Sardinia

Originally part of Olbia, but since 1979 a resort in its own right, Golfo Aranci is an attractive seaside town which also doubles as the ferry port to Citavecchia on mainland Italy. ‘Aranci’ suggests orange groves but it actually derives from the local words for ‘some crabs’ – don’t let this put you off as there are some great beaches and nightlife to be sampled.

Phone:

N/a

Opening hours:

www.golfoaranci.com

Address:

Olbia

The Nuraghic civilisation, which pre-dated both the Carthaginian and Phoenician occupations, left behind about 7,000 Nuraghi or cone-shaped stone structures. The Losa Nuraghe is one of the largest and most sophisticated of these acting as both a home and a fortress. Surrounded by a rampart with towers and constructed in three sections the oldest of which dates from 1500BC.

Phone:

+39 (0)78 55 23 02

Opening hours:

Summer 9am-7pm; winter till 5pm

Address:

Parco Archeologico Nuraghe Losa Abbasanta, Sassari Province

Easily accessible from Olbia, the Emerald Coast is an ideal part of the island for just relaxing. Resorts and their marinas, created during the 1960s by the Aga Khan and associates, initially attracted mainly the jet set but nowadays everyone enjoys the area. The views over the pink granite rocks to the emerald green waters of the sea are absolutely breathtaking.

Phone:

N/a

Opening hours:

www.costasmeraldaitalia.com

Address:

Near Olbia Sassari Province

There has been a settlement here from very early times and a Roman cistern can be seen in the Piazza Margherita. The main monument is the Basilica of San Simplicio, an impressive Romanesque building dedicated to the first bishop and constructed in the 11th century over the remains of a Roman necropolis. Archaeologists have recently discovered the remains of 24 shipwrecks in the harbour area.

Phone:

N/a

Opening hours:

N/a

Address:

Olbia

Sardinia’s most famous Romanesque church, with its 41m-high campanile and Pisan-style black and white stripes, stands out magnificently in the windswept landscape of the Logudoro. It is thought the name derives from the local patois for ‘the dappled cow’ which local legend says used to pray here. Carvings of the cow can be seen on one of the capitals in the portico.

Phone:

+39 (0)79 43 53 75

Opening hours:

8am-8am daily; Oct-Mar till 1pm

Address:

On the SS597 road 12km south-west of Sassari

Museum of Basket Weaving is located in the magnificent 12th-century castle built by the Genoese family Doria. Examples of craft products using this technique from all over the Mediterranean can be seen including local lagoon boats. Called ‘su fassonis’, these amazing vessels are made from lagoon rushes and used by fishermen in the Oristano Province.

Phone:

+39 (0)79 47 13 80

Opening hours:

Summer 9am till midnight; other times 9.30am-1pm & 3pm till 5.30pm or later in spring/autumn (closed Mon until May)

Address:

Via Marconi, Castelsardo

Sculpted over several millennia by the wind this huge piece of rough, dark trachyte rock on the roadside near the village of Multeddu on the north coast of the island, closely resembles an elephant with its trunk elevated as if trumpeting. Originally tombs were cut into the base of the rock and, on close inspection, these can still be seen.

Phone:

N/a

Opening hours:

N/a

Address:

Multeddu near Castelsardo, Oristano Province

The archipelago consists of seven islands – Maddalena, Caprera, Santo Stefano, Spargi, Budelli, Razzoli and Santa Maria – of which the final four are uninhabited. Situated in the Straits of Bonifacio which has been designated as a marine reserve, the islands are favoured by the sailing fraternity. There is a bridge linking Maddalena to Caprera where the tomb of the great Italian hero Garibaldi can be found.

Phone:

+39 (0)789 73 63 21

Opening hours:

Ferry every 20mins in summer; hourly after midnight and in winter

Address:

Ferry from Palau, north of Olbia to La Maddalena

Boats leave the tourist harbour in Alghero regularly to visit the amazing Grotto of Neptune at Capo Caccio. Opened to the public in 1954, the hour-long guided tour takes you on an itinerary of about 250m although the system is actually 2,500m long. It is possible to drive to the Grotto but, if you do, there are 650 steps to climb – the pleasant boat trip is so much more relaxing!

Phone:

+39 (0)79 94 65 40

Opening hours:

9am-6pm daily (5pm Oct & 2pm Nov-Mar)

Address:

Capo Caccia near Alghero

Offering some of the finest food in Sardinia, Al Tuguri belies its name which means ‘hovel’ in the Alghero dialect. Chef, owner and local celebrity Benito Carbonella blends inventiveness with traditional Catalan cuisine. The restaurant, in the heart of the old town, is on three levels – a drawing room on ground level leads upstairs to the main restaurant and kitchen. Above this, an even more intimate and exclusive room can be found.

Phone:

+39 (0)79 97 67 72

Opening hours:

Mon-Sat (except 20 Dec-20 Jan)

Address:

113 via Maiorca, Alghero