Alghero

From Torre della Maddalena at the north end, slip inland one block down Via Carlo Alberto, past shop windows of red coral jewelry — the city's other treasure. The Piazza Duomo façade is austere neoclassical, but circle around to Carrer de Santa Maria for the original 16th-century Catalan-Gothic side, all sandstone arches and pointed windows. Look up at the octagonal bell tower — the only one of its kind in Sardinia, a direct import from Barcelona.

Tip: Walk into Carrer de Santa Maria for the original Catalan-Gothic façade — most visitors photograph only the bland front. The street signs here are Catalan first, Italian second; this is the only town in Italy where that's true.

Two minutes east of the cathedral on Via Garibaldi, this 1940s Sardinian institution has fed locals their elevenses for generations — and it's the right move before a boat. Order one panada (savory pastry stuffed with eel or lamb, €4) and a slice of potato-rosemary focaccia (€3.50), then a seada — fried cheese pastry drizzled with bitter Sardinian honey (€4). A full plate runs €10–14 per person.

Tip: Skip the panini case at the front — the panadas behind the counter are the reason to be here. Eat standing at the marble counter; the back tables charge a coperto and double the bill.

Walk five minutes north along the marina to Banchina Porto, where the Navisarda ferries leave for Capo Caccia. The 50-minute crossing is half the experience — limestone cliffs drop 200 m straight into the sea, and you'll see why this stretch is called the Riviera del Corallo. Inside the grotto, an underground lake mirrors the stalactites; the guided 45-minute walk is short but the optics unforgettable — and by boat you skip the 654 steps of the Escala del Cabirol cliff staircase.

Tip: Take the 13:30 Navisarda departure — afternoon light angles into the grotto mouth and the cave is at its most lit. Buy the combined boat + grotto ticket (€34) at the Bastione della Maddalena kiosk before walking to the dock; same price as buying separately but skips the second queue inside.

Back at the port, walk south along Lungomare Valencia — the promenade hugging the old town's western walls. Past Bastione della Maddalena, the path opens onto a long sea-facing terrace where locals come for aperitivo (Aperol €6 at the seafront kiosks). End at Bastione Magellano, the southwest corner: this is the angle where Alghero's silhouette — walls, bell tower, fishing boats — turns gold against the sun setting over Capo Caccia, the same headland you visited two hours ago, now in profile.

Tip: Caffè Latino on Lungomare Valencia has the best-value aperitivo (Aperol + free olives and focaccia, €6) — its outdoor terrace faces directly west. Arrive 30 minutes before sunset (19:15 in June, 17:30 in October) to claim a seat on the bastion wall itself.

Three minutes north of Bastione Magellano on Via Maiorca, behind a wooden door with no English sign, Al Tuguri serves the only menu in Sardinia that openly calls itself Catalan — chef Benito Carbonella has run it since 1989. Order the aragosta alla catalana (Alghero lobster with tomato and red onion, €42 when in season May–Aug) or the cassola — a Catalan-style fish stew (€28) — with a glass of Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva (€8). Plan €55–70 per person for three courses; the dining room spreads across three floors of a 16th-century house, eight tables per floor.

Tip: Reserve at least two days ahead by phone — the eight tables fill by 19:00 every night in summer; ask for the first floor for open windows over Via Maiorca. Avoid the tourist-trap restaurants on Bastione della Maddalena with English-only menus and 'aragosta' priced at €80 — those serve frozen lobster from elsewhere; real Alghero lobster is in season only May–August and is never sold at that price.

Exit the cathedral and walk three minutes north up Via Principe Umberto — this tawny stone tower marks the original land gate where caravans once entered the walled town. Climb the four floors of restored interiors (cool stone even in August) and step onto the rooftop: you suddenly read the whole Catalan grid below you and the line of sea walls falling into the harbor. Locals still call it 'Torre dels Hebreus' — Alghero's Jewish community financed it in 1360 in exchange for safe passage through these walls.

Tip: The €3 ticket also covers Torre di Sulis at sunset — keep your receipt. Skip the small museum on floor two; the rooftop is the entire reason you came up.

Walk five minutes south down Via Principe Umberto — Movida sits on the corner where the medieval grid meets the piazza, its wooden bar piled with small plates that lean Catalan more than Sardinian. Order the salsiccia sarda con miele di corbezzolo (€7) and polpo alla griglia (€14); for wine, a glass of Vermentino di Sardegna (€5). Two plates and a glass settles around €26 — perfect fuel before an afternoon on foot.

Tip: Skip the multi-language menu on the door rack and ask for 'la lavagna' (the chalkboard) — the kitchen's daily catch goes there, never the printed menu. Walk in at 13:00 sharp; by 13:30 the locals fill every stool.

Backtrack one block south to Via Carlo Alberto — the church's coral-pink campanile is the unmistakable Aragonese landmark above the rooftops. Behind the nave hides the Gothic-Catalan cloister, the calmest courtyard in Alghero: twenty-two slender sandstone columns, a single fig tree, and a silence broken only by swifts. The afternoon light angles low across the colonnade between 15:00 and 16:00 — exactly when you want to be there.

Tip: Enter through the side door on Via Carlo Alberto, not the main façade — €4 buys you the cloister AND the small museum upstairs, where a 15th-century Aragonese altar survives. The cloister closes 18:00 — don't leave it for tomorrow.

Walk out of San Francesco and four minutes west down Via Roma — you emerge onto the open sea promenade with Capo Caccia floating on the western horizon. Start at Torre della Polveriera and walk south along the ramparts: the sun drops behind the cape between 19:30 and 20:30 (Jun-Sep), staining the honey limestone walls the color of pressed amber. Stop midway for an Aperol spritz (€7) at one of the bastion-arch bars — you are paying for the seat, and it is worth it.

Tip: Don't follow the crowd onto the central balcony — the cleanest sunset frame is from the small terrace right behind Torre della Polveriera, where the curve of the wall leads the eye toward the cape. For gelato, walk two streets inland to Cremeria Algherese on Via Vittorio Emanuele; the bastion ice-cream bars charge double for industrial gelato.

Step off the ramparts at Torre Sulis and turn one block inland into Via Maiorca — Al Tuguri occupies a 16th-century house with an iron lantern over its door. This is Alghero's most serious Catalan-Sardinian kitchen: order the aragosta alla catalana (€55 — cold lobster with sweet onion and tomato, the dish that defines this coast) and to start, paella algherese (€22, sized for two). A bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna runs €28. Two people eat about €110 with wine.

Tip: Reserve at least 48 hours ahead — eight tables only, never accepts walk-ins after 20:30. Ask for the sala superiore (upstairs room) — three tables under a vaulted ceiling, no street noise. Pitfall warning: the waterside restaurants along Bastioni Cristoforo Colombo with menus in six languages and aggressive hosts on the street are pure tourist traps charging €40 for frozen seafood — the serious cooking in this town is always one block inland.