10 GREAT THINGS TO DO IN CAGLIARI

2 GO TO COURT AT THE ROYAL PALACE

Head to the Royal Palace – also known as Viceroyal palace – to visit the ancient residence of the representative of the king of Sardinia.

Built during the 14th century under the rule of Peter IV of Aragon, it became the seat of the viceroy since 1337.

As you’ll notice, the building underwent several extensions and modifications over the centuries.

One of the largest remodellings happened at the hands of the Piedmontese architects during the 18th century after the Savoy became the rulers of Sardinia. The halls on the first floor were restored and a “grand” stairway was added to connect it with the entrance hall.

When Napoleon invaded Italy the Royal Family of Savoy moved to Cagliari and resided in this palace from 1799 until 1815 with their court.

During your tour, you’ll be able to also visit the Council Room. This was restored at the end of the 19th century by adding frescoes and stuccos to the main salon and is now destined to meetings by the elected members of the Province.

BONUS

Just around the corner of Piazza Palazzo, you’ll walk on to Piazza dell’Indipendenza. Stop there for a moment and take the panoramic elevator for an alternative view over the east-skyline of Cagliari.

Entry costs between Euro 1,50 and 2,50. Please check at the entrance for opening times and guided tours.

3 CULTURE UP

In the borough of Castello, and throughout the town, you can indulge your cultural inclinations.

MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE

You can track the ancient history of Sardinia since the fifth millennia B.C. until the Roman Empire at the National Archaeological Museum.

This collection is both incredibly fascinating for the most recent discoveries of Sardinian warrior statues – named Giants – and deeply interesting for the number of items on display. A guided tour will be most beneficial to get the most of your visit.

Piazza Arsenale 1, 09124 Cagliari | pm-sar.prenotmuseoarcheo.ca@beniculturali.it | +39-070-605-18245 / +39-070-655-911 / +39-070-605-18240 | MuseoArcheoCagliari.it

PINACOTECA NAZIONALE

You can dive into painting at the Pinacoteca Nazionale and get face to face with portraits and landscape subjects of Sardinian artists from the 16th to 20th century.

Piazza Arsenale 1, 09124 Cagliari | sbapsae-ca.pinacoteca.museo@beniculturali.it  | +39-070-662-496 | +39-340-982-4303 | PinacotecaCagliari.it

NURAGIC CIVILIZATION EXHIBITION

Discover the ancient Sardinian civilisation of the Nuragic People. Building over 8.000 towns, cities, outposts, and towers they were one the most powerful peoples in the Mediterranean, 2.000 years before the Romans started building their own empire.

This exhibit – you’ll have archaeologists and historians as a guide – will immerse you in their world. You will be able to touch artefacts, get close to full-scale reproductions of their warriors, and even visit one of their settlements in a virtual 3D tour.

Fiera Internazionale della Sardegna, Piazzale Marco Polo, 09126 Cagliari | info@sardiniaexperience.it | +39-389-594-9055 | Nuragica.com

MUSEO DELLE CERE ANATOMICHE

You may explore one of the world-wide most interesting collections of anatomical wax – reproducing body parts of the male and female body – at Museo delle Cere Anatomiche Clemente Susini.

These wax forms have been modelled between 1803 and 1805 in the wax lab of Europe’s most ancient Scientific Museum – Museo della Specola in Florence.

Since it was Francesco Boi – a Sardinian professor – who supplied the originals for the reproductions, he was able to bring back this collection with him in 1806.

MUSEO CIVICO DI ARTE SIAMESE STEFANO CARDU

Enter the Museo “Cardu” and visit Europe’s largest Siam art collection. This includes paintings, manuscripts, Buddhist sculptures in bronze, ivory, wood, and silver dating between the XVII and XIX century.

Quite surprisingly, here you will experience Thailand as you’d never thought.

Piazza Arsenale 1, 09124 Cagliari | infoeprenotazioni@museicivicicagliari.it | +39-070-651-888 | MuseiCiviciCagliari.it 

MUSEO DIOCESANO DEL DUOMO

Tip-toe into the Museo del Duomo to explore the treasure of the Cathedral of Cagliari. Golden calyces, sacred paintings, and relics are among the main attractions of this exhibit.

