Last year in June we've been to Morocco for 2 weeks, half-time on holidays, half-time working, as usual 😜. We spent 1 week in Marrakesh, then 1 week in Essaouira.
In Essaouira, with Cécile, we spent some relaxing time with a new nomad rider, Guillaume. We also spent 3 days with everyone working @ Le Wagon, from all around the world, during an amazing retreat!
Enjoy our list of top places to visit / work from / eat at in these two cities!
Marrakesh
😋🥗 Gaïa
Gaïa is a delicious restaurant to eat flavorful vegan food. Nice atmosphere, relaxing. We did not work, but I'm pretty sure you can get some work done there if you need to.
😻🌴 Le Jardin Secret
A hidden gem to visit. You'll find Le Jardin Secret in the heart of the Souk, behind a tall wall. A breathtaking place, divided between two gardens: exotic and arabic.
👩💻📚 The Spot
The coworking spot of our stay in Marrakesh! The Spot is nicely organised and welcoming. And cheap as hell.
🛀💆 Les Bains de Marrakech
We spent 3 hours in Les Bains de Marrakech, felt like a neverending paradise: petals & mud bath, followed by a 1h full-body massage. Concluding with a mint tea and arabic cookies in a dim-lighted, indoors yard. Amazing.
Essaouira
🛌🏡 Our Le Wagon riad: Lalla Zina
Located in Rue d'Agadir, near one of the main street of Essaouira, we had a really pleasant stay in this riad.
The rooms were simple but nice to sleep in. We also had amazing arabic breakfasts: moroccan crepes, olives, peanut sauce freshly grinded, one of Essaouira specialty, and orange & carot freshly pressed juice.
Only downside: there was too much humidity in the bathroom, causing mold to develop near the ceiling.
😋🐟 Triskala
Triskala is the place you need to go to eat fish and locally sourced ingredients, where the menu changes every day, depending on the day's catch and produce, prepared following local and packed-with-flavors recipes.
One revealing anecdote: if you ask for tap water, they'll serve you water filtered in a homemade terra cotta jar.
👩💻🍮 L'Atelier
L'Atelier was the working spot of our stay in Essaouira! Fresh & relaxing. Amazing food and drinks as well. We spent two days there, working and eating all day long. Make sure to try out the raspberry or cherry clafoutis, and their amazing, squeezed-on-demand juices.
😋🥘 miyame
Down-to-earth restaurant, always packed with people, proving the quality of their cooking. You'll be able to enjoy a nice tajine there and some pretty good samoussas. And if you still have some room for dessert, I urge you to taste the homemade apple pie. Personally, I ordered a slice, then immediately ordered a second 😊
🌅🏰 Sunset on the bulwarks
One beautiful moment. We enjoyed some music played by a group of hippies, and saw the sun setting over the sea. Just beautiful.
Be warned though, as soon as the sunset begins, guards will start pushing people to exit the bulwarks. We actually had to play a cat & mouse game with them in order to enjoy the sunset. But it was quite fun to watch as well, because people were not really willing to move (especially the aforementioned music-playing hippies 😁)
To conclude, I'd say I enjoyed Essaouira more than Marrakesh. One of the reason was the difference in weather: really too hot for me in Marrakesh, while in Essaouira we constantly had cooling winds blowing from the sea. Another reason was more personal: I simply found Essouira more charming ☺️