Alghero
Alghero is a lively fishing port in Sardinia and the centre of tourist activity on the northwestern coast of Sardinia. It consists of a picturesque and well-preserved old town enclosed in a stout girdle of walls, outside of which the new town sports a grid of parallel streets filled with hotels and restaurants. A favoured package tour destination, Alghero offers beautiful beaches and year-round holiday amenities together with numerous places of interest to visit. The town is very Spanish in flavour having been invaded by Pedro IV of Aragon in 1354. The narrow cobbled streets of the old town are lined with flamboyant churches and wrought-iron balconies, boutiques and cafes, as well as the workshops of craftsmen working the famed coral of Alghero. The local cuisine hints of Spain too, and the town is renowned for its excellent seafood. Authentic Spanish paellas, lobster alla Catalana and tasty fish soups abound, with delicious sea urchins on sale from stallholders in the port. Around the town the coast offers many secluded bays, small inlets bordered by pine forests and high, jagged cliffs washed by the emerald green sea. Inland luxuriant vineyards produce some of the most aromatic wines on the island. Nightlife is sedate, tending more to sipping cocktails on a sidewalk cafe and watching the sunset from the seafront than frenetic night clubbing.
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Cagliari
The capital of Sardinia and the largest town is the thriving industrial port of Cagliari. Despite its size the old centre is charmingly compact, contained within the city walls and Pisan fortifications. The main attractions are the National Archaeological Museum, which contains prehistoric tombs and other significant artefacts from the Punic and Roman periods, the impressive cathedral, and a smattering of Roman ruins. The suburb of Poetto has a four-mile (6km) stretch of sandy beach with some small bars nearby. The famous nuraghe of Su Nuraxi near Barumini are within easy reach of the town.
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Costa Smeralda
Situated between the gulfs of Arzachena and Cugnana on the northeast coast of the island are the six-mile panoramic stretches of sandy beaches called Costa Smeralda. Legend has it that a fabulously wealthy consortium of businessmen first exploited this beautiful wild coastal strip in the 1960s, backed by the Aga Khan. Today the local villages and towns have become discreet up-market resorts crammed with private villas, luxurious holiday villages, contrived Mediterranean-style shopping malls, low-rise high-priced hotels and huge yachting marinas packed with gleaming yachts. Main town of the area is Porto Cervo, a crime and litter-free playground of the rich with its ranks of pale pink and red villas climbing the hill from the busy marina. The other favourite retreat for celebrities is the town of Porto Rotondo, situated on a natural cove about 10 miles (16km) from Olbia, site of the international airport. The town offers a wealth of beaches, nightclubs, bars and restaurants, most clustered around its Piazza San Marco, and the marina. The main attractions of the Costa Smeralda are the numerous sequestered beaches, none signposted, which can be discovered simply by following a dirt track down towards the sea. Among the most scenic are Cappriccioli, Rena Bianca and Liscia Ruja, all south of Porto Cervo.
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