A cross-bred town, once Portuguese now profoundly Moroccan, El Jadida inevitably moves the people lucky enough to visit it. From Lyautey (Governor general of French Morocco) to Orson Welles, many have fallen to its charms.
Built by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, the medina is now on the UNESCO world heritage list. Its monuments make it unique. The best way to approach the soul of El Jadida, is to walk around its ramparts or under the vaults of the former Portuguese cistern. Here stones tell their story.
El Jadida is also, and above all, a set of fine sandy beaches. They stretch out for miles, to the north and to the south. The town’s beach starts at the foot of the ramparts. Every year, it stages the horse-riding fantasias during the Moulay Abdellah Amghar moussem.
A few minutes’ drive away, by bus or car, the choice of beaches is vast. Each has its own personality. Depending on whether you like sport or sunbathing, you will have a choice between the calm lagoon of El Oualidia, the waves of Sidi Abed and Sidi Bouzid or the unspoilt dunes of Haouzia. Along the coast, the wind and the waves are ideal for surfers and windsurfers.
Perhaps you will choose El Jadida for its golf? The Royal Golf offers up its green in a magnificent forest of pine and eucalyptus along the seashore, of course. For here you are in El Jadida, the land of the trade winds.
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