Things to do
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Bab Al Homar
Weathered Portuguese arms still crown the land gate of the medina, the main entrance from the new town and the taxi rank. Inside, lanes of white houses with blue and green doors carry murals from past editions of the summer arts festival. A slow circuit of the medina takes under an hour, and the lanes stay calm even in August.
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Bab Al Kasbah
Portuguese builders raised the stone ramparts that wrap the medina in the fifteenth century, and their seaward bastions now serve as the town's lookout. From the gate, a walk along the walls leads to the Krikia platform, where waves break on the rocks below. Sunset draws a crowd to the parapet, and the walk is free and open at all hours.
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Hassan II Center
Exhibitions, concerts and talks for the summer arts festival take place in this cultural centre just inside the walls, built around a tiled courtyard. Outside festival season it hosts rotating shows of Moroccan and international painting. Opening varies with the programme, and entry to exhibitions is usually free. The festival itself runs for several weeks in summer, with artists painting new murals in the lanes.
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Lixus
Ruins of a Phoenician and Roman town occupy a hill above the Loukkos estuary, just outside Larache and about 40 km south of Asilah. Remains include a theatre that doubled as an amphitheatre, baths, temples and fish salting tanks near the river. The site is ticketed and lightly signed. Late afternoon light over the marshes is the best time to walk the hill.
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Paradise Beach
Sand and low dunes stretch for kilometres south of town on a beach reached by a rough track, by grand taxi, or by horse cart in summer. Cafes set up shade and simple grilled fish in the high season and pack up when it ends. The Atlantic surf here is strong, so swimming is safest close to shore and on calm days.
