We stayed at the T Hotel, the top rated hotel in Cagliari as voted by the Tripadvisor community.
It calls itself a 'design hotel' so the rooms are minimalist but with attention to detail. It's the first big hotel we have stayed in for awhile and was very much enjoyed. It's only downside was not being of a central location to the city but this was just a short bus ride and was very cheap (2.50 euro for an all day bus pass). Each hotel room at the T Hotel provided an information folder about Cagliari and how to get around, and it let us easily plan our stay, including a number of beach days.
Our first full day in Cagliari was spent exploring the city and doing a bit of sight seeing. We walked along the shopping streets of the city.
Ending up at the Bastion of Saint Remy tower.
Which is now an observation deck and terrace.
The Bastion marks the southern most end of Castello, and its a gentle climb up the hill to the small and quiet streets of old worldly apartment buildings, Cagliari Cathedral and other monuments and sights.
We were happy just to wonder the small streets, shadowed by the apartment buildings.
We found an old coffee shop fitted out with wooden cabinets and a piano, looking like it turned into a small music venue in the evening. The shop had wonderful and cheap gelato, and it was hot so we couldn't resist trying the flavours.
We made our way down to the Marina, the area of town that is on the port.
There were lots little medieval streets packed with shops, eateries and colourful apartment buildings.
One of our guide books told u the best coffee in town was at Caffe' Svizzero (links to Google map location). It read "possibly Cagliari's best coffee institution with a history going back almost a century... coffee and pastries served by smart waiters in an elegant setting under the high vaulted ceiling." And we weren't disappointed, especially with our smooth lattes.
After we made our way to the city's Botanical Gardens. There's a small entrance fee and it was lovely to be among greenery, but the gardens are nothing spectacular, if not somewhat neglected.
Right next door however is the Roman Amphitheatre which dates back to the 2nd century A.D. Depsite its age it is still used today to host summer shows.
The sun was climbing higher in the sky but we continued on back to Castello and to Piazza Arsenale which is the location of various museums including the National Archeology Museum which we visited.
We then found the Tower of San Pancrazio, a wooden tower with countless flights of stairs upwards.
One is rewarded for the climb with expansive views across the whole of Cagliari.
Our day ended at the T Hotel restaurant. The next few days were spent on Poetto Beach. Some 7km of pristine, sandy beach just a 15 minute bus ride from the hotel.
As the high season (July and August) was over the beaches were quiet and we rented sun lounges for all the days we visited the lovely Poetto.
Our days were long, sunny, punctuated by reading, eating, swimming and walks along the sandy shoreline. The waters were emerald and crystal clear.
To the south, Poetto Beach is overlooked by the Sella del Diavolo (Devil's Saddle) called so because of its saddle shape.
To the north, there are countless bath houses and huts which families rent to change and store their belongings for long days at the beach. At the time we were there, many of the huts were deserted.
For our last night in Cagliari, we visited the medieval streets of the city and found a lovely restaurant with wonderful seafood, such as this half stuffed lobster dish.
We were surprised by what Cagliari had to offer. It always felt safe and was easy to get around. It had a great mix of sights, history, museums, shopping and eateries. Poetto Beach really made it a wonderful place to relax and swim at the beach, definitely something we have missed about Australia after 3.5 years in the UK.
Cagliari would not be the end of beach days though. Our next stop was the very north of the island at a little beach town called Santa Teresa.
