36 Best Sights in Sardinia, Italy

Although there is a perfectly serviceable sandy beach right outside the archaeological site of Nora, infintely more enticing is the series of long expanses of sand 18 km (11 miles) farther south toward the cape of Capo Spartivento, Sardinia's southernmost tip. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee in summer); toilets. Best for: swimming.

Pilgrims from around the world converge on the Compendio Garibaldino, a complex on the island of Caprera that contains not only the restored home of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–82) but also his tomb. The national hero and military leader who laid the groundwork for the unification of Italy in 1861 lived a simple life as a farmer on Caprera, the island that he eventually owned. Exhibits include a collection of weaponry, numerous items of furniture belonging to the family, Garibaldi's famous red shirt, and the poncho he wore during his South American campaigns. The grounds contain the hero's tomb alongside those of his family, all surrounded by the olive grove that he planted. There are explanatory panels in Italian and English, and visitors can also download an app providing more comprehensive information. A combined ticket takes in the Memoriale Giuseppe Garibaldi, 4 km (2½ miles) away—a multimedia museum, housed within a stern fortress dating from 1895, that chronicles the swashbuckling career of the Italian hero.

To visit the Compendio and Memoriale, take the ferry from Palau to Isola Maddalena, from where a causeway bridge crosses to Caprera. Note that visits to the Compendio Garibaldino must always be booked ahead for a specific time slot. A tour of the house and grounds should take less than an hour. Caprera island is now a nature reserve, its woods and Mediterranean scrub crisscrossed by a network of waymarked trails that offer great opportunities for scenic walks and picnics.

At the base of a sheer cliff, the pounding sea has carved an entrance to a vast fantastic cavern filled with stunning water pools, stalactites, and stalagmites. The dramatic cave and coves, discovered by fishermen in the 18th century, are popular tourist attractions for their sheer natural beauty. You must visit with a guide; tours start on the hour. It's possible to reach the caves by boat or by land. Between April and October, boat trips depart regularly from the port of Alghero for €16 round-trip (admission to the grotto is extra). To reach the grotto by land, you can descend the 654 dizzying steps of Escala del Cabirol ("Goat Steps"), which are cut into the steep cliff here.  By public bus from Alghero's Via Catalogna, the trip to the top of the stairway takes about 50 minutes. Allow 15 minutes for the descent by foot. Visitors arriving by land must book beforehand by telephone or online at  www.algheroexperience.it.

Built within the walls of the Pisan castle erected in the early 1300s, Cagliari's archaeological museum is the world's foremost authority on Sardinia's ancient Nuraghic civilization, named after the curious stone towers, or nuraghi, that are unique to the island. Archaeologists date most of these enigmatic structures to about 1300–1200 BC, the same time the ancient Israelites were establishing themselves in Canaan. Among the highlights on display are bronzetti (bronze statuettes) from nuraghic towers and tombs, displayed in the basement, and the much-celebrated Giganti di Mont'e Prama, giant nuraghic stone statues representing warriors and boxers, unearthed in the 1970s and only recently restored and displayed to the public, on the top floor.

The same entry ticket also allows you to visit the Spazio di San Pancrazio, a new exhibition space located within the thick city walls opposite the museum, showing a motley collection of lapidary monuments and majolica and azulejos tiles.

Castelsardo is best known in Sardinia for its intricate and colorful basketwork, numerous examples of which can be seen in the stores lining the main road and on the walls of the old center. The Museo dell'Intreccio Mediterraneo, located in the formidable 13th-century castle that dominates the town, puts it all into context, displaying a diverse range of woven baskets, culinary equipment, fishing equipment, and even an example of fassonis, the reed-constructed fishing boats once used around Oristano. The well-preserved castle was the Sardinian base of the powerful Doria family in the Middle Ages and has replicas of armor, catapults, and other medieval weaponry on the walls; try to time your visit to be here at sunset for the unforgettable views. The castle stays open till midnight and beyond in July and August. Your entry ticket includes admission to a museum dedicated to Castelsardo and its Genoan origins, housed nearby in an old Franciscan convent and mainly consisting of panels and videos—from here, too, there are awesome panoramic views of the coast.

This ethnographic collection is a must for anyone interested in the cultural context of Sardinia's customs and traditions. Among the 8,000 items in the museum's collection, you can view domestic and agricultural implements, splendid jewelry, traditional musical instruments, and dozens of local costumes. Audio guides are available, and guided tours can be booked. The nearby park on Sant'Onofrio Hill affords magnificent views over Nuoro and the surrounding country. Entry to the museum is free on the first Sunday of the month.

The narrow promontory outside Pula was the site of a Phoenician, Carthaginian, and then, later, Roman settlement that was first inhabited some 2,800 years ago. Nora was a prime location as a stronghold and an important trading town; Phoenician settlers scouted for good harbors, cliffs to shelter their craft from the wind, and an elevation from which they could defend themselves. An old Roman paved road passes the temple ruins, which include baths, a Roman theater, and an amphitheater now used for summer music festivals. 

