Essaouira's nightlife is mellow — this is a town where most people go to bed early after a day in the wind. The action centres on Place Moulay Hassan, where a row of cafes spreads out tables for sweet mint tea, coffee, and people-watching from late afternoon onward. Alcohol is harder to find than in Marrakech: a handful of riads and the bigger seafront hotels have licensed bars, and the Taros rooftop is the reliable expat hangout for a sundowner with a view across the medina rooftops.