Must-see attractions in Northwestern Sardinia

About 2.5km north of Stintino, the Spiaggia della Pelosa is a dreamy image of beach perfection: a salt-white strip of sand lapped by shallow, turquoise…

Alghero's golden sea walls, built around the centro storico by the Aragonese in the 16th century, are a highlight of the town's historic cityscape…

Named after its resident asini bianchi (albino donkeys), the Isola dell'Asinara encompasses 51 sq km of macchia (Mediterranean scrub), rocky coastline and…

Sassari's premier museum, housed in a grand Palladian villa, has a comprehensive archaeological collection and an ethnographical section dedicated to…

Rising above the historic centre, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria's 16th-century campanile is one of Alghero's signature landmarks. The tower, accessible…

Capo Caccia's principal crowd-puller is the Grotta di Nettuno, a haunting fairyland of stalactites and stalagmites. The easiest way to get to the caves is…

This reserve, just west of Porto Conte at the base of Monte Timidone (361m), is a beautiful pocket of uncontaminated nature. Encompassing 12 sq km of…

Signposted off the SS131 between Sassari and Porto Torres, Monte d’Accoddi is a unique Neolithic temple. Unlike anything else in the Mediterranean basin …

Sassari’s largest piazza is one of Sardinia’s most impressive public spaces. Covering about a hectare, it is surrounded by imposing 19th-century buildings…

Alghero's finest church is a model of architectural harmony. Originally built to a Catalan Gothic design in the 14th century, it was later given a…

One of the largest nuraghic sites in Sardinia, the Nuraghe Santu Antine sits 4km south of Torralba. The complex is focused on a central tower, which now…

Porto Torres' modern, workaday streets provide the unlikely setting for Sardinia’s largest Romanesque church. Built between 1030 and 1080, the basilica is…

About 18km southeast of Sassari on the SS729, this is the most visually striking of the isolated Romanesque churches that spring up across the territory…

From Castelsardo, the SS134 Sedini road leads to one of the area’s most lovable landmarks, the Roccia dell’Elefante, a bizarre trachyte rock that looks…

Sassari’s principal cathedral dazzles with its 18th-century baroque facade, a giddy free-for-all of statues, reliefs, friezes and busts. It's all a front,…

Lording it over the hilltop centro storico is the medieval Castello, the centrepiece around which the original town was built. Constructed in the 12th…

For a view to remember, stop off at this viewing point a few hundred metres short of Capo Caccia, and look down at the full sweep of the Baia delle Ninfe…

On Via Carlo Alberto, the carrer major of the medieval town, the 17th-century Chiesa di San Michele is best known for its maiolica-tiled dome. The present…

Dominating Piazza Sulis, this landmark tower was originally known as the Torre de l'Esperó Reial or Torre dello Sperone (Tower of the Royal Spur). Its…

A few kilometres west of Fertilia on the SS127bis road to Porto Conte, the Nuraghe di Palmavera is a 3500-year-old nuraghic village. At its centre stands…