Place Hassan II is the centre of town: a wide, shaded square laid out by the Spanish in the 1930s as the social heart of their colonial capital. An Andalusian-style garden with a tiled fountain occupies the centre, and the surrounding buildings — the old town hall, the former courthouse, the post office — are the most complete surviving ensemble of Spanish Art Deco architecture outside Spain.
The square is where Sidi Ifni does its living. Café chairs face outward toward the garden, old men play cards in the shade, and children chase pigeons while their parents watch from the steps of the old administrative buildings. It does not feel like a tourist attraction, which is its chief quality. In the evening, the light is golden and the shadows long; this is when to be here.