Landmark · Medina
Bab Doukkala
Bab Doukkala, the medina’s north-east gate, is where grand taxis leave for Sidi Kaouki, Had Draa and Marrakech. The bus station is 725 m away, a 10-minute walk, but CTM and Supratours coaches stop elsewhere. Free to walk through: allow five to ten minutes.
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A gate to walk through, not a sight to tour
Bab Doukkala opens the medina to the north-east, on the side of the road out to the province. A public guide from 2012 ranks it first among the town’s gates for its size and design. The arch, largely dressed stone, used to mount four cannon. Walking through is free and there is no ticket desk.
Its date is an open question: no published primary source gives it, and we do not date the gate without one.
Outside the walls on this side lie the Christian and Jewish cemeteries. The oldest legible graves date from 1775. The gate is part of the listed medina walls, and our landmarks section sets out the order in which to walk the ramparts. Our view: do not make it a stop of its own. Pass through on your way to the mellah or back from the bus station, and five to ten minutes will do.
Behind the gate, a market street
Once inside, you are on one of the medina’s two main axes, the one that links the gate to the port. The 2012 guide runs it on to Bab el Menzah and calls it souk el Haddada. Today’s maps name it avenue Zerktouni. Souk Jdid, where the two axes cross, is 290 m away, a 4-minute walk. No published source says what the stalls between the gate and the market sell.
The same guide places the Mellah Jdid, the extension of the Jewish quarter built in 1846, on the Bab Doukkala side. The mellah and its synagogues lie between the gate and the Skala de la Ville. For the rest of the medina as a neighbourhood, our area page walks it street by street. Our view: heading for the mellah, come in through Bab Doukkala rather than Bab Marrakech. You will not have to cross the whole medina.
Grand taxis, buses and coaches: what leaves from where
The commune lists three networks: petits taxis in town, grands taxis and buses for the province. It does not say where any of them stop. Grand taxis leave Bab Doukkala once all six seats are taken, for Sidi Kaouki (26 km, 26 minutes by road) as well as the weekly souk at Had Draa (30 km, 26 minutes), by our route calculation. Agree the fare before you get in.
Lima Bus’s website, read on 17 October 2026, lists nine lines into the province, including the 2 to Sidi Kaouki and the 3 to Smimou. It names no stop, and its timetables appear only as images. For line 2, its two grids disagree: six departures from Essaouira between 07:20 and 18:30 on the home page, an image uploaded in November 2024, and seven between 06:30 and 18:30 on the lines page, an image from July 2022. Ask its customer service on 06 61 21 34 26, or the Bab Doukkala rank, where and when your line leaves.
Long-distance coaches do not stop at the gate. The bus station is 725 m away, a 10-minute walk, but neither CTM nor Supratours leaves from it. Supratours has its office near Bab Marrakech, 750 m and a 10-minute walk from Bab Doukkala. CTM stops on place du 11 Janvier, in the Azlif estate: 2.2 km and 3 minutes by taxi, or 26 minutes on foot. Taxi fares and etiquette are covered in our guide to getting around Essaouira.
Our view: check on your ticket where your coach leaves from before you leave the riad, not on a map. And remember that Marrakech has a Bab Doukkala too, where Supratours runs an office separate from its terminal at the ONCF railway station. Plenty of pages online mix the two towns up.
See on the map
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Frequently asked questions
Where do you catch a grand taxi in Essaouira?
At the Bab Doukkala rank, by the medina’s north-east gate. Grand taxis leave from there for Sidi Kaouki, Had Draa and Marrakech once all six seats are taken, and the fare is agreed before you get in.
How far is the bus station from Bab Doukkala?
725 m, a 10-minute walk. CTM and Supratours coaches do not arrive at the bus station, so check your stop on the ticket.
Which bus goes to Sidi Kaouki from Essaouira?
Lima Bus line 2, according to the operator’s website read on 17 October 2026. Its two online grids disagree, six departures between 07:20 and 18:30 on the newer one (November 2024) and seven between 06:30 and 18:30 on the other, and neither names the stop, so confirm the time and place on 06 61 21 34 26.
Does the CTM coach stop at Bab Doukkala?
No. The CTM coach stops on place du 11 Janvier, in the Azlif estate, 2.2 km by road from the gate. Allow 3 minutes by taxi or 26 minutes on foot.
How do you get to the Jewish cemetery in Essaouira?
Leave the medina through Bab Doukkala. The Christian and Jewish cemeteries lie outside the walls on that side.
Is Bab Doukkala in Essaouira or Marrakech?
Both towns have a gate of that name, and Supratours runs a “Bab Doukkala” office in Marrakech, separate from its terminal at the ONCF railway station. Essaouira’s gate serves the province: check which town each page you read is about.