Only 5 km (3 miles) southeast of the city center, Poetto Beach is one of the most enticing spots to relax in summer for both locals and tourists. Its clean, shallow, turquoise waters stretch for some 8 km (5 miles), and the beach is lined with cafés, restaurants, snack bars, and parks. Beach chairs and umbrellas are available for rent for around €15. Away from the sea, you can explore the nearby Molentargius lagoon, and admire the pink flamingos that nest in the marshy reeds there.  Poetto is easy to reach on the frequent public transport services: take Bus PF, PQ, or, in summer, Poetto Express, from Piazza Matteotti. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee in summer); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking; windsurfing.

The most extensive of the island's 7,000 discovered nuraghi, Su Nuraxi is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Concentric rings of thick stone walls conceal dark chambers and narrow passages in a central beehive-shape tower. In the ruins of the surrounding village there are benches, ovens, wells, and other Bronze Age remnants. Tours start every 30 minutes and last about 50 minutes. The same ticket includes entry to a museum and exhibition center in Barumini. If you're driving from SS131, don't be misled to other, lesser nuraghi—follow the signs all the way to Barumini.

This substantial amphitheater arena dating from the 2nd century AD attests to the importance of this area to the Romans. You can view it from a raised walkway but not (at least for the time being) enter the seating area or the underground passages. The site isn't suitable for people with mobility impairments. If you don't want to enter it, good views can be had from Viale Sant'Ignazio.

Olbia's little basilica, a short walk from the main Corso Umberto I, is the city's unmissable sight. The simple granite structure dates from the 11th century, part of the great Pisan church-building program, using pillars and columns recycled from Roman buildings. The basilica has a bare, somewhat somber interior; its three naves are separated by a series of Romanesque arches, and fragments of frescoes are visible behind the altar. Recent renovations of the monument have unearthed the remains of a Greek and Roman necropolis, which is now open to the public (the entrance is in the car park beneath the piazza).

Extensive marshlands and shallow lagoons teeming with eels, crayfish, and wildlife surround this calm and compact 11th-century town. Make a stop at the archaeological museum here for its awe-inspiring nuraghic statues, then drive north and west into the Sinis Peninsula to access the pristine beaches of Is Arutas, Maimoni, and Mari Ermi, characterized by fine white quartzified sand grains.

On the island of Sant'Antioco, off the southwestern coast of Sardinia, the fishing village and port of Calasetta draws visitors year-round for its beautiful beaches and fresh-seafood dishes. The pristine beaches of Spiaggia Grande and Le Saline, alternating with rocky areas, dunes, and local vegetation, form a rugged paradise. Founded by Ligurian settlers who worked as coral and tuna fishermen, Calasetta is connected daily by ferry boats with the smaller island of San Pietro, which also keeps intact its Ligurian cultural history and dialect.

Head 25 km (16 miles) west of Alghero for the spectacular heights of the imposing limestone headland of Capo Caccia. The rugged promontory, blanketed by thick maquis, forms part of the Porto Conte nature reserve and is home to deep caves such as the Grotta di Nettuno. Close by are the beaches of Porto Ferro, Cala Viola, and, on the beautiful Porto Conte inlet, Cala Dragunara.

If you like to seek out the esoteric, explore the rugged inland hills and town of Carbonia, less than 30 minutes' drive from Sant'Antioco and about an hour by car or train from Cagliari. Built in 1938 by Mussolini to serve as an administrative center of a once-booming coal-mining area, its time-frozen architecture—ordered rows of workers' houses around a core of monumental public buildings on the broad Piazza Roma—has been called an urban UFO set down in the Sardinian landscape.

Perched over the vast expanse of Cagliari and its port, this hillside quarter has narrow streets that hold ancient monuments and piazzas amid apartments with wash hung out to dry on elaborate wrought-iron balconies. The most impressive entrance is through the commanding late-19th-century archway of the Bastione di St. Remy on Piazza Costituzione. Entering this way means climbing numerous steps; if this is a problem, walk up Viale Regina Elena to find an elevator. At the top is an impressive panorama of the cityscape and the Gulf of Cagliari. From Piazza Palazzo, holding Cagliari's cathedral, you can walk to Piazza Indipendenza and the Museo Archeologico.

The highly ornate stone Duomo is Sassari's must-see sight. The cathedral, dedicated to St. Nicolas (of Santa Claus inspiration), took more than half a millennium to build: the foundations were laid in the 12th century, and the Spanish colonial--style facade was completed in the 18th. Of particular interest in the plainer interior are the ribbed Gothic vaults, the 14th-century painting of the Madonna del Bosco on the high altar, and the early-19th-century tomb of Placido Benedetto di Savoia, the uncle of united Italy's first king. Look out, too, for the candelieri displayed in the lateral chapels here—10-foot-tall wooden candlesticks which, festooned with ribbons and flowers, are carried through the streets of Sassari every August 14th by members of the local guilds in one of the city's major festivals.

