Cagliari

The Bastione di Saint Remy, Nuragic bronzes and flamingos

Cagliari's first day belongs to the Castello quarter: the Bastione di Saint Remy, the cathedral, the Palazzo Regio and the National Archaeological Museum's Nuragic bronzes. Day two takes a CTM bus to Poetto beach and the Molentargius lagoon flamingos, then the Galleria Comunale d'Arte and an evening on Via Roma.

Spend the first morning in Castello. Climb the Bastione di Saint Remy from Piazza Costituzione for the view, then walk the ridge to the cathedral on Piazza Palazzo and go down to the shrine of the martyrs carved into the rock. Next door, the Palazzo Regio shows the rooms of the viceroys. Finish the morning at the National Archaeological Museum on Piazza Indipendenza for the Nuragic bronzes.

After lunch in Marina, walk down through the Porta Cristina or past the Bastione di Santa Croce for sunset over the rooftops.

On day two, take a CTM bus to Poetto for a morning swim, then walk to the edge of the Molentargius lagoon to see the flamingos. In the afternoon, visit the Galleria Comunale d'Arte in the Giardini Pubblici. End with coffee in Stampace and an evening walk along Via Roma by the port.

Fregola, culurgiones and bottarga on Via Sardegna

Most visitors to Cagliari eat in the Marina district, along Via Sardegna and Via Napoli, where small family trattorias such as Ci Pensa Cannas are moderately priced. Order fregola with clams, culurgiones, fish from the gulf and pasta with grated bottarga. Framento is the popular pizza stop on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

The Marina district below Castello is where most people eat, especially along Via Sardegna and Via Napoli. Ci Pensa Cannas on Via Sardegna is a small family trattoria in this grid, and there are dozens of others within a few streets. A dinner for two with house wine is moderately priced.

Order Sardinian staples: fregola, small toasted pasta often cooked with clams, culurgiones, plump stuffed pasta parcels, and fish straight from the gulf. Bottarga, salted mullet roe, turns up grated over pasta.

For pizza, Framento on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is popular and fills up early, so arrive soon after opening. In the mornings, Caffe dell'Arte on Via Caprera in Stampace roasts its own beans and serves breakfast and brunch every day, a few minutes from the station.

Pisan towers and the Roman amphitheatre

The two white limestone towers that guard Castello were built by Pisa in the early 14th century, when it ruled the city then called Caralis. The Torre di San Pancrazio dates from about 1305 and the Torre dell'Elefante from 1307, the latter attributed to Giovanni Capula; a small marble elephant sits on a ledge on its outer face.

Below the Buoncammino ridge, the Roman amphitheatre from the 2nd century AD is cut straight into the rock of the hillside, seating and arena alike. It shows how much Rome valued the port. Opening and guided visits vary, so check the times with the comune before you go; in summer it is sometimes used for concerts.

The Castello walk links both towers with the Bastione di Saint Remy and the cathedral, and the downhill lanes lead to the Marina quarter for lunch.

Flamingos, Poetto and the 12 viewpoints

Cagliari is one of the few European capitals where flamingos nest inside the city limits. Coming in to land at Elmas, planes cross the Santa Gilla lagoon, part of one of Europe's main wetlands, its water rarely more than a couple of metres deep. Herons, black-winged stilts and flamingos live there and in the Molentargius regional park on the east side of town, where they also breed. Molentargius has flat paths and is easy to cycle; go at dusk for the birds.

The Poetto runs for about 7 to 8 km from the Sella del Diavolo headland towards Quartu, with beach clubs, kiosks and a cycle lane behind the sand. CTM buses run out from the centre.

The city has 12 recognised viewpoints. The Bastione is the famous one, but the Sella del Diavolo trail at sunset gives the full sweep of the gulf, the salt pans and the lagoon.

Nora and the south coast

The easiest day trip is to Nora near Capo di Pula, south-west along the coast. Founded by the Phoenicians and taken by Rome in the 3rd century BC, it is considered the oldest town in Sardinia, with a small theatre, baths from the imperial age and mosaics, and part of the ancient town now lies under the sea. In the other direction, Villasimius is about 50 km from the port, with white beaches and very clear water.

Nuragic bronzes and the giants of Mont'e Prama

Set aside two hours for the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, on Piazza Arsenale inside the Cittadella dei Musei at the top of Castello. It is the best place in Sardinia to understand the island before Rome, with finds running from the pre-Nuragic period to the Byzantine age.

The highlight is the collection of Nuragic bronzetti, small cast figures of tribal chiefs, warriors, archers, hunters, mothers with children and animals, along with votive boats. They are the closest thing to portraits of the people who built the island's stone towers. The other draw is the group of stone giants from Mont'e Prama, statues of boxers, archers and warriors dated to the 9th and 8th centuries BC.

The Cittadella also holds three smaller museums, including a picture gallery and an Asian art collection. Combine the visit with the Elefante tower and the Bastione, all within ten minutes on foot.

With a car and a free day, keep going west past Pula. The white dunes of Porto Pino, with water that looks tropical on a calm day, are among the most photographed beaches in the south. Inland, the Sulcis Iglesiente has been inhabited for about 5,000 years, and its old mines, now on UNESCO's tentative list, can be visited underground. Near the coast at Pula, a pine-wood adventure park with seven aerial rope courses keeps older children busy for a morning.

The Poetto has its own landmark, the Torre Spagnola, a watchtower from the years of Spanish rule midway along the beach near the former Marine Hospital, and the usual meeting point for swimmers. Some stretches of sand are run by beach clubs with loungers and showers, others are free, and on August weekends the free sections fill first, so arrive early.