Via del Fossario 5, 09124 Cagliari | +39-328-268-7731 | MuseoDuomoCagliari.it | Tuesday through Friday 16:30 to 19:30, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 13:00 and 16:30 to 19:30

SARDINIAN ART COLLECTION LUIGI PILONI

Get a close-up look at all things Sardinian at Collezione Sarda Luigi Piloni. Seven rooms of the XVIII century’s Tridentine Seminar open their doors to paintings, geographical maps, costumes, artisans’ works, tapestry, jewels, silverware and clothing of Sardinia.

gpili@amm.unica.it – asorcine@amm.unica.it | +39-070-675-2428 or +39-070-675-2424 | Open only by prior reservation Monday through Friday morning, or Tuesday and Thursday evening

If you are an art enthusiast, worry not. By touring the other boroughs you’ll find more Museums and Galleries. And if they’re not enough, check out the Top 10 Museums in Sardinia

4 WALK UP THE GRAND STAIRS OF SAINT REMY

Walk up – or down – the steps of this monumental stairway to access the most central panoramic place of the town, Piazza Umberto I.

While the bastion of Saint Remy itself was built in the 14th century, the stairway and the triumph arc were added at the end of the 19th century to connect the upper borough of Castello to those of Villanova and Marina.

Architect Gaetano Cima designed the structure in neoclassical style with Corinthian columns to confer a monumental grandeur to the double stairway.

COVERED GALLERY

The covered gallery you’ll find between the lower ground level and the upper Piazza has been used for various purposes over the years – including as nursery during WWI – and now hosts modern art exhibits.

SHOPPING DISTRICT

If you are coming from Castello, why not continue in Via Manno or Via Garibaldi, Cagliari’s best shopping streets?

5 RELAX AT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

If you are looking for an interesting place to cool off from the hot streets of the old town, jump into the Botanical Gardens of Cagliari.

DESIGN

Designed in 1853 by Gaetano Cima – then Sardinia’s most famous architect and a lover of the neoclassical style – the Botanical Gardens of Palabanda will keep you interested throughout.

In fact, while the flat expanse of exotic plants echoes the Renaissance Garden style with its order and symmetry, half of the gardens are located on steep terrain and resemble a “Bosco”, a lovely wood.

ATTRACTIONS

Four Head Gardeners and 20 Prefects – including the mother of renowned Italian writer Italo Calvino – have managed over the years a garden dotted with points of interest.

Visit the Roman Cisterns – cleverly embraced by Cima in the Garden structure – the Grottoes, and the Roman cave where the limestone for the nearby Amphitheater and Villa Tigellio had been extracted.

PLANTS

All along the pathways you can enjoy the shade of about 600 trees – including a palm collection with 16 different types of species – and walk among more than 500 shrubs. Pay a short visit to the succulent plant section with more than 1000 specimens divided between the greenhouse and the outdoors.

CAFE’

The Botanical Garden has no bistro or café. Head south-west of the garden to find plenty of choices on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, from Brasseries to Pizzeria to Vegan Restaurants.

Viale Sant’Ignazio da Laconi 11, 09123 Cagliari | hbk@unica.it | for guided tours of minimum 10 people write to ortobotanico@unica.it | +39-070-675-3512 Admittance | +39-070-675-6520 Museum and Guided Tours

OPENING TIMES

Open April through October 09:00-18:00, and November through March 09:00-14:00, Tuesday through Sunday

TICKETS

Tickets cost between Euro 4 and 10 per person if you choose the Botanical Garden, the Botanical Museum and the Lab.

You can combine this ticket with other sightseeing to get a substantial price reduction. Children up to 5 years of age enjoy free entry.

A pamphlet with the major sections is included in the entry ticket.

6 SEARCH FOR THE GHOST AT SAINT MICHAEL

Seven hills surround the town of Cagliari and on one of them, you can go explore the Castle of Saint Michael.

THE CASTLES’ STRUCTURE

Now, prepare to walk up the bare hill of white stone covered only here and there by sparse shrubs to a peculiar kind of castle. It has a quadrangular shape but, as you’ll notice, only three fortified towers.

The north-east and south-east towers were erected sometime in the 12th century by the Pisan lords to defend a pre-existing structure of the 10th century, probably a former church. The Spanish then added a third tower, built with a coarser technique but larger than the other two.

THE GHOST

If you believe in ghosts, go visit with friends. The Spanish family of Carroz made the castle into a luxurious residence after having received it in fief by the King of Spain in 1325.

