Agadir

A hilltop fort raised by the Saadians in the 1500s to guard the harbour; the 1960 quake felled the village inside, leaving only the walls. Huge Arabic letters for God, Country, King are set into the slope, and at sunset the viewpoint is packed with people.

A paved promenade follows the curving sandy beach south of the harbour, lined with cafes and hotels. The sand is open to all, and only parasols and sunbeds are hired for a fee.

Inside a walled compound, vegetables, spices, argan oil and leather are sorted into separate sections. Had means Sunday, and Sunday is the busiest day; on Monday the market is closed.

One of the leading sardine ports in Morocco, where blue wooden boats tie up beside big trawlers. Early morning, when catches are landed, is the liveliest hour, and from the Oufella hill the whole port fits in a single view.

A small museum of silver jewellery, carpets and pottery from the Souss and the Anti-Atlas. It sits on Avenue Hassan II in the centre and takes 30 minutes, and a visit before shopping for jewellery in the souk trains the eye for the patterns.

A walled village built anew in traditional methods by Italian architect Coco Polizzi from the 1990s, with craftsmen working wood and clay inside. It lies in Ben Sergao, south of the centre, so people go by taxi.

A park joining the dunes and estuary wetlands of the coast south of Agadir, where the endangered northern bald ibis breeds. Birds are easiest to see at the Massa river mouth in the early morning.

Palms line a gorge in the Atlas foothills and clear pools sit between the rocks. The pools come only after parking and walking in along the river, and by late summer the water runs low.

Once a fishing hamlet up the shore from Agadir, now a surf town famed for the long waves at Anchor Point. Big swells arrive from October to March, and beginners learn on the beaches toward Tamraght to the south.

Hundreds of hive cells are set in tiers into an earth wall on the hillside and shared by the village, counted as the oldest collective apiary in the world. Reaching it from Agadir means a long climb on winding mountain roads, so it takes a full day.

A park on Agadir's eastern outskirts where hundreds of Nile crocodiles live in ponds among gardens, with tropical plant walks winding between them. Feeding is shown at set times. It is popular with families with children.

A yacht basin between the fishing port and the beach, ringed by restaurants, cafés and apartments. It links up with the promenade's northern stretch, making an evening walking loop. Coastal cruise boats leave from the moorings.

A walled town east of Agadir on the Souss plain, its red earth ramparts circling the whole place. Smaller and calmer than Marrakech, it is nicknamed little Marrakech. Take a horse carriage on a circuit around the outside of the walls.

An earth-walled town south of Agadir whose medina silver souk gathers Berber jewellery shops. A water source inside the walls is tied to the town's founding story. Most come for silver, so head for the souk first.

A small fishing village north of Agadir where a long wave peels around the bay, good for learner surfers. Fish straight off the boats gets grilled on the quay. With only a few guesthouses and shops, visitors spend one or two days.

A red-cliffed beach near Sidi Ifni, south of Agadir. One of its two rock arches collapsed in 2016, leaving a single one. When the tide is low, the sand leads right under it. Rocks can fall from the cliff, so don't linger beneath it.