Alghero is a beautiful town on the north-western shore of Sardinia, Italy. It is best known for its beautiful beaches, unique food, and also for its Catalan heritage; in fact, it was known in the past as la Barceloneta sarda, little Sardinian Barcelona. This historic town is one of the most popular destinations for Sardinia's visitors.
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In Alghero's (IPA: alˈɡɛːro), Catalan: L'Alguer (IPA: ɫəɫˈɣe) atmospheric narrow lanes you'll find numerous bars and cafés. Its restaurants are renowned for excellent seafood. The surrounding area brings many delights for those who venture out of the city. These include the famous beaches at La Pelosa - Stintino, the eerily abandoned mining town of Argentiera and the ancient palace complex at Nuraghe di Palmavera. 1 InfoAlghero (Ufficio Informazioni Turistiche), Largo San Francesco (Lo Quarter), ☏ +39 079 97 90 54, infoalghero@comune.alghero.ss.it. M-F 09:00–13:00 15:30–18:30; Sa 09:00–13:00 16:00–19:00; Su 10:00–13:00 (only Mar-Oct). (updated Jan 2016)
The city centre has a limited traffic zone (ZTL) (map and hours). Most vehicles are prohibited from accessing it most of the time. Cameras are in operation and fines apply, even if you're in a rented car.
Religious architecture: 1 Cattedrale di Santa Maria, Piazza Duomo, 2. Dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the landmarks of the town. Its neo-classical façade was added in the 19th century. campanile €3. (updated Aug 2017) 2 Chiesa di San Francesco. 15th-century church in Gothic-Catalan style. (updated Aug 2017) 3 Chiesa San Michele. The church dates to the 16th century. Its polychrome tiled dome is one of the symbols of the town. It's quite remarkable though that the dome has received this colourful decoration only in 1950s (designed by Antonio Simon Mossa and Filippo Figari) (updated Aug 2017) 4 Parrocchia di Nostra Signora della Mercede.
1 Museo Archeologico della Città, Via Carlo Alberto, 72, ☏ +39 0799734045. 11:00-13:30, 17:30-21:30. €6. (updated Aug 2017) 2 Museo del Corallo (Casa Ascione), Via XX Settembre n. 8, ☏ +39 0799897502, info@museodelcorallo.it. 10:30-13:00, 17:00-21:00. The Museum of Coral in the Libery villa. €6. (updated Aug 2017) 3 Museo Diocesano, Piazza Duomo, ☏ +39 079 973 3041. W-M 10:30-13:00 18:00-20:30. €4, + Cathedral's campanile €6. (updated Aug 2017) The coastal road south of Alghero is beautiful, an unspoilt and protected panorama of sparkling sea, lush vegetation, and rocky mountains.
As in most parts of Italy food in Alghero is an important thing. The town's fishing port provides seafood fresh from the sea. Make sure that you try Catalan lobster, lobster salad with raw tomatoes and onion. Ricci (sea urchins) are also very popular in Alghero with a festival being held in their honor around February during the "Sagra del Bogamarì". Basically, anywhere in town is good, as long as you avoid the tourist restaurants with "il menu turistico". All these are in the city centre: 1 La Piccola Cucina Alghero, Via Giuseppe Mazzini, 23. (updated Aug 2022) 2 Pub L'Anfora, Via Gioberti, 31. (updated Aug 2022) 3 El Davalito, Via Majorca, 33.
Take in the beautiful views at cafe Latino located on the battlements overlooking the harbour. There are also lots of late night bars on the Lungomare Valencia that get going at around about midnight. Local drinks are limoncello, mirto and some local wines that they serve in all restaurants. Also you should not miss the Bar La Perla in Viale Sardegna. It serves great cappuccino.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Alghero typically sees ~31°C daytime highs and 2 rainy days.
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