Give Alghero three days. Walk the sea bastions and the old town first, climb the cathedral's bell tower, see the cloister of San Francesco and watch sunset from the walls. Day two is Capo Caccia and Neptune's Grotto, by the cliff stairs or by boat from the port. Day three takes in Palmavera, a winery tour and a beach.
Alghero is the walled port of Sardinia's northwest coast, repopulated by Catalans in the 14th century and still bilingual on its street signs. Use it as a base: Capo Caccia, the Porto Conte park and the beaches of the Riviera del Corallo are a short drive away.
About 70 percent of Alghero's Catalan-Aragonese walls still stand, and the sea bastions named after Columbus, Magellan, Pigafetta and Marco Polo make a free promenade above the water. Walk them west at sunset, then turn into the lanes behind for dinner.
A sea cave at the foot of Capo Caccia, reached by the Escala del Cabirol, about 650 steps down a 110 m cliff, or by tourist boat from Alghero port. Visits run only when the sea is calm, so check on the morning you plan to go.
The limestone headland closes the west side of Porto Conte bay, and its lighthouse has a focal height of 186 m, the highest in Italy. Stop at the viewpoint above the Escala del Cabirol for Isola Foradada, then pair it with the grotto.
A Catalan-Gothic core behind a neoclassical façade, with an octagonal bell tower you climb by a spiral stair for the view over the old-town roofs. On Good Friday it hosts the Desclavamentu, the high point of Holy Week.
The Conventual Franciscans' Catalan-Gothic church, largely rebuilt in the 16th century, under an octagonal sandstone bell tower. The cloister is the reason to come: entry is ticketed, and the first hour of the morning is the quietest.
A Bronze Age nuraghe ringed by the round stone huts of its village, including a meeting hut with a stone bench around the wall. A combined ticket with the Anghelu Ruju necropolis covers Alghero's two main prehistoric sites.
Pale sand and clear, shallow water about 7 km from the centre, with the smaller Lazzaretto coves just under a kilometre along the shore. It fills by late morning in August, so arrive early, or come in June or September.
The estate at I Piani covers about 650 hectares, over 520 of them under vine, and runs guided tours with a tasting. Book ahead, and ask to taste the Torbato, the white grape the house made its name on.
A 1927 Liberty-style villa just outside the walls tells the story of Alghero's red coral, from the seabed to the jeweller's bench. It is small: give it an hour before you shop for coral in the old town.
The majolica-tiled dome that marks the skyline belongs to the church of the city's patron, rebuilt in the 17th century; the present tiles date from the 1960s. Spot it from the bastions, then step inside for the statue of Saint Michael.
The town beach, a walk from the old town, where the Sant Joan bonfires burn each June.
Rock-cut prehistoric tombs north of town, on Palmavera's combined ticket.
Nuraghe and hut village on Porto Conte bay, an early Phoenician trading post.
Bogamarì season, when ricci go on menus across town; the sagra dates vary by year.
Alghero's carnival, with traditional masks, skins and bells in the old town.
Catalan Holy Week rites from the late 1500s, with the Good Friday Desclavamentu.
Four days ending on 23 June with bonfires on San Giovanni beach.
The patron's festival, in the week that includes 29 September.
A month of Christmas markets ending with New Year's Eve on Piazzale della Pace.
About 10 km from the centre. ARST buses leave from about 150 m outside arrivals for Via Catalogna, by the old town, in under half an hour.
The regional operator runs the airport line and the buses out of Via Catalogna. Buy tickets at the airport machines, at the stop or on board.
A regional line links Alghero with Sassari in about 40 minutes, for onward trains across the island.
Capo Caccia, Porto Ferro, Bosa and the wine estates sit outside town; a car turns each into an easy half day.
Lobster served cold with tomato, onion, oil and lemon. The town's dish.
Catalan rice rebuilt with local fish, shellfish and saffron.
Raw sea urchin roe tossed through pasta, in winter and spring.
The fish soup every seafood kitchen in town makes its own way.
Sardinian suckling pig, slow-roasted until the skin crackles.
Fried pastry filled with cheese and finished with honey.
A Catalan milk pudding Alghero claims as its own.
Myrtle-berry liqueur, the island's after-dinner glass.
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