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria, also known as the Duomo, was begun in the 12th century, but major renovation in the 17th century and reconstruction during the mid-1930s have left little of the original medieval church. The tiers of columns on the facade resemble those of medieval Romanesque Pisan churches, but only sections of the central portal, the bell tower, and the two side entrances are from the 13th century. Look for one of the most memorable features inside—the oversize marble pulpit sculpted in the 1300s and divided in half to fit into the church nave; it now lies on either side of the main entrance.

Perched at about 600 feet in the southwest hills of the island, this authentic Sardinian town 35 km (22 miles) north of Sant'Antioco has two notable medieval churches: the Cattedrale di Santa Chiara and Madonna delle Grazie. The town is famous for its theatrical, Spanish-inflected Easter festivities. A short drive away, on the Costa Verde, you can enjoy unspoiled, uncrowded beaches, including the beautiful Masua cove at Porto Cauli beach.

A couple of kilometers north of Alghero's old town, backed by pine woods, Maria Pia beach offers a convenient though unspectacular spot for an afternoon of bathing and sunbathing, but if you don't mind going farther afield, head for the altogether superior beaches of Le Bombarde and Lazzaretto, on adjacent inlets 10 kms (6 miles) west of town. Sheltered from the wind and equipped with bars and facilities for renting pedalos and canoes, the beaches are similar in style—both curves of soft sand studded with a few rocks, and both packed in August. The beaches are easy to reach on the frequent tourist bus service, Il Trottolo. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee in summer); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; windsurfing.

About 7 km (4 miles) northeast of Nuoro is Monte Ortobene, a granite peak at 2,900 feet offering lofty views over the gulch below. Here you can also see up close the imposing bronze statue of the Rendentore, or Christ the Redeemer, overlooking the valley. Pilgrimages and Masses take place in summer here. Picnic tables make this a favorite spot for an alfresco lunch throughout the year. The mountain is easily reachable from Nuoro by bus or car via SP45 .

Just outside Carbonia and strategically positioned atop a plateau that provides views inland and far out to sea, the remains of one of Sardinia's most important Carthaginian military strongholds were discovered by chance in 1962. The walls of Mt. Sirai were erected around 375 BC, and they continued to function as impregnable fortress barriers until the Roman conquest in 238 BC. For the full picture, try to combine your visit with a look at Carbonia's archaeological museum on Via Campania.

This lagoon-side archaeological museum displays many of the better-preserved urns and other artifacts recovered from nearby excavation sites, including Tharros. It is also the main home of the Giganti di Mont'e Prama—unique nuraghic stone statues recovered from the Sinis Peninsula in the 1970s but only recently viewable in their restored state. The visit takes about an hour. Buy a combination ticket to see the Museo Civico and the ruins at Tharros.

Nuoro is the literary capital of Sardinia and was the home of the island's most celebrated writer, the Nobel Prize–winner Grazia Deledda (1871–1936), who was born and grew up in this dwelling in the old center. The restored building is now a museum dedicated to the novelist, elegantly furnished in the style of the late 19th century and permitting a fascinating insight into how people lived in that period. The kitchen and garden are especially interesting, and letters and photographs relating to Deledda are displayed on the top floor.

This cathedral museum is housed in a 13th-century church designed in the Catalan Gothic style. The usual assortment of religious treasures—paintings, wooden sculptures, and bronze statues—is on display; look for the masterful 16th-century Catalan silverware, forged with intricate ancient motifs. Call ahead to check opening times.

Located just below Cagliari's amphitheater, the city's Botanical Garden offers a welcome refuge from the summer's heat, and a shady spot for a pause from sightseeing. The 12-acre site is managed by Cagliari university and includes plants from all over the Mediterranean as well as Africa and further afield, plus herbariums, ponds, and a scattering of Roman remains, notably cisterns, tanks, and a well. As the only green space in the city center, it's ideal for kids to let off steam, and perfect for a picnic. Guided tours are also available (book ahead).

Sea and nature are the big draws of Sardinia’s Costa Verde, where you’ll find such wild and unpopulated beaches as Piscinas, at the southern end of the coast and reached via a rough mountain road that passes deserted mines and herds of goats. Amenities: none. Best for: sunsets; solitude; swimming; walking. 

Alghero's cathedral on Via Manno hosts most of the town's official religious functions, but this 15th–16th-century church built in the Catalan-Gothic style is closest to the hearts of the algheresi and is the one place where you might come across the local dialect, used in some of the masses here. The simple interior holds a particularly emaciated-looking wooden Christ, while the crypt and cloister have an atmospheric charm, but the highlight of a visit is to climb the hexagonal belltower—not too arduous—for some great views of the old town. Evening concerts are held here in the summer months.

The simple 11th-century church at the base of the Nora promontory is key to one of the island's most colorful annual events. Don't be put off by the inappropriate modern frontage added to the building in 2021—the interior retains its ancient character. A four-day procession during the Festa di Sant'Efisio accompanies a statue of the martyred St. Efisius all the way from Cagliari to here and back again. The event culminates in a huge parade of costumed Sardinians and decorated traccas (ox-drawn carriages) along Cagliari's main avenue. Try to catch this if you're in southern Sardinia from May 1 to May 4.