Cagliari

Cagliari (Sardinian: Casteddu, "castle"; Latin: Caralis) is the capital city of the Italian island of Sardinia.

Understand

Piazza del Carmine

Metropolitan City of Cagliari in Sardinia

Cagliari is an Italian metropolitan city and the capital of an autonomous region of the island of Sardinia. The city has about 155,000 inhabitants (2015), while its metropolitan area (including 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants (2017).

Tourist information

• 1 Infopoint, Via Roma n. 145 (Palazzo Comunale), ☏ +39 070 6777397, infopoint@comune.cagliari.it. Apr-Oct: 09:00-20:00; Nov-Mar: M-Sa 10:00-13:00 14:00-17:00, Su 10:00-13:00. (updated Sep 2017)

You can download audio and PDF guides from the Cagliari tourist website organized by 6 walking tours.

Get in

East walls, under the Cathedral and the Royal Palace

By plane

• 1 Aeroporto di Cagliari-Elmas (CAG  ^IATA) (next to Elmas, approximately 6 km West from central Cagliari). The busiest airport in Sardinia. Cagliari is served directly by a number of domestic and international flights, while well-connected Milan-Linate and Rome-Fiumicino airports can also serve as intermediate stops to this airport. (updated Sep 2017)

Ground connections

By train

• 2 Stazione di Elmas Aeroporto (next to the airport). Trenitalia railways connect the airport to the city (10-min ride, every 20-min or so) and the rest of the island. (updated Sep 2017)

By taxi

A number of taxi companies serve the airport.

By car

The airport is on the SS130 road.

By boat

Cagliari harbour

• 3 Stazione Marittima di Cagliari. Connections by Tirrenia ferries with Civitavecchia via Arbatax (the ferry leaves Civitavecchia at 19:00 and arrives at 08:00), Naples and Palermo. 

By train

• 4 Stazione di Cagliari (Cagliari railway station). Connections to Elmas airport, Sassari (and the ferry terminal at Porto Torres), Olbia (and the ferry terminal at Golfo Aranci), Oristano, Iglesias and Carbonia Serbariu. (updated May 2023)

By bus

While ARST is the main regional bus service provider to the city, a few other companies are also operate in the region. Notably, Turmo Travel runs buses to Olbia (and the airport) and Santa Teresa Gallura.

• 5 Stazione ARST Autolinee (regional bus terminal), Piazza Matteotti, toll-free: +39 800865042. (updated Sep 2017)

Services

• Deposito bagagli (Left luggage) (at the bus terminal, next to McDonalds), ☏ +39 346 5720570. 07:00-20:00. There is no left luggage service at the train station, but the bus station is next to it. It's a short walk from the ferry terminal. Small item €1/hr, medium €1.5/hr, large €2/hr, 15% discount for 3 items. 

Get around

By bus

A trolleybus in Cagliari

CTM. Cagliari public transportation provides efficient and reliable (to Italian standards) services to get around the city and suburbs. There are about 30 bus and 3 trolleybus (filobus or trollino in Italian) lines in the city. As of Jun 2023, you can also download the CTM busfinder app, which allows you to buy tickets using your credit or debit card. The tickets must be validated onboard by scanning a QR code near the doors of the bus; follow instructions in the app. Single, valid 90 min €1.30 (sold on board €1.80); Single bus+metro, valid 2 hr €2 (sold on board €2.50); Day pass €3.30. Tickets must be validated on 1st boarding. (updated Sep 2017)

By light rail

Metrocagliari. A light rail system run by ARST. It has 2 lines that serve the town of Cagliari and part of its metropolitan area. Both lines run quite off the centre of the city. Single, valid 90 min €1.30. (updated Sep 2017)

By car

It is really difficult to get parking and drive in rush hour even if the road network has been improved.

The city center has several limited traffic zones (ZTLs): Marina, Castello, Villanova, Stampace Alto, and Stampace Basso (maps and hours). There's also a limited traffic zone in Poetto (map).

See

Palazzo Civico, Cagliari

Cagliari Cathedral

The best thing is to walk through the old city and discover it. Almost everything you have to see in a quick visit of Cagliari can be reached on foot. Plus there are some spectacular views, for example of the Gulf of Cagliari seen from the old city that are best seen from points that are not reachable by car.

