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 café and watching the sunset from the seafront than frenetic nightclubbing.
Attractions
Neptunes Grotto is only a boat ride from Alghero and is home to a deep marine cave in the sheer cliffs of Capo Caccia. The boat ride takes 45 minutes past the bay of Porto Conte. At the cave visitors can take a 45-minute tour entering through the long snaking passage that delves into the rock, to view dramatically lit, fantastic stalagmites and stalactites. The cave can also be reached by bus from the main terminal in Alghero, or by car, which on arrival necessitates climbing down 650 steps to the cave entrance.
Opening time: Daily 9am to 7pm (April to September); 10am to 5pm (October); 9am to 2pm (November to March); Admission: €8
Nuraghe
Historical mysteries surround the Nuragic people who inhabited Sardinia in 1500 BC and built around thirty thousand fortified and circular structures around the country. Today about 7,000 of these remain standing to be marvelled at by tourists. The complex of Nuraghe in Barumini has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List and is the finest and most complete example of this prehistoric architecture. The Barumini site can be reached from Oristano or Cagliari on route 131 and turning off onto route 197. Other well-preserved nuraghe can be seen at Sant Antine. At Nora on the very southern tip of the island are the remains of an extensive Nuragic village including an amphitheatre, forum, baths, temple and Kasbah. Other good Nuragic sites are near Villanovaforru, Alghero, and Abbasanta. Opening time: Most Nuraghe are closed afternoons and Sundays; Admission: Most Nuraghe are free
