Cagliari is Sardinia’s main and most populous city, at the centre of an urban area that counts 430,000 inhabitants (150,000 of them in the capital city alone) as well as the island’s gateway port and main Mediterranean cruise liner hub. The city’s history goes back thousands of years, from pre-historic times to the reign of the Savoy.

Picturesque historical districts with sea views, elegant shopping streets and panoramic terraces, including the bastione di Santa Croce, a great place for a romantic evening after a fiery sunset.

The Castello quarter sits perched on its highest hill and boasts ancient bastions that today are the heart and soul of nightlife, and picturesque streets lined by grand old homes. The medieval towers - dell’Elefante and San Pancrazio - that stand guard at the entrance to the castle are well worth notice. A passionate air of religious devotion takes over the quarter every year at Easter, during Holy Week, while during the rest of the year the elegant boutiques and churches welcome you with somewhat less ado. Below Castello you’ll find the Marina quarter, which will impress you with lovely buildings and the porticos. Settled as a village of fishermen and merchants, it is the symbol of the town’s multi-ethnicity. You can head towards a thousand different natural attractions: the Cagliari lagoon, the Molentargius-Saline park, which you can visit on a mountain bike, to see the pink flamingos take flight, and, of course, the sea.