Old town

The core of the old town is the Castello district which lies on top of a hill facing the Gulf of Cagliari.

• 1 Cattedrale di Santa Maria di Castello (Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Cecilia), Piazza Palazzo 4/a. Cagliari Cathedral is a beautiful 13th-century church with Neo-Gothic façade. Do not miss the Shrine of the Martyrs, excavated out of the rock. Free. (updated Sep 2017)
• 2 Palazzo di Città (Ex Palazzo di Città), Piazza Palazzo, 6. Sep-May: Tu W Th Su 10:00-18:00, F Sa 10:00-20:00; Jun-Aug: 10:00-20:00. €6. (updated Oct 2017)
• 3 Palazzo Regio (Viceregio). 9:00-19:00. The building was the residence of the royal representatives during the 14th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it passed through some reconstruction and restoration stages. €3. (updated Jun 2023)

Bastione Remy in Cagliari

• 4 Bastione di Saint Remy (Piazza Costituzione). This impressive fortification was built in the late 19th century. Climb the huge stairways to be rewarded by a stunning view of the city, the sea and the mountains. Or use the elevator. free.  
• 5 Bastione di Santa Croce. 
• 6 Porta Cristina. The gate built in 1825 in neoclassical style. (updated Sep 2017)
• 7 Chiostro di San Domenico, Via XXIV Maggio. The cloister dates back to the 15th century. It was restored after World War II. (updated Sep 2017)
• 8 Chiesa di San Michele, Via Ospedale, 2. M-Sa 9-12, 19:00-21:00, Su 8:00-11:00, 19:00-20:30. This church was consecrated 1538, but its Spanish Rococo decoration dates back to the 18th century decoration and considered the best example of this style on the island. (updated Oct 2017)

Pisan towers

Torre dell'Elephante

The towers were built in the 13th century during the Pisan domination of the city.

• 9 Torre di San Pancrazio (Saint Pancras Tower). temporary closed. Built in 1305 by the Sardinian architect Giovanni Capula, who designed also the Torre dell'Elefante. Good view over Cagliari from the top. €3. (updated Sep 2017)
• 10 Torre dell'Elefante (Tower of the Elephant). 10:00-19:00. The tower was built in 1307. €3. (updated Sep 2017)
• 11 Torre dello Sperone (degli Alberti or di San Michele). (updated Sep 2017)

Other sites

Roman Amphiteatre

• 12 Anfiteatro Romano (Roman Amphiteatre), Viale Sant'Ignazio 19. 10:00-14:00, 15:00-19:00. €3. (updated Sep 2017)
• 13 Basilica di San Saturnino (San Saturno), Piazza San Cosimo. F 15:00-19:00, Sa 09:00-19:00, 1st Su of the month 09:00-19:00. This paleo-Christian complex dates back as early as to the 5th century. The church was built in Provençal-Romanesque style and consecrated in the 11th century, which makes it the oldest in the city. (updated Sep 2017)
• 14 Santuario di Nostra Signora di Bonaria (Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria). 06:30-19:30. An important religious complex. Some parts of it dating back to 1335, while the basilica was completed only in the beginning of the 20th century. Like many historical monuments in Cagliari it was restored after the WWII. (updated Sep 2017)

Liberty architecture

• Palazzata della via Roma. A collection of eclectic façades along the Via Roma including the Palazzo Civico. (updated Sep 2017)
• 15 Palazzo Civico (Palazzo Bacaredda). The edifice was built in 1907, then it was reconstructed from the World War II ruins between 1946-1953. (updated Sep 2017)
• 16 Palazzo Valdes, Viale Regina Elena. Its older section, facing the Bastion of Saint Remy with a granite plinth and terracotta decorations, was designed by Nicolò Mura. The more recent section along the Via Sulis was designed by Riccardo Simonetti, and has an interesting round wall facing the piazza Marghinotti. (updated Sep 2017)

