Travel guide – alghero
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Overview
The flourishing fishing port of Alghero, situated on the northwest coast, is Sardinia’s tourist centre. It consists of a picturesque and well-preserved old town enclosed in a stout girdle of walls, outside of which the new town sports a grid of parallel streets filled with hotels and restaurants. A favoured package tour destination, Alghero offers beautiful beaches and year-round holiday amenities together with numerous places of interest to visit. The town is very Spanish in flavour having been invaded by Pedro IV of Aragon in 1354. The narrow cobbled streets of the old town are lined with flamboyant churches and wrought-iron balconies, boutiques and cafes, as well as the workshops of craftsmen working the famed coral of Alghero. The local cuisine hints of Spain too, and the town is renowned for its excellent seafood. Authentic Spanish paellas, lobster alla Catalana and tasty fish soups abound, with delicious sea urchins on sale from stallholders in the port. Around the town the coast offers many secluded bays, small inlets bordered by pine forests and high, jagged cliffs washed by the emerald green sea. Inland luxuriant vineyards produce some of the most aromatic wines on the island. Nightlife is sedate, tending more to sipping cocktails on a sidewalk café and watching the sunset from the seafront than frenetic nightclubbing.
Attractions in Alghero
Neptunes Grotto
A popular sightseeing expedition from Alghero is a boat ride to Neptune's Grotto, an impressive deep marine cave in the sheer cliffs at Capo Caccia. The boat ride takes 45 minutes past the bay of Porto Conte. At the cave visitors can take a 45-minute tour entering through the long snaking passage that delves into the rock, to view dramatically lit, fantastic stalagmites and stalactites. The cave can also be reached by bus from the main terminal in Alghero, or by car, which on arrival necessitates climbing down 650 steps to the cave entrance.
Climate
Sardinia has a typically Mediterranean climate, but the south is generally much drier than the north western region, which receives a lot of rain in winter. The wettest months are November and December, while July and August are the hottest and the driest with an average of about 95°F (35°C) and sometimes reaching 104°F (40°C). In winter temperatures average about 50°F (10°C) along the coast.
Health
There are no specific health risks associated with travel to Italy. EU citizens can make use of Italy's health services provided they have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Cases of the
N1 bird flu were found in swans in southern Italy and Sicily, but there is a low risk of human infection; as a precaution all close contact with wild, caged and domestic birds should be avoided, and poultry and egg dishes should be cooked thoroughly.
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