Sulcis
Pula's small archaeology museum provides a useful introduction to what lies down the road at Nora. Alongside ceramics found in Punic and Roman tombs, some…
Must-see attractions in Sardinia
Northeastern Sardinia
This modest 17th-century church, presiding over Piazza del Purgatorio, has an intriguing history. The story goes that a member of the noble Misorro family…
Alghero
At some point you'll probably find yourself passing by Alghero's public gardens. The verdant park, which effectively separates the medieval centre from…
Eastern Sardinia
This museum presents a romp through the region’s archaeological sites. Finds from the surrounding province range from ancient ceramics and bronzetti to a…
Cagliari
These remains of three Roman houses date to the 1st century BC. Legend has it that Tigellio Ermogene – a famous Sardinian poet and musician, and a close a…
Southwestern Sardinia
In Arbus's hilltop centre, just off Piazza Mercato, the Museo del Coltello Sardo is dedicated to the ancient Sardinian art of knife-making. The museum was…
Cagliari
Opened in 2011, this contemporary glass and steel pavilion has given a new lease of life to a former food market. It's now a cultural complex housing two…
Eastern Sardinia
Hidden deep in the Valle di Lanaittu are the Grotta Sa Ohe and Su Ventu, two caves linked by a natural siphon. The former, open to the public, is a wild…
Sulcis
Uphill from the seafront, this small museum is housed in an 18th-century fort, one of the first masonry buildings to be erected on the island. Of chief…
Museo Archeologico-Etnografico Palazzo Atzori
Western Sardinia
Spread over three floors, this museum in Paulilatino focuses on traditional rural life, with exhibits dedicated to baking, lacework, equestrian gear,…
Southwestern Sardinia
A kilometre west of Barumini, the Parco Sardegna in Miniatura is a family-friendly theme park centred on a miniature reconstruction of Sardinia. Other…
Riserva Naturale di Monte Arcosu
Sulcis
Encompassing some 3600 hectares, the Riserva Naturale di Monte Arcosu is a WWF reserve and one of the few remaining habitats of the cervo sardo (Sardinian…
Northwestern Sardinia
In a field off the SP90 road from Castelsardo to Valledoria, the Nuraghe Paddaggiu (meaning haystack in Sardo) was one of the last nuraghi to be built…
Sulcis
Dating to the 8th century BC, the tophet was an ancient sanctuary used by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians to cremate and bury their children and still…
Olbia
Considered to be Gallura’s most important medieval monument, this Romanesque granite church was built in the late 11th and early 12th centuries on what…
Golfo di Orosei
Just off Orosei's main square (Piazza del Popolo), the baroque ochre-hued Chiesa del Rosario, with its trio of wooden crosses, wouldn’t look out of place…
Centro Comunale d’Arte e Cultura Il Ghetto
Cagliari
This small cultural centre, housed in a former military barracks, hosts temporary exhibitions, many with a Sardinian slant. The name 'Il Ghetto' is a…
Eastern Sardinia
The main reason to make a stop in the grey, sleepy village of Orani is the Museo Nivola. This museum celebrates the original sculpture and sand-casting…
Museo Etnografico Sa Domo ‘e sos Marras
Golfo di Orosei
Housed in an 18th-century noble villa, the Museo Etnografico Sa Domo ‘e sos Marras contains a fascinating collection of rural paraphernalia. There’s a…
Sulcis
Also known as the Forte Sabaudo, this 19th-century Piedmontese fort marks the highest point in town. Its most famous action took place in 1815 when the…
Western Sardinia
Arborea's showcase square, Piazza Maria Ausiliatrice is a beautifully tended space that wouldn’t look out of place in a Swiss alpine village. Overlooking…
Eastern Sardinia
Nobel Prize–winning author Grazia Deledda (1871–1936) was consumed by Nuoro and its essential dramas. Although she lived 36 of her 65 years in Rome, she…
Chiesa di Santa Teresa d'Avila
Southwestern Sardinia
On the Giara's southeastern flank, the town of Gesturi is dominated by the 30m-high bell tower of the Chiesa di Santa Teresa d'Avila. The faithful flock…
Costa Smeralda
This is the nearest nuraghe to town, and certainly the easiest to find, on the main Olbia road, about 3km south of Arzachena. It’s unusual for several…
Eastern Sardinia
Just off the main drag is this chilling 16th-century prison, built of dark grey schist stone and used as a maximum-security facility right up until 1936…
Southwestern Sardinia
Four kilometres north of Domusnovas, the Grotta di San Giovanni, an 850m-long natural cave-gallery adorned with stalactites and stalagmites, is worth…
Northwestern Sardinia
About 15km east of Castelsardo, the sprawling town of Valledoria is fronted by beaches that stretch more than 10km east to the small fishing village of…
Basilica di Sant’Antioco Martire
Sulcis
Hidden behind the modest baroque facade is a sublimely simple 5th-century church. To the right of the altar stands a wooden effigy of St Antiochus, a…
Southwestern Sardinia
Before you head up to the Giara, check out the Chiesa di San Pietro in Tuili. The pride and joy of this much-altered 15th-century church is its colourful…
Costa Smeralda
This tomba di gigante is quite striking. The central east-facing stele, part of which was snapped off and later restored, dominates the surrounding…
Southwestern Sardinia
Housed in a 17th-century monastery, this small museum displays a varied collection of artefacts and artworks relating to the activities of Sardinia's…
Cagliari
A small strip of park in the shadows of the Castello's mighty walls, this 500m-long green space is home to seven works by leading Sardinian sculptor…
Bosa
Bosa's cathedral dates to the early 19th century when it was built over an earlier Romanesque church. A rare, if not overly riveting, example of rococo …
Cagliari
Below this baroque church is a 6th-century crypt where the tomb of the early Archbishop of Cagliari, St Lucifer, rests. In earlier times the area had been…
Eastern Sardinia
In Gavoi village centre, the Chiesa di San Gavino was built in the 16th century to a Gothic-Catalan design, as evidenced by the plain red trachyte facade…
Cagliari
Cagliari's town hall from medieval times to the 19th century, the beautifully restored Palazzo di Città has been converted into a small museum. It…
Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Neve
Eastern Sardinia
A big, dusky peach-coloured wedding cake of a church, the 19th-century Cattedrale di Santa Maria della Neve is one of 300 or so Italian churches dedicated…
Cagliari
Erected in Piazza Yenne in 1860, this melodramatic statue shows Carlo Felice, Sardinia's king from 1821 to his death in 1831, posing as an ancient Roman…
Northwestern Sardinia
Much modified over the centuries, Ozieri’s neoclassical Cattedrale dell’Immacolata harbours an important work of art, the Deposizione di Cristo dalla…
Cala Gonone
Check out the local marine life before taking the plunge at this shiny new aquarium, designed by architects Peter Chermayeff and Sebastiano Gaias. The 25…