Do

Museums

• 1 Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari, Piazza Indipendenza 7, ☏ +39 070 684000, sba-ca@beniculturali.it. Tu-Su 09:00-18:00. National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari. €5. 
• 2 Galleria Comunale d'Arte, viale San Vincenzo, 2 (Giardini Pubblici). Sep-May: Tu-Su 10:00-18:00; Jun-Aug: Tu-Su 10:00-20:00. The art gallery of Cagliari hosts paintings and sculptures from the period between the 19th and 20th centuries. It also includes a so-called Stanze del Collezionista (Collector's Rooms), the Collezione d'Arte Francesco Paolo Ingrao (Collection of Art Francesco Paolo Ingrao) which contains works of art in the period between mid-20th century towards the 1980s. €6; combined ticket €8 (Museo d'arte simaese + Palazzo di Città + Galleria Comunale d'arte). (updated Sep 2017)
• 3 Museo d'Arte Siamese "Stefano Cardu", Piazza Arsenale, 1. See the collection of 15th-19th century Oriental art. Entry €3. (updated Sep 2017)
• 4 Pinacoteca Nazionale. Houses a collection of 16th-to 20th-century paintings by Sardinian artists, 15th- to 18th-century paintings of the Genoese, Neapolitan and Roman schools, a collection of Sardinian and Catalan altarpieces. (updated Sep 2017)
• 5 Museo delle cere anatomiche Clemente Susini (The Clemente Susini Collection of wax models of the University of Cagliari), Piazza Arsenale, 1. Tu-Su 09:00-13:00, 16:00-19:00. A collection of the wax models of the parts of the (not only) human body. (updated Sep 2017)
• 6 Centro Comunale d’Arte e Cultura Il Ghetto (Comunial Centre for Art and Culture of the Ghetto), Via Santa Croce 18, ☏ +39 070 6670190. Tu-Su 10:00-21:00. Displays about archichecture and city planning. Nothing about the ghetto. Free. 

Parks

• 7 Giardini pubblici, largo Dessì. The 1st public park of the city dates back to the 1st half of the 19th century. There are about 60 centenarian trees there. (updated Sep 2017)
• 8 Orto Botanico di Cagliari (HBK -- Hortus Botanicus Karalitanus). Apr-Oct: Tu-Su 09:00-18:00. €4. (updated Aug 2017)
• 9 Orto dei Cappuccini (Garden of the Capuchins), Vico I Merello. 08:00-20:00. The garden was founded In 1595 by the Capuchin friars on the hill to the west of the ruins of the Roman amphitheater. (updated Sep 2017)

Beaches

The best beach is the 8km-long Poetto Beach. You can get here by buses PF, PQ, 3P, and 9P. The beach is divided to the free parts and the beach clubs, the latter charging you with an entry fee but rent umbrellas, deck chairs, etc. Prices are around €3/entry, about €12 for an umbrella, a deck chair and a sun bed. The club beaches clean the sand each night and provide you with showers and toilets.

Other

• Football: Cagliari Calcio were promoted in 2023 so they now play in Serie A, Italy's top tier. Their home ground is Unipol Domus or Sardegna Arena (capacity 16,400) 2 km south of town centre.
• Flamingoes: Cagliari is the only city in the world visited by migratory flamingoes. The wild birds can be seen in the salty and shallow Saline di Quartu Sant’Elena every summer. A nature reserve has been created alongside these artificial salt pans with paths that allow viewing of the flamingoes.

Buy

Most of the shops are concentrated in a couple of areas: Via Roma and Largo Carlo Felice, the pedestrian roads Via Manno and Via Garibaldi, and the part of town around Via Alghero, Via Paoli and Via Dante. Lots of beautiful shops are concentrated in these areas which could remind you of Copenhagen's Strøget.

Eat

There are many of restaurants in the old town area, mostly along via Sardegna and via Napoli. A dinner for two with a little house wine will set you back €40-70.