The story goes that they were hated by the people of Cagliari for their cruelty and particularly so the last of their bloodline, Countess Violante, who died there in 1511. However, she had been cursed by the clergy after her murdering a priest and reportedly her ghost still wanders about the fortress.

VISITS

You can tour the castle by walking in over a bridge – the Piedmontese built a moat around it in the 18th century and modernised the fort.

Inside you’ll find an art and culture centre with temporary exhibits in the same halls that were used as lazaret during the Plague of Saint Efisio between 1652 and 1656.

The location is ideal for taking in the panorama of the whole city of Cagliari with the view ranging from the lagoon of Santa Gilla to the Poetto Beach.

Castello di San Michele, Via Sirai | castellosanmichele@consorziocamu.it and info@consorziocamu.it | +39-346-667-3657 | CastelloSanMichele.it | Guided Tours available with prior booking | Open Tuesday through Sunday 09:00 to 17:00 | IG @camuartemusei

7 SWIM AT POETTO

Poetto is the town’s beach.

SPORTS

Awaken your inner child at the local amusement park – don’t mind the other children. Go surfing, windsurfing, canoeing, or just enjoy a refreshing swim.

DINERS

And when you get hungry, visit one of the several Italian snack-bars and beach restaurants.

During summer nights, Poetto becomes a very popular spot where people go to enjoy drinks in the cool night air and dance to live music on the beach.

RELAX

Of course, during the day you can go and either rent a sun lounger with an umbrella or simply bring your own towel, lay down and work on your tan.

Reach the 7 km-long beach by car or public transportation. Check with your hotel or on Moovitapp.com for the best way to get there from your location.

8 HIKE THE DEVIL’S SADDLE

The Devil’s Saddle is a rock formation located between the town and the beach of Poetto.

Legend has it that Lucifer and his demons were so fascinated by the beauty of Cagliari’s bay that they tried to get hold of them. God sent his fighters helmed by the Archangel Michael to defeat them.

During the battle, Lucifer was thrown off his horse and the saddle fell to the earth and petrified over the millennia into its actual shape.

CALAMOSCA TRAIL

You can now hike this “saddle” by walking up an easy path from Calamosca up the limestone cliff to its highest point. There you’ll find a breathtaking panorama over the beach of Poetto and the town of Cagliari.

Also, up there you can visit the remains of the Punic Temple to Astarte.

POETTO TRAIL

Another trekking trail – 20-30 minutes – begins at Marina Piccola behind the restaurant Il Pirata.

The path goes by the military No-Access zone all along the coast and leads to a beautifully cracked Spanish tower and a wonderful panorama over the Gulf of Angels.

9 BIRDWATCH AT MOLENTARGIUS

WHERE

Just behind the great beach of Poetto, you’ll find an area previously covered by the salt marshes called Molentargius.

In this natural reserve comprising basins of saltwater and sweet water, you’ll have a great chance at encountering many different varieties of animals.

ANIMALS

Amongst the animals who call this park their home, you’ll see otters (Myocastor coypus), wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus huxleyi), and a large variety of birds including pink flamingos, cormorants, night-herons, cattle egrets, purple herons, common Pochards, common shelducks, purple gallinules, black-winged stilts, pied avocets, marsh harriers and many more.

GUIDED TOURS

Entry to the parc area is free of charge but at the main house – called Infopoint – you can sign up for guided tours by foot, by electric vehicles or by boat too.

Edificio Sali Scelti, Via La Palma, 09126 Cagliari | infopoint@parcomolentargius.it | +39-070-379-19201 | +39-070-379-191 | ParcoMolentargius.it

OPENING TIMES

Free entry 1 March – 15 October from 06:30 to 21:00, 16 October – 28 February from 07:00 to 18:00 | Infopoint open Monday through Friday 08:30 to 18:30, and Saturday and Sunday 08:00 to 18:00

10 GO SHOPPING AND FOOD TASTING IN MARINA AND STAMPACE

While the borough of Marina with its Via Giuseppe Manno is the ideal spot for some cool shopping, the rest of the district and the Stampace borough offer a wealth of food choices.

The narrow roads of medieval conception make up a beautiful labyrinth of ancient churches and tiny squares dotted with cafés, Italian bars, ice-cream parlours, local tapas bars, brasseries, and restaurants.

If you love food, you’ll have plenty of choices, from Pizza to Seafood, from Spanish to Chinese, and from vegan to Indian. And of course plenty of Sardinian speciality restaurants too.