Cagliari

Cagliari is an Italian metropolitan city and the capital of an autonomous region of the island of Sardinia. The city has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan area (including 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants.

Tourist information

• Infopoint

  phone: +39 070 6777397
  address: Via Roma n. 145

You can download audio and PDF guides from the Cagliari tourist website organized by 6 walking tours.

By plane

• Aeroporto di Cagliari-ElmasThe airport is the busiest in Sardinia. Cagliari is served directly by a number of domestic and international flights, while well-connected Milan-Linate and Rome-Fiumicino airports can also serve as intermediate stops to this airport.

Ground connections

;By train

• Stazione di Elmas AeroportoTrenitalia railways connect the airport to the city (10' ride, every 20' or so) and the rest of the island.

;By taxi
A number of taxi companies serve the airport.
;By car
The airport is situated on the SS130.

By boat

• Stazione Marittima di CagliariConnections by Tirrenia ferries with Civitavecchia via Arbatax (the ferry leaves Civitavecchia at 19:00 and arrives at 08:00), Naples and Palermo.

By train

• Stazione di CagliariConnections to Elmas airport, Sassari (and the ferry terminal at Porto Torres), Olbia (and the ferry terminal at Golfo Aranci), Oristano, Iglesias and Carbonia Serbariu.

By bus

While ARST is the main regional bus service provider to the city, a few other companies are also operate in the region. Notably, Turmo Travel runs buses to Olbia (and the airport) and Santa Teresa Gallura.

• Stazione ARST Autolinee

  address: Piazza Matteotti

;Services

• Deposito bagagli

  phone: +39 346 5720570
  There is no left luggage service at the train station, but the bus station is next to it. It's a short walk from the ferry terminal.

By bus

CTMCagliari public transportation provides efficient and reliable (to Italian standards) services to get around the city and suburbs. There are about 30 bus and 3 trolleybus (filobus or trollino in Italian) lines in the city.

By light rail

MetrocagliariA light rail systen run by ARST. It has 2 lines that serve the town of Cagliari and part of its metropolitan area. Both lines run quite off the centre of the city.

By car

It is really difficult to get parking and drive in rush hour even if the road network has been recently improved.

The best thing is to walk through the old city and discover it. Almost everything you have to see in a quick visit of Cagliari can be reached by a pleasant little walk. Plus there are some spectacular views, for example of the Gulf of Cagliari seen from the old city that are best seen from points that are not reachable by car.

Old town

The core of the old town is the Castello district which lies on top of a hill facing the Gulf of Cagliari.

• Cattedrale di Santa Maria di Castello

  address: Piazza Palazzo 4/a
  Cagliari Cathedral is a beautiful 13th-century church with Neo-Gothic façade. Do not miss the Shrine of the Martyrs, excavated out of the rock.

• Palazzo di Città

  address: Piazza Palazzo, 6

• Palazzo RegioThe building was the residence of the royal representatives during the 14th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it passed trhough some reconstruction and restoration stages.

• Bastione di Saint RemyThis impressive fortification was built in the late 19th-century. Climb the huge stairways to be rewarded by a stunning view of the city, the sea and the mountains. Or use the elevator.

• Bastione di Santa Croce

• Porta CristinaThe gate built in 1825 in neoclassical style.

• Chiostro di San Domenico

  address: Via XXIV Maggio
  The cloister dates back to the 15th century. It was restored after the WWII.

• Chiesa di San Michele

  address: Via Ospedale, 2
  This church was consecrated 1538, but its Spanish Rococo decoration dates back to the 18th century decoration and considered the best example of this style on the island.

;Pisan towers
The towers were built in the 13th century during the Pisan domination of the city.

• Torre di San PancrazioBuilt in 1305 by the Sardinian architect Giovanni Capula, who designed also the Torre dell'Elefante. Good view over Cagliari from the top.

• Torre dell'ElephanteThe tower was built in 1307.

• Torre dello Sperone

Other sites

• Anfiteatro Romano

  address: Viale Sant'Ignazio 19

• Basilica di San Saturnino

  address: Piazza San Cosimo
  This paleochristian complex dates back as early as to the 5th century. The church itself was built in Provençal-Romanesque style and consecrated in the 11th century, which makes it the oldest in the city.

• Santuario di Nostra Signora di BonariaAn important religious complex. Some parts of it dting back to 1335, while the Balilica was completed only in the beginning of the 20th century. Like many historical monuments in Cagliari it was restored after the WWII.

Liberty architecture

• Palazzata della via RomaA collection of eclectic façades along the Via Roma including the Palazzo Civico.

• Palazzo CivicoThe edifice was originally build in 1907, then it was reconstructed from the WWII ruins between 1946-1953.

• Palazzo Valdes

  address: Viale Regina Elena
  Its older section, facing the Bastion of Saint Remy with a granite plinth and terracotta decorations, was designed by Nicolò Mura. The more recent section along the Via Sulis was designed by Riccardo Simonetti, and has an interesting round wall facing the piazza Marghinotti.

