Neighborhood
New town
Essaouira’s new town spreads outside the walls, from the bus station to the beach, 10 to 25 minutes’ walk from the ramparts. It has three separate coach stops: CTM on place du 11 Janvier, Supratours by Bab Marrakech and the bus station to the north-east. The banks line avenue El Aqaba, and flats rent by the month.
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This page covers the town outside the walls: coach stops, banks, healthcare and walking times. Our map of Essaouira’s neighbourhoods places it between the ramparts and the bay. The municipality of Essaouira had 82,962 inhabitants at the 2024 census, 868 of them foreign nationals, according to the High Commission for Planning. Our view: visitors walk through it without a second look, yet it is the district that does the most for them.
What lies beyond the gates
The new town has no clear edge. It starts outside Bab Doukkala and Bab Marrakech and runs south to boulevard Mohammed V, which follows the beach. Its spine is avenue El Aqaba: 2.5 km and 34 minutes on foot from the bus station to its southern end, by our route calculation.
Three coach stops sit here. The bus station, which OpenStreetMap places in the north-east, is 725 m and 10 minutes’ walk from Bab Doukkala. Supratours drops its passengers 3 minutes from Bab Marrakech. CTM stops on place du 11 Janvier, in the Azlif estate, 20 minutes’ walk from the same gate. Our guide to getting to Essaouira gives times and fares.
The banks line avenue El Aqaba: OpenStreetMap maps five branches along roughly 600 m. BMCI, on boulevard de la Corniche, opens 8:15 to 16:00 Monday to Friday, also opens on Saturdays and has a currency exchange counter (the bank’s website, read on 16 October 2026). Our page on cash and cash machines explains how to withdraw and change money.
The public Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah hospital is 9 minutes’ walk from Bab Marrakech, by our calculation. The Clinique Internationale de Mogador, on avenue Mohamed V, takes patients round the clock, seven days a week, on 05 24 47 80 80. Our health and safety page gives the hospital’s number and the works announced there. Our advice: save the clinic’s number the day you arrive.
On foot: the medina one way, the beach the other
The whole district is walkable. By our route calculation, Bab Marrakech is 10 minutes from avenue Princesse Lalla Amina and 25 minutes from rue Kenitra, in the south. The beach is closer: boulevard Mohammed V is 6 minutes from the banks on avenue El Aqaba and 9 minutes from both the CTM stop and rue Kenitra. In the north, around the bus station, the sand is 22 minutes away.
With luggage, take a petit taxi. From Bab Doukkala to the CTM stop, our calculation gives 2.2 km and 3 minutes by road, against 26 minutes on foot. Our advice for a long stay: look south of avenue Princesse Lalla Amina. You will be ten minutes from the water and 25 at most from the medina.
Sleeping, eating and what to avoid
For a month or a wind season, we recommend a flat here rather than a riad. Our apartments by the week and the month sort the addresses. We give no rent figures: we found no published survey of rents for the district. For a hotel, see our page on Essaouira bay instead: on boulevard Mohammed V, pick one by your kite school.
The district cooks for the people who live in it. At Café Cleopatra, on avenue Princesse Lalla Amina, the Moroccan breakfast costs 65 MAD (menu read on 16 October 2026). Our Essaouira restaurant guide compares this district with the port and the medina.
Three things to avoid. Mixing up the stops: according to their booking engines, neither CTM nor Supratours leaves from the bus station. Dragging a suitcase for twenty minutes from the CTM stop to the walls, when a taxi does it in three. Counting on a bank counter on a Sunday: BMCI lists no Sunday opening. Our view: come on a weekday, during banking hours.
See on the map
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Frequently asked questions
Where is the bus station in Essaouira?
Outside the walls, in the north-east, 725 m and 10 minutes’ walk from Bab Doukkala by our route calculation. CTM and Supratours do not leave from it: CTM stops on place du 11 Janvier, Supratours 3 minutes from Bab Marrakech.
How long does it take to walk from the new town to the medina in Essaouira?
Between 10 and 25 minutes to Bab Marrakech, depending on the street: 10 from avenue Princesse Lalla Amina, 25 from rue Kenitra, by our calculation. From the CTM stop allow 20 minutes, or take a petit taxi if you are carrying luggage.
Where can I find a bank in Essaouira outside the medina?
On avenue El Aqaba, where OpenStreetMap places five branches along roughly 600 m. The BMCI branch on boulevard de la Corniche opens 8:15 to 16:00 on weekdays, also opens on Saturdays and changes foreign currency.
Where should I stay in Essaouira for a month or longer?
In a flat in the new town: that is our advice for a month or a wind season. South of avenue Princesse Lalla Amina, the beach is ten minutes’ walk away and Bab Marrakech 25 at most, by our calculation.
Where is the hospital in Essaouira?
The public Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah hospital is in the new town, 9 minutes’ walk from Bab Marrakech by our calculation, on 05 24 47 27 16 (France Diplomatie). The Clinique Internationale de Mogador, on avenue Mohamed V, takes patients round the clock on 05 24 47 80 80.