• Framento, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 82 - 09124 Cagliari, ☏ +39 070 667 0370. Very good pizza for about €15 to €20. Fills up very quickly. (updated Oct 2024)

Budget

Around the Marina

• 1 Ci Pensa Cannas, Via Sardegna 37, ☏ +39 070667815. This small family trattoria near the port offer a €15 set lunch (spaghetti with seashells, fried seafood, a glass of wine and a cup of coffee). Service unassuming, but the food is good. €15-20 (Sept 2017). (updated May 2022)
• 2 La Bottega del Panino, Viale la Plaia, 38. (updated May 2022)
• 3 Makito Casteddu, Via Giovanni Maria Dettori, 26. (updated May 2022)
• 4 La Mallicca, Via Goffredo Mameli, 34. (updated May 2022)
• 5 Bria La Focacceria, Via Napoli, 7. A pizza restaurant (updated May 2022)
• 6 Osteria Cagliaritana, Via Sardegna, 40. (updated May 2022)
• 7 Ci Pensa Cannas, Via Sardegna, 37. (updated May 2022)
• 8 Namastè Indian Tandoori Food, 63, Via Barcellona. (updated May 2022)
• 9 Napul'é, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 95/a, ☏ +39070668518. Pizzeria. Good neapolitan pizza. Around €20 for pizza and glass of wine. (updated Jun 2023)

Around Torre dell'Elefante

• 10 Metzcal Di Ambu Veronica Luisa, P.za Yenne, 15. (updated May 2022)
• 11 La Kasbah di Bebbo, Via Santa Margherita, 10. (updated May 2022)
• 12 Ristorante Maua Poke, Via Santa Margherita, 19/A. (updated May 2022)

In Villanova

• 13 Cardia Alessandro, Via Eleonora D'Arborea, 43. A pizza restaurant (updated May 2022)
• 14 Cucina di Mariam, Via Oristano, 25. A Deli (updated May 2022)
• 15 Tokyo, Via Iglesias, 13. A Ramen restaurant (updated May 2022)

Mid-range

• 16 Pizzeria Il Pepe Rosa, Via Della Pineta, 108, ☏ +39 070 303 313. Pizzeria-café Italian cuisine. A bit noisy place, very popular with locals due to the outstanding cuisine. €30-40 (Sept 2017). (updated May 2022)
• 17 L'Oca Bianca, Via Napoli, 38 (Marina District), ☏ +39 070 664339. A good pizza place tucked away in the side streets. Make a reservation, though. (updated May 2022)

There are a few places to enjoy lunch salads at the Piazza Yenne and wonderful Gelaterias if you don't want to eat too heavily during the day. These places double up as decent eateries by night.

Splurge

• Convento San Giuseppe, Via Paracelso snc - Prolungamento Via Parigi, ☏ +39 070 503 343. It's said it is one of the best restaurants in the city, located in a building dating back to 1270. There are more than 250 dishes to choose from. €40-80. (updated Sep 2017)

Sleep

The whole area around Cagliari gives host to a number of accommodation options including the Forte Village, and Le Meridien Chia Laguna on the white sandy beaches of Chia.

• Hotel Tanca Irde, Strada per Poggio dei Pini Capoterra. Hotel Tanca Irde is on a small hill between the mountains and the sea, within the area of Capoterra, a few kilometers from Cagliari and its airport. The hotel, which is open all year round, is surrounded by ample grounds containing a swimming pool and private car park. From €58 double. (updated Sep 2017)
• 1 Bed and Breakfast del Fiore, Via Sebastiano Satta 29, ☏ +39 338 112 3052, info@bedandbreakfastdelfiore.it. A few nice rooms with private bathrooms. One with a balcony. €70. 

Cope

Wear comfortable shoes. The old town of Cagliari is somewhat hilly, so you will be walking uphill or downhill most of the time.

There are clean public toilets in the building on the Pontile Sanita ferry wharf, near the bus terminal.

Stay safe

Cagliari is a very safe city both day and night. Visitors will be very unlikely to have any issues providing they follow the same precautions they would at home. The only suspicious place is around the main bus/train station, where homeless people linger.

Connect

As of June 2023, Cagliari has 5G reception from all major Italian telecom carriers. Wifi is ubiquitous in all public spaces, cafes, hotels, and transit.

Go next

• Barumini for the Su Nuraxi the only UNESCO-listed site in Sardinia
• Alghero, also known as Barcelonetta (Little Barcelona), is a pretty city with a strong Catalan influence, and is also known for its beautiful beaches and very good food at reasonable prices (4-hr bus trip from Cagliari).