Museums

• Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari

  phone: +39 070 684000
  address: Piazza Indipendenza 7
  National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari.

• Galleria Comunale d'Arte

  address: viale San Vincenzo, 2
  The art gallery of Cagliari hosts paintings and sculptures from the period between the 19th and 20th centuries. It also includes a so-called Stanze del Collezionista (Collector's Rooms), the Collezione d'Arte Francesco Paolo Ingrao (Collection of Art Francesco Paolo Ingrao) which contains works of art in the period between mid-20th century towards the 1980s.

• Museo d'Arte Siamese "Stefano Cardu"

  address: Piazza Arsenale, 1
  Hold a collection of the Oriental art from 15th to 19th centuries.

• Pinacoteca NazionaleHouses a collection of 16th-20th centuries paintings by Sardinian artists, 15th-18th centuries paintings of the Genoese, Neapolitan and Roman schools, a collection of Sardinian and Catalan altarpieces.

• Museo delle cere anatomiche Clemente Susini

  address: Piazza Arsenale, 1
  A collection of the wax models of the parts of the (not only) human body.

• Centro Comunale d’Arte e Cultura Il Ghetto

  phone: +39 070 6670190
  address: Via Santa Croce 18
  Displays about artichecture and city planning. Nothing about the ghetto.

Parks

• Giardini pubblici

  address: largo Dessì
  The 1st public park of the city dates back to the 1st half of the 19th century. There are about centenarian 60 trees there.

• Orto Botanico di Cagliari

• Orto dei Cappuccini

  address: Vico I Merello
  The garden was founded In 1595 by the Capuchin friars on the hill to the west of the ruins of the Roman amphitheater.

Beaches

You must have a full relaxing day on the wonderful Poetto Beach. This 8 km beach will excite you and is perfectly equipped to satisfy every your wish. You can get here by buses PF, PQ, 3P, and 9P.
The beach is divided to the free parts and the beach clubs, the latter charging you with an entry fee but rent umbrellas, deck chairs, etc. for you. Prices are around €3/entry, about €12 for an umbrella, a deck chair and a sun bed. The club beaches clean the sand each night and provide you with showers and toilets.

Most of the shops are concentrated in a couple of areas: Via Roma and Largo Carlo Felice, the pedestrial roads Via Manno and Via Garibaldi, and the part of town around Via Alghero, Via Paoli and Via Dante.
Lots of beautiful shop are concentrated in this areas which could remind you of Copenhagen's Strøget.

There are many of restaurants in the old town area, mostly along via Sardegna and via Napoli. A dinner for two with a little house wine will set you back 40 to 70 euros at most.

Budget

• Ci Pensa Cannas

  phone: +39 070667815
  address: Via Sardegna 37
  This small family trattoria near the port offer a €15 set lunch (spaghetti with seashells, fried seafood, a glass of wine and a cup of coffee). Service unassuming, but the food is good.

Mid-range

• Pizzeria Il Pepe Rosa

  phone: +39 070 303 313
  address: Via Della Pineta, 108
  Pizzeria-café Italian cuisine. A bit noisy place, very popular with locals due to the outstanding cuisine.

• L'Oca Bianca

  phone: +39 070 664339
  address: Via Napoli, 38
  A good pizza place tucked away in the side streets. Make a reservation, though.

There are a few places to enjoy lunch salads at the Piazza Yenne and wonderful Gelaterias if you don't want to eat too heavily during the day. These places double up as decent eateries by night.

• Caffe degli Spiriti

  phone: +39 070 311 03 73
  address: Bastione San Remy
  Sardinian specialties, salads, pizza, ham, etc. At night cocktails and loungebar. Great view over the city and the ocean.

Splurge

• Convento San Giuseppe

  phone: +39 070 503 343
  address: Via Paracelso snc - Prolungamento Via Parigi
  It's said it is one of the best restaurants in the city, located in a building dating back to 1270. There are more than 250 dishes to choose from.

The whole area around Cagliari gives host to a number of accommodation options including the Forte Village, and Le Meridien Chia Laguna on the white sandy beaches of Chia.

• Hotel Tanca Irde

  address: Strada per Poggio dei Pini Capoterra

• Bed and Breakfast del Fiore

  phone: +39 338 112 3052
  address: Via Sebastiano Satta 29
  A few nice rooms with private bathrooms. One with a balcony.

Wear comfortable shoes, though. The old town of Cagliari is somewhat hilly, so you will be walking uphill or downhill most of the time.
There are clean public toilets in the building on the Pontile Sanita ferry wharf, near the bus terminal.

Cagliari is a very safe city both day and night. Visitors will be very unlikely to have any issues providing they follow the same precautions they would at home.

• Free WiFiCaFree wireless internet, without registration in the historic center and at the train and bus stations. In general if you have a good view of the city you can get online.

• Barumini for the Su Nuraxi the only in Sardinia
• Alghero, also known as Barcelonetta (Little Barcelona), is a pretty city with a strong Catalan influence, and is also known for its beautiful beaches and very good food at reasonable prices (4-hr bus trip from Cagliari).