Sardinia Neighborhoods

Each corner of Sardinia tells a different story. Explore our curated guide to the city's most captivating neighborhoods.

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Layered, lived-in, year-round, coastal-urban

Cagliari

Sardinia's layered harbour capital, where market-driven cooking runs year-round from ramparts to port.

Bottarga and sea urchin from a genuinely working fishing portSan Benedetto, one of Italy's great covered food markets

6 places

Catalan-tinged, walled, maritime, characterful

Alghero

A walled Catalan-Sardinian seaport defined by red coral and lobster alla catalana.

Aragosta alla catalana — local lobster, raw tomato and onionA living Catalan dialect and bilingual bastioni

5 places

Glamorous, seasonal, moneyed, immaculate

Porto Cervo

The Aga Khan's invented Costa Smeralda capital, where starred kitchens cook for the summer yacht set.

Michelin-level kitchens around the Porto Vecchio marinaGulf red prawns and line-caught fish meeting metropolitan technique

3 places

Workaday, authentic, lagoon-fed, underrated

Olbia

Gallura's working port-city, where lagoon shellfish and granite-country cooking outshine its transit reputation.

Lagoon-farmed mussels and clams straight onto the plateHonest Gallura cooking — suckling pig, soups, sheep's cheese

3 places

Modest, harbourside, seafood-driven, unpretentious

Golfo Aranci

An unshowy crab-and-catch fishing town on the headland, where the menu follows the morning boats.

Raw red prawns and sea-urchin pasta straight from the boatsFamily-run trattorie along the port and lungomare

3 places

Tabarchino, insular, tuna-centred, singular

Carloforte

A Ligurian-Tabarchino island town where Genoese pesto, North African couscous and bluefin tuna converge.

Bluefin tuna from the spring tonnara, worked nose to tailTabarchino dialect and Genoese pesto and farinata

3 places

Bohemian, granite-set, understated, refined-rustic

San Pantaleo

A granite hill-village turned design retreat, where Gallura's interior meets refined wood-fired cooking.

Wood-fired meats and Gallura cheeses, finely platedCooking that looks inland to the granite country, not just the sea

2 places

Polished, relaxed, sea-view, resort-glamorous

Baja Sardinia

The Costa Smeralda's softer western shoulder, with hotel-led sea-view kitchens above a crescent beach.

Named-chef hotel restaurants with Maddalena-facing terracesSardinian seafood plated with Mediterranean precision

2 places

Inland, traditional, granite-country, rooted

Arzachena

Inland granite-country Gallura, where stazzo farmsteads and Vermentino define the coast's source kitchen.

Zuppa gallurese and spit-roast suckling pigConverted stazzi serving dry-stone-country cooking

2 places

Beachy, lively, lagoon-fed, summer-driven

San Teodoro

An east-coast beach resort between dune and lagoon, mixing summer nightlife with chef-signed lagoon dining.

Chef-signed dining built on lagoon mullet, sea bass and clamsLa Cinta's long white sand and the Stagno wetland

2 places

Cultured, southern, lagoon-fed, unhurried

Pula

A southern market town beside the ruins of Nora, with lagoon bottarga, vineyards and a chef-led lagoon kitchen.

Mullet bottarga from the coastal lagoon, among the island's bestA chef-led kitchen set directly on the lagoon

2 places