Things to do in Northern Sardinia
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Osteria Taverna Paradiso
This unpretentious trattoria is presided over by Pasquale Nocella, the artistic-looking guy with the wild hair. The food here is excellent: hearty plates of grilled steak, mountains of steaming pasta, and lots and lots of cheese. The osteria has even won awards for its cheese. The pasta with aubergines and smoked ricotta packs a flavourful punch.
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Trattoria Maristella
Visitors and locals flock to this bustling little trattoria for reliable seafood and local specialities such as culurgiones (ravioli stuffed with potato, pecorino cheese and mint) and crema catalana, a delicious creamy dessert. Booking recommended.
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Museo della Brigata Sassari
Sassari is rightly proud of its military heritage, especially the well-decorated Sassari Brigade, which fought with great gallantry during WWI. You can glean something of the terrible conditions they endured in the tiny Museo della Brigata Sassari in the military barracks.
Uniforms, photos, documents and other memorabilia evoke the ghastly conditions and ferocious bravery of the brigade, who were thrown into the thick of the trench fighting against the Austrians in northern Italy. You can even read the letter in which the Austro-Hungarian commander first gave the brigade their epithet 'the red devils'. There are old guns and grenades on show, and a re-creation of a modern…
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Marogna
Agostino Marogna has been working in the business for years and now owns the finest coral shop in Alghero, at Palazzo d'Albis.
Their signature necklaces composed of big, round coral beads often take years to create. As there is only a certain amount of coral for sale each year, they often have to put these necklaces aside until the new season, when they have to hunt for exactly the same shade and quality of coral. One such necklace with beads measuring 11mm in diameter will set you back a cool around €11,000, rising to around €30,000 for beads measuring 13mm.
Not everything in the shop is this expensive, and it's certainly worth a visit to see the sheer artistry of som…
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Grotta di Nettuno
A vertiginous 654-step staircase descends 110m of sheer cliff to the Grotta di Nettuno, an underground fairyland of stalactites and stalagmites. If you don’t fancy the staircase, there are ferries from Alghero – Traghetti Navisarda, departing hourly between 9am and 5pm from June to September, and four times daily in the rest of the year. Otherwise, there’s a daily bus from Via Catalogna (€2, 50 minutes) which departs Alghero at 9.15am and returns at midday. From June to September, there are two extra runs at 3.10pm and 5.10pm, returning at 4.05pm and 6.05pm.
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Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra
In the grand spaces that were once the Oratorio del Rosario is the cathedral museum. It houses a good collection of religious art including silverware, statuary, paintings and wood carving. A ghoulish touch is the reliquary of what is claimed to be one of the innocenti (newborn babies slaughtered by Herod in his search for the Christ child). The tiny skull is chilling, but apparently it appealed to Alghero artist Francesco Pinna, who received it from a Roman cardinal in the 16th century. The low, flat arch of the former chapel is clearly inspired by the Catalan Gothic style.
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Hotel Ristorante Gallura
Unlike the hotel, the restaurant of the Gallura is absolutely top-notch. The menu reads like a dictionary of Gallurese dishes, and the waiters dash back and forth carrying intriguing platters of exotic food such as smoked cuttlefish with wild beetroot, fish cooked in a paste of courgette and ricotta, and rabbit in saffron. Go with the recommendations - it's all good.
Lovely Rita Denza, the maestro behind it all, flits from table to table in her apron making sure her customers can navigate the multitude of choices. Reservations are essential.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria di Betlem
Just beyond what were the city walls stands the proud Romanesque façade of the eclectic Chiesa di Santa Maria di Betlem. The exterior betrays Gothic and even vaguely Oriental admixtures. Inside, the Catalan Gothic vaulting has been preserved, but much baroque silliness has crept in to obscure the original lines of the building. Lining each aisle in the chapels stand some of the giant 'candles' that the city guilds parade about town for the 14 August festivities.
The church is not always open, but your best bet is the morning.
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Palazzo d'Usini
North of Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Cesare Battisti leads into the leafy Piazza Tola. It used to be the centre and main market of the medieval town, and you'll still find a market here on weekday mornings. When the Spaniards were in charge they burnt heretics here, looking on from fine palazzos such as the 1577 Palazzo d'Usini. It's a rare example of 16th-century civil architecture in Sardinia and now houses the public library.
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Andrieni
This is Alghero's restaurant of the moment. In summer outdoor tables are set beneath the huge fig tree, where you dine on innovative dishes mixing cured meats and fruit, delicately cooked fish with seasonal vegetables and herbs, and some excellent grilled and roasted meats. The wine list is a weighty tome, and you need a menu for the cheese trolley. Unfortunately, the maître d' is a little on the haughty side.
