Cagliari

Cagliari looks out to sea from a hill of pale limestone, its old town stacked in ramparts above the port. The terrace of the Bastione di Saint Remy opens onto ochre roofs, the lagoon and the whole gulf. The beach is in town: Poetto runs eight kilometres of sand past kiosks that serve drinks a few steps from the water. Right behind it, flamingos nest in their thousands in the salt pans of the Molentargius-Saline Natural Park. Further along the coast the water turns unreal, at Tuerredda Beach, in the coves of Chia Beaches and on the white sand of Villasimius Beaches. Phoenicians and Romans left their mosaics facing the sea at Nora Archaeological Park. The table means fregola with clams, roast suckling pig and pecorino, with a chilled vermentino. The great Sardinian festivals bring out embroidered costumes and carts drawn by oxen.