The Best Travel Guide to Alghero

The Best Travel Guide to Alghero

Italy

Alghero

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Alghero

With your kids Historical destinations Lazy beach days

The guide was updated: 2018-11-28

The narrow, cobbled streets of Alghero’s medieval citadel, packed with boutiques, bars and restaurants, slope towards the harbour and sweeping bay. Built in a buttery sandstone that glows a soft apricot shade in the setting sun, it’s Sardinia’s most picturesque Old Town. Spanish-style palazzos and street signs in Italian and Catalan reflect its proud heritage: 300 years of Aragon rule. Fringed by pine forests, long sandy beaches, hotels and bars curve away towards green headlands. It’s an idyllic setting.

Facts

Population:	43,000
Currency:	1 Euro = 100 cents
Search Accommodation:	Hotels »
Emergency numbers:	General: 112 Police: 113 Fire: 115 Ambulance: 118
Newspapers:	L’Unione Sarda La Nuova Sardegna Corriere della Sera, Italy’s main daily
Opening hours:	Most shops open from 09.00-13.00 and 16.00/17.00-20.00, Monday to Saturday. In the peak summer months they can stay open until 23.00 or later. There’s also a siesta, typically from 13.00 to 17.00. Many restaurants and bars are closed one day a week, usually mid-week.
Tourist information:	Alghero Tourist Information Office Piazza Porta Terra 9, Alghero Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8am-8pm +39 079 979 054

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Section in Alghero

With a medieval city centre, a beautiful marina, lovely sandy beaches with activities such as kitesurfing and plenty of historical sights to visit, a trip to Alghero will never be boring. Within just a few hours from Alghero are also a number of picturesque towns, stunning beaches and breathtaking natural wonders, all making for delightful day-trips.

Cattedrale di Santa Maria

The 16th-century Duomo is mainly Catalan-Gothic and Renaissance, although you wouldn’t guess that from its Doric-columned frontage. Inside are peach-coloured walls, 18th-century chapels, and impressive Baroque marble balustrades before the statue-filled high altar.

Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art

This art museum is located in the former Rosario church, next to the Cathedral, and it is the ideal setting for an array of priceless religious art. They also showcase African sacred paintings and art works.

Torre di Porta Terra

The tower – the remains of the main land gate entrance into the old city – houses a bookshop on the ground floor. Upstairs, touch screens provide a virtual journey through Alghero’s history, and a top floor terrace offers panoramic city and harbour views.

Chiesa di San Francesco

Chiesa de San Fransesco is an enchanting, restored 14th-century church with a mix of Romanesque, Gothic and late Renaissance style. It also provides a tranquil cloister where summer concerts are held.

Piazza Civica

If you walk through the Port a Mare (Sea Gate) from the harbour you will end up at this oblong, and often very crowded, piazza. It is overseen by the grand, late-medieval Catalan façade of the Palazzo d’Albis.

Grotta di Nettuno

Tour boats leave the harbour for Capo Caccia and the amazing Neptune caves, with 20m-long stalagmite and stalactite formations decorating a cave lake. Alternatively, take the bus to Capo Caccia and negotiate the steep and dramatic 656 steps down to the caves, and then climb back up again!

Nuraghe di Palmavera

This is the ruins of a nuraghe (stone tower) village dating from 1500 BC. This is one of the most important historical sites on Sardinia and here you can see the central limestone tower and remnants of circular dwellings.

Anghelu Ruju Necropolis

This necropolis from pre-nuragic times is located 9 km from the town of Alghero. 37 tombs, some of them decorated with bull's heads can be visited here. Just 1 km from the ruins, you can visit a small museum, Museo e Tenuta Vitivinicola, which shows replicas of some of the findings.

La Pelosa Beach

La Pelosa Beach in the fishing village of Stintino is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean, maybe the most beautiful of them all, so while you're on Sardinia you shouldn't miss this gem. It is located about an hour from Alghero, so pack a picnic and let this be a day-trip.

Bosa

Bosa is a small romantic town on the west coast of Sardinia about one hour from Alghero. Stroll down the narrow streets among the pastel coloured houses. On one side of the town you will find a majestic beach and on the other side a river. The ride itself from Alghero along the sea is already worth it.

Castelsardo

Besides visiting the famous Elephant Rock, be sure to enjoy the delicacies of this Medieval town. In the winter you shouldn't miss the spaghetti with sea urchin and in the summer time, lobster is the dish to order. Castelsardo is located about 70 km north of Alghero.

Azienda Agricola Leda' d'Ittiri

On the 18 hectares of Azienda Agricola Leda' d'Ittiri, grapes and olives are grown. The landlady is more than happy to take guests around the estate to show the plants and then give them the possibility to try the wines and the olives.

Le Ragnatele Adventure Park

This outdoor adventure park is a fun visit for both adults and children. With total security you will get the chance to transfer yourself between hanging platforms in the trees. Steel cables, Tibetan bridges, cable cars, ropes and ladders will test your courage.

Le Bombarde

Just a short bike ride from Alghero, you find this beach with all amenities one might need, such as toilets, restaurants, sunbeds for rent and plenty of sports and activities. You can easily spend a sunny day here.

Bowling Alghero

Enjoy a night of bowling with friends at Bowling Alghero. Located in the heart of the city, the establishment also hosts events and promotions all throughout the week.

The Coral Museum

Alghero is known for its red coral, and here at the small Coral Museum you can watch an exhibition on the history of the old tradition where they harvest these water plants. The corals are then used for making unique jewellery, that you can find everywhere on the island.

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