Walk the Beach and Try Your Hand at Surfing
The beach stretches long and wide before you, the Atlantic lapping at sand that rarely gets crowded even at peak times. You're here because of the wind—which catches your face in February and makes conditions rough—but also because this is what draws people to Agadir. The water is cold, the beach enormous, and the experience is yours to shape.
If you want to ride the waves, the coast offers serious options. Imesouane has its fans, and so do Devils Rock near Tamragh and the neighbouring towns of Aourir and Taghazout. Anchor Point and Cro-Cro are there if you want to explore further. The best season runs from November to March, though beginners can find waves to ride year-round. Surf schools and camps line the shore, and shops will kit you out if you arrive unprepared.
Step Into Agadir's Berber Heritage at Two Museums
The Museum Municipal du Patrimoine Amazigh, on Avenue Hassan II, houses a modest collection that tells you something real about the region. Eighteenth and nineteenth-century Berber objects fill the cases: music instruments, jewellery, traditional clothing, old manuscripts. It's small, but it anchors you in the culture that has shaped this place.
The Memory of Agadir Museum sits at the corner of Avenue des F.A.R. and Avenue President Kennedy (the sign is easy to miss—look for iron gates). The exhibits centre on what happened on 29 February 1960, when an earthquake destroyed the city. Photographs tell that story. A guide speaks Arabic, French and English. After you've looked through, walk into the adjoining Jardin Olhao, where a café, toilets and children's playground offer a quiet rest.
Wander the Souk El Had and Negotiate Your Finds
Over 3,000 stalls spread across Souk El Had, open Tuesday to Sunday. Tourist souvenirs sit alongside leather goods, clothes, household items, and stalls heaped with fruit, vegetables, olives and spices. The atmosphere pulls you in and pushes you toward the counter at once.
If you enter through Gates 9 or 10 (the main ones), someone will offer to guide you—and that means a tour of their friends' shops, whether you want one or not. To explore alone and find your own way, use the lower-numbered gates where locals go. Haggle hard, but check the fixed-price stalls first to calibrate what things should cost. The olives and spices stalls deserve your attention. Ask before you photograph anyone; stallholders are usually happy to be included, but respect matters.
Climb to the Fortress and Tour a Reconstructed Medina
Part of the original fortress sits at the top of the hill beside the city, visible from below near a huge painted wall. You can walk up there, or take a taxi for 30–50 dirham. The climb rewards you with views and a sense of Agadir's older layers.
Coco Polizzi's Medina, on route N1 in Bensergao, is worth the effort to reach. Take an orange petit taxi and arrange a time for it to collect you. The medina recreates the traditional Moroccan layout: cobbled alleys, artisans at work, shopkeepers who will chat with you. The architecture alone justifies the trip, and you can pick up a genuine souvenir or two. Admission is 40 dirham.
See the Zoo and Play Golf When You Want to Slow Down
Vallée des Oiseaux (Birds Valley) is a small zoo with a walk-through bird cage and birds from around the world, along with goat-like animals from the Atlas and exotic mammals. It's free, and children play in a small playground there, but it's not the focus of your day—more a place to spend an hour when you want a break from the beach or the souk.
Agadir has three top-notch golf courses. Ask at your hotel about bus transport that collects visitors several times a day if golf appeals to you.
Agadir's mild winter climate and long beach have made it a winter destination for northern Europeans, and once you arrive you'll understand why. The city is rebuilt and modern, but layers of older Agadir—Portuguese, Berber, Moroccan—are still visible if you look. Plan to spend at least a few days: one on the beach and in the water, one in the souk learning to haggle, one exploring the museums and the fortress, and one for a day trip along the coast to the surf towns.