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... beach and sea |
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… If you fancy visiting and discovering the many beaches or small inlets of the Corallo Riviera, exit the hotel and walk along the promenade on the Lido towards Fertilia, where you can settle for the free beach or equipped seaside resorts, or continue along to the Maria Pia beach and its pine wood, a real, green oasis just a stone’s throw from town featuring pearly white sand dunes and various species of Mediterranean trees.
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Beach and sea at Maria Pia |
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... Continuing along the coast towards Cape Caccia, you must stop for a swim in the limpid and crystalline sea off the famous Bombarde beach. A valid alternative is definitely the nearby and quieter Lazzaretto beach (where major adverts have been shot) and, further on, Mugoni beach in the Porto Conte bay. |
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The sand's dunes in the pine wood of Maria Pia |
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… Before reaching Cape Caccia, you can visit Cala Tramariglio and Cala Dragunara, and at the viewpoint you can admire a magnificent panorama that stretches towards the Bay and Foradada Island. From Cape Caccia to Santa Maria La Palma, a rural village famous also for its wine-growing farm of the same name, there are tourist signs on the left indicating the way to the beach at Porto Ferro, a splendid coast-line of ultra-fine, reddish sand between towers and Mediterranean scrub, immersed in stunning, unblemished and wild countryside typical of coastal Sardinia. |
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Porto Ferro |
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… Near Porto Ferro is Baratz Lake, surrounded by pine wood and abundant flora, the only natural lake on Sardinia. |
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Baratz Lake |
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... in town |
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... Alghero dates back to 1102 when the town was founded by the Doria family of Genoa who ruled until 1354 when Alghero was conquered by the Catalan-Aragonese. The latter are responsible for the Sardinian town’s typical Catalan architecture, which has survived throughout the centuries and is still strongly visible.
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Lungomare Barcelona |
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… Also known as the “Small Barcelona” of Sardinia, Alghero retains a lively atmosphere of those times, re-evoked by the ramparts (the walls surrounding the “fort town”), its houses, the Cathedral, the Churches of San Francesco and San Michele, the seven Towers, the Forts (Maddalena, Montalbano and Sperone), roads, alleyways and squares, which are called by both Italian and Catalan names. Catalan influence is found not only in the Historical Centre, however, but also in the language, customs, gastronomy, popular and seafaring traditions, that make the town particularly striking and such a popular tourist destination. |
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Alghero’s Ramparts |
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... the surroundings |
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... Inhabitation of the area around Alghero since ancient times is confirmed by the Necropolis of Anghelu Ruju and the Domus de Jana of Santu Pedru, a complex of underground tombs, of Nuraghe Palmavera, a circular stone structure which, according to scholars, was used as a dwelling and fort for controlling the important inlet below. Alghero’s strategic-military importance is also confirmed by a scattering of small forts, and the military base which can still be seen in the important natural site of Punta Giglio.
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Cala Dragunara |
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… In the Porto Conte Park and Cape Caccia – Isola Piana Protected Marine Area, the imposing chalky massif of Cape Caccia, with its vertiginous cliffs dominating the sea, guards another precious gift of nature: the Grotta Verde and the Grotte di Nettuno (Neptune’s Grottos). The latter can be reached by boat or by the 656 steps of the “Escala del Cabirol”. Netune’s Grottos, featuring stalactites, stalagmites and a vast salt-water lake, is spectacular and imposing, and considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. |
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Porticciolo |
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… Also in the Park, you can visit the State-owned forest commonly known as Noah’s Ark, a fauna reserve measuring several hundreds of hectares and covered in Mediterranean scrub. Rich in paths suitable for trekking enthusiasts, the fauna reserve is visited by many tourists who, walking in the perennially green area among dwarf palms, strawberry trees and scented rosemary, can admire various species of Sardinian flora and fauna, spot animals such as the white donkey of the Asinara National Park and the horses of Giara di Gesturi, and admire flying griffons, falcons and sea-gulls (bird watching). |
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Panorama of Cape Caccia area |
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Hotel Il Gabbiano
Via G. Garibaldi, 97 - Lungomare Barcelona
07041 Alghero (SS) - Sardinia - Italy
For information and reservations:
Phone +39 079950407 - Fax +39 079950902
email: gabbiano@hotelilgabbianoalghero.it
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