Sardinia can be found off the west coast of mainland Italy; it is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with Sicily being the first. It is home to a number of mountain ranges such as the Monte Limbara, Sulcis Mountains and the Gennargentu Ranges, where the islands highest peak, Punta La Marmora can be found. There are a couple of major rivers such as Tirso, which flows into the Sea of Sardinia; there are also a few lakes, such as Lake Omodeo and Lake Coghinas. The island gets on average 300 days of sunshine per year, with an average annual temperature of around 17 degrees.
The capital of the island is Cagliari and it has a whole host of things to do and see, such as a number of parks, the city is actually known as Italy’s greenest city. Some of the parks here include the Regional Park of Molentargius, Monte Urpinu Park, Monte Claro Park and the Park of San Michele Hill. Cagliari has an 8 km long beach, called Poetto. The city is also close to a couple of lovely seaside destinations, such as Maddalena Beach, Chia or Villasimius, which are still relatively free from major commercialization and tourism. The old part of the city, also known as the castle, is on top of the hill and this is where you will find the city walls, as well as two well-preserved limestone towers, St. Pancras Tower and the Elephant Tower.
The next largest city is Sassari, which lies on the northwestern edge of the island. It has some interesting sights to discover, such as Monte d'Accoddi, which is a prehistoric megalithic structure that is dated to have been built around 2700-2000 BC, some call it a step pyramid due to its appearance. The old city walls were built in the 13th century, along with 36 towers of which only six have survived to present day. There are of course a number of churches and a cathedral to visit, as well as the impressive Fountain of the Rosello.
The island has many other sights worth seeing, some of which include Le Dune di Piscinas, which is a nature and wildlife area in Arbus, Azienda Agricola Leda' d'Ittiri in Alghero is a vineyard and olive grove that has tours and tasting sessions, also in Alghero there is Neptune's Grotto (Grotta di Nettuno) that does have many steps to climb and descend, but it is well worth the effort.
Looking for self catering holiday accommodation in Sardinia? Then below is a selection of Apartments in Sardinia and villas in Sardinia that can be rented direct from their owners. You can either click on each listing for further details or you can use our search engine on the left if you are looking for something in particular.
