A Mini Tourist Guide to Cagliari

A sunny day in Cagliari

I never managed to write much about my 5 months in Sardinia, mainly as I was far too busy to find time to idly blog. So this is a bit belated but might be useful if you're planning a trip in the near future! Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia - it's not too big and easy to walk around. However most of the tourists don’t seem to think so as they throng around the Marina area and don’t get up to the Castello which is the oldest part of town. (Make sure you go up the Torre dell’elefante which is top left of this picture.) I lived in Castello for nearly 5 months and loved it. 

The Marina area pictured in the foreground has lots of touristy restaurants, most have some Sardinian specialities - we were advised to go to Dal Corsaro on Via Sardegno but never actually ate there! Pricier, but usually busy, are the restaurants on the battlements of Castello, Libarium is the popular one but the locals seem to go to others  either side of Libarium. Most restaurants don’t open until 7.30 - 8 ish but they close earlier than you might expect - it’s not like Spain!

All good stuff you see!

There’s plenty of Italian and Sardinian microbrewery beer around - you might find some in the restaurants, but the best bar with a range of straight and bottled brews is Il Merlo Parlante, Via Portascalas. If you walk past in the daytime you wouldn’t know there was anything there but between 7.30 and 8 a wooden door opens up and the long bar inside fills up pretty quickly. We went there regularly. If you want a beer earlier on you have the touristy bars at Piazza Jenne which we didn’t go in - the waiters outside will pester you trying entice you in with special deals. Round the corner is a big Irish (but not really Irish) pub, The Old Square on Vittoriio Emanuele II, just about the only place open when the rugby world cup afternoon matches were on - if you go there ask for the Italian bottled beer list - some good stuff there. And last but not least, Carlo and Sasha’s tiny pub Lima Lima is close to the shopping street near Bastion St Remy - it’s on Via Iglesias and usually opens at 6.30 pm (so we got to know Carlo and Sasha pretty well - give them our regards if you see them!) he usually has at least one local draught beer and he owns an eclectic beer shop over the road. He has occasional music nights but you’d need to reserve a table if you want to sit.

Italian word for flamingos is 'Fennicotteri!

You could spend all your time in the middle of Cagliari  - lots of churches, cathedrals, etc., but if you get a chance go down to see the flamingoes at Stagno Molentargius. Or even take a bus to Poetto Beach (can be absolutely packed but you’ll see the Italians at play!) In the mornings there is often a pink sheen on the water in the distance - just down from Torre San Pancrazio - as you come down through the North Eastern gate from Castello you’ll see them in the distance - this was the way I walked to work every morning!

http://www.microbirrifici.org/Sardegna_birrifici_regione.aspx is a beer website for Italy that was full of fascinating information and I found it very useful - they’ve revamped the website for some reason and now it’s not nearly as informative.