DID you know that an Italian island has its own ‘Little Barcelona?’
With honey-coloured architecture and beautiful beaches, the coastal city is known to be a slice of Spain.
Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.
On the island of Sardinia is a coastal city called Alghero.
While it’s over 300 miles away from Spain, Alghero‘s link to Spain is from it’s Catalan history.
In 1353, Alghero was conquered by the Crown of Aragon and repopulated by Catalan settlers.
Around 20 per cent of locals even speak Algherese, which is a dialect of the Catalan language and officially recognised by the Italian and regional governments.
Visitors will see that street signs throughout the old town are written in both Italian and Catalan too.
When it comes to looks, the two cities don’t strike up too much of a resemblance, but both have cobbled streets and golden-coloured buildings.
In Alghero you’re likely to see more of this in its Old Town.
This is where you’ll find its cafes and restaurants where you can pick up a glass of wine from €4 (£3.48) (or you can buy a bottle at the supermarket from €5 (£4.35)).
When it comes to what to do, most head towards the coastline and visit the city’s beautiful beaches.
One of the most popular is Spiaggia di Maria Pia which has white sand, and is backed by pine trees beach bars along the shoreline.
One visitor said: “The sea is completely Vicks blue – it’s absolutely amazing that there is such a lovely beach within walking distance of the cozy Alghero town.”
window.itgHolidayConnectHolidayDealsFrames =
window.itgHolidayConnectHolidayDealsFrames || [];
window.itgHolidayConnectHolidayDealsFrames.push({
cid: “5827a302”,
pid: “8925dc20-49c7-4663-9c7c-547ad29879e4”,
config: {
“poweredBy”:”icelolly”,”intro”:”Best deals “,”title”:”Sun Travel all-inclusive deals under £500pp”,”boardBasis”:”AI”,”duration”:”7″,”maxPrice”:”50000″,”utm_campaign”:”sun travel all-inclusive deals (generic 1) “,”layout”:”carousel”,”container”:”false”
},
});
https://holidayconnect-app.icetravelgroup.com/supersonic-assets/scripts/holiday-deals/init.js
Other pretty spots along the coastline include Spiaggia Mugoni and Delle Bombarde.
Something you can’t miss it Neptune’s Grotto (Grotta di Nettuni) which is a sea cave found at Capo Caccia with enormous stalactites and stalagmites.
The easiest way to reach it is by boat, otherwise take the 654-step staircase which has been carved into the fact of the cliff.
In June, Brits can fly directly to Alghero Airport from London Stansted with Ryanair from £18.