El Jadida, Morocco

The Citerne Portugaise (Cisterna de Mazagão) is a 16th-century underground chamber beneath the Portuguese city, originally built as an armoury and later converted to a water reservoir. Five rows of Gothic-Manueline vaulted arches rise from columns above a floor permanently covered in a shallow film of water — the reflections double the apparent height and depth of the space, creating an extraordinary interplay of light and architecture. Orson Welles filmed here for Othello in 1952.

The walled Portuguese quarter is one of the best-preserved examples of early modern Portuguese military architecture in Africa: bastions, curtain walls, a church converted to a mosque, and narrow lanes of whitewashed houses within the 16th-century circuit. Walk the rampart top for views over the Atlantic.

A wide Atlantic beach stretches north of the old city, backed by a palm-lined promenade busy with families in summer. The water is cooler and cleaner than at Casablanca; the beach is a popular escape for city residents and a calm base for a night on the coast.

Seven kilometres south, the coastal lagoon and estuary at Moulay Abdallah attract wintering waterbirds including flamingos, spoonbills and numerous waders. An annual moussem (pilgrimage festival) here in August is one of the most important equestrian and religious events on the Atlantic coast.

A private day south from Casablanca: the Portuguese cistern and ramparts of El Jadida, then oyster lunch at Oualidia on the Atlantic lagoon.

A two-day private drive down the Atlantic coast: El Jadida, Oualidia oysters, Safi ceramics and the ramparts of Essaouira.