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Piazza Civica
Piazza Civica is just inside the Port a Mare (Sea Gate) and was once the administrative heart of Alghero. This busy, uneven square is still faced by reminders of Alghero's late-medieval splendour. It was from the window of the Gothic mansion Palazzo d'Albis that Charles V leaned out during his 1541 stay to declare in generous mood, 'You are all knights.'
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Museo Nazionale Sanna
Sassari’s main attraction is the Museo Nazionale Sanna and its comprehensive archaeological collection. The highlight is the nuraghic bronzeware, including weapons, bracelets, votive boats and figurines depicting humans and animals. Also has an interesting picture gallery and a small collection of Sardinian folk art.
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Trattoria L'Assassino
This trattoria is hidden away in a back alley off Piazza Tola. The more adventurous will step beyond the set meal and try a selection of 10 starters. These can include classics such as funghi arrosto (roasted mushrooms) and lumaconi (big snails). If you get really lucky you may find calf's testicles on the menu as well.
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Antica Posta
A new venture on one of the busiest streets in the old town, this is a wine bar-cum-grill room of the 'industrial architecture' type. Unlike many places in Sassari, it serves modern Sardinian food such as grilled steaks and fillet of fresh fish, as well as some interesting pastas like fregola con funghi (pasta with mushrooms).
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Consorzio delle Bocche
At the bottom of Via del Porto you'll find operators running excursions to the Maddalena archipelago. The biggest outfit is the Consorzio delle Bocche, which also has an office in town. It runs two excursions, one to the Maddalena islands and the other down the Costa Smeralda (summer only). Trips include lunch (served on board).
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Ristorante Canne al Vento
A classic restaurant with a bamboo-covered terrace, the Canne al Vento has been serving Gallurese food here since 1957. It's still the best restaurant in town. Try the unusual local specialities, such as suppa cuata (cheese and bread broth) or pasta with bottarga (mullet roe). The management also has 22 rooms.
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Nettuno
In a great location with a 3rd-floor terrace overlooking the port, Nettuno's atmosphere is positively boisterous and the boating décor jollies the whole thing along. The pasta with clams is the thing to eat here - the delicious aroma pervades the restaurant. Follow it with a plate of barbequed king prawns.
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Osteria Macchiavello
This is a restaurant for those who want full-on meaty flavours. Grilled meats include horse, beef and (sorry about this) - donkey. Alternatively, there's a tasty wild-boar ragù and a few fishy dishes, including zuppa di polpi e patate (octopus and potato soup) as a whet-your-appetite starter.
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Posada del Mar
A formal little place, Posada del Mar has tables covered in flowery tablecloths intimately arranged beneath its big barrel vaults. In summer the French doors are opened to the piazzetta outside. The house speciality is the ricci (sea urchins), although pizza is also served in the evenings.
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La Lepanto
This has long been Alghero's top fish restaurant: check out the grand tank of fish as you enter, the packed tables and the waiters run off their feet. But it has to be said that service and food are not what they used to be - the increase in tourist trade has dulled Lepanto's innovative edge.
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Traghetti Navisarda
A tour operator that specialises in excursions to the Grotta di Nettuno, an enormous sea cave at the foot of the Capo Caccia headland. It runs several boats a day from April to October that allow you a fish-eye view of the coast from Alghero to Capo Caccia before depositing you at the grotto.
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Estasi's
Three kilometres south of town towards Palau you soon meet a turn-off to the right for Buoncammino. A quick jaunt down this road brings you to Santa Teresa's late-nightlife hub. The area's only club, the noisy, outdoor Estasi's, opens on Friday and Saturday night in the summer season.
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Il Pavone
A classic of the Alghero dining scene, Il Pavone isn't as grand as other restaurants like the Andrieni or La Lepanto, but the service is a lot more palatable. Tables overlook the lively Piazza Sulis and the food is seasonal, a mixture of Mediterranean and innovative Sardinian dishes.
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Al Tuguri
This cosy Catalan house serves dishes based on the fresh fish of the day, tuna, squid, rock lobster and the very best bottarga (mullet roe). It also has a range of speciality pastas, such as the maltagliati con carciofi e fave (pasta with artichokes and fava beans).
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Nightly Market
Coral, some of it found locally, is the big item in Santa Teresa, and you'll find no shortage of boutiques and jewellery shops. The pedestrianised Via Umberto and Via Carlo Alberto, leading south from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, also host a nightly market from June to September.
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