in between

Between Oualidia and Safi, the road runs past cliffs, salt marshes and wild beaches: Cap Beddouza and its lighthouse, Lalla Fatna below its ochre cliffs. Stop on the way there or back: they are in our beach guide.