Exploring Gaudi’s Architectural Wonders in Barcelona

Following an awesome 10-day trip to the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, Spain, we flew to Barcelona directly from Menorca to spend a few days there before heading home. This was our first time in Barcelona. There is a lot to do in here, and we decided to take one day and visit several sights that represent the influence Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) had on the architecture of this beautiful city. He was an extraordinary architect and designer who incorporated design elements he found in natural forms (such as the shape of shells and trees) into his architectural work – hence the unique elements you find in his buildings.

Please note it is worth planning ahead and getting your tickets for the sights below in advance, especially during the summer months. We were in Barcelona in October and the city was quite busy with tourists.

La Sagrada Familia

This is likely the most famous landmark in Barcelona (as attested by the large crowds) and is the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world. This church has been under construction since 1882. The hope was to complete its construction by 2026, the centennial anniversary of Gaudi’s death; however it is likely to extend beyond this date. The Church has a layout similar to a typical medieval European Gothic Cathedral, but the interior design is very unique. The completion of the tallest spire, the Jesus Christ spire, will make La Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world (approximately 173 meters).

Side note: We paid for a “tower view” as part of our entry ticket and were disappointed. Very little was visible – you could see a little bit of construction work going on and some obstructed views of Barcelona, but that was about it. Perhaps at some point there will be a view or tour available from the top of the tallest spire – now that would be worth it!

*Views of the exterior of La Sagrada Familia.*

*Views of the central nave. The columns look like trees. The interior is very light and airy with the soaring ceiling and stained glass windows.*

Views of the Nativity façade over one of the main entrances – you can study the detail and various images for hours! It is difficult to get an image that captures the essence (and detail) of the whole façade. The Nativity *façade* was largely completed during Gaudi’s lifetime – he wanted to set an architectural example for others to follow who would be completing this work after his passing.

Park Güell

This famous park on a hill overlooking the main part of Barcelona, was named for Eusebi Güell, who partnered with Gaudi on several projects. Park Güell was originally going to be a residential neighborhood and Gaudi was commissioned by Güell to design it, in the early part of the 1900’s. Rather than becoming a residential neighborhood, this area became a park, and like La Sagrada Familia, it is now a major tourist attraction. The Park has many interesting architectural design features and it is worth a couple hours to just wander and explore. The Park reminded me a bit of a gingerbread house – you can imagine all the various features found in the park being part of a fairytale land!

Note: The park does require a ticket and they do sell out, so plan your visit in advance.

*Views of Park Güell. View of downtown Barcelona (left) and the Hypostyle Room* (right).

*Other interesting features of the park – highly decorated viaducts that were going to be residential streets.*

The Portico of the Washerwoman, a famous landmark in the Park.

La Pedrera – Casa Milà

About 10 blocks southwest of La Sagrada Familia is Passeig de Gràcia, a street on which are located several buildings showcasing Gaudi’s designs, including La Pedrera – Casa Milà, the last private residence designed by Gaudi (built 1906 – 1912), now an apartment building that represents how Gaudi envisioned living quarters. In addition to the apartment rooms, I highly recommend going to the attic and then the rooftop. The attic is a small museum showcasing how they designed the support structure for the building and the rooftop is unique and provides some great views of La Sagrada Familia. I also recommend getting the audio tour, it will help immensely with understanding the things you see.

*Interior apartment view of La Pedrera – Casa Milà. We loved the decor and features like early 1900’s appliances.*

*Views of the attic architecture and furniture displays at La Pedrera – Casa Milà.*

*Rooftop views of La Pedrera – Casa Milà.*

Casa Batlló

Just down the street from La Pedrera – Casa Milà is Casa Batlló, another Gaudi creation. In the attic museum of La Pedrera – Casa Milà you learn how Gaudi renovated the original building to create what we see today as Casa Batlló. You can also tour this building, we did not do so, it’s just a question of how many Euros you feel like spending in a day seeing Gaudi’s architecture!

Top Sights to Explore Around Oristano, Sardinia

Oristano is not likely to be on the main tourist route in Sardinia, Italy especially if time is limited. However, if you have the time, you should definitely check it out. There is a lot to do in this region of Sardinia. Here are the main sights we visited. In addition to the sights listed below, there are ancient Nuragic sites not far from here. For a map of Sardinia and to learn more about these sites, see my post here.

Is Aruttas Beach

This beach on the Sinis peninsula is about 22 km (13 miles) from Oristano and one of the region’s most famous. There is a large parking lot and a refreshment stand near the beach. The quartz sand on this beach is amazing, I wish I had taken a close-up of it – it looks like translucent rice. Just another perfect beach in Sardinia! As with all beaches in Sardinia, it is a crime to remove the sand – be sure to leave the sand where it belongs on the beach for others to enjoy!

Tharros Roman Archeological Site

Tharros was occupied for nearly 2,000 years, from the 8th century BC to about 1050 AD. It sits near the end of the Sinis Peninsula, and it’s a spectacular setting.

*A view of the ruins of Tharros and the late 15th-century San Giovanni Tower, which you can climb for a small additional fee.*

*Additional views of the ruins of Tharros.*

*This gorgeous beach is a stone’s throw from Tharros. Roman ruins, a 15th- century Spanish Tower and beautiful beach – what more could you ask for?!*

Fordongianus Roman Archeological Site

The water still runs warm from the natural springs at the 1st century AD Fordongianus Roman Baths. This site is about 25 km (14 miles) northeast of Oristano. We stopped by on our way into Oristano, but we arrived during siesta time so we had to settle for looking at the Baths through a wire fence, which actually offered some pretty good views. There is a fee to visit the Baths.

*Just outside Fordongianus is this pretty 12th & 13th century Romanesque church, dedicated to San Lussorio, who was martyred by the Emperor Diocletian in 304 AD.*

San Giovanni di Sinis Church

This interesting little church is right near the entrance to the Tharros archeological site. It is one of the two oldest churches in Sardinia, originally dating back to the 6th century – it still retains some of its Byzantine characteristics, such as the red roof. The present structure dates from the 9th and 11 centuries. The church sits in an ancient burial area. The church was free to enter and was definitely worth a stop.

*Views of the interior of San Giovanni di Sinis Church, with green algae covering some of the ancient stone walls.*

San Salvatore

San Salvatore, also close to Tharros, is a spaghetti-western filmset from the 1960’s. It has the feel of a old western U.S. ghost town. The town opens its dwellings’ doors during September each year to house pilgrims for the Festa di San Salvatore, a celebration focused on the village’s small church, which sits over the ruins of a Nuragic period (~1,500 BC) vault. It looked to us like there might be a few permanent residents here, we saw some homes that looked lived in.

Oristano Town

Oristano seemed to us to be a pretty quiet town, without fewer tourists compared to other locations in Sardinia, even though there is much for the tourist to see in the vicinity. We enjoyed walking the streets in the evening without any throngs of tourists. It is a perfect place to call “home” during your stay in this part of Sardinia.

*The 13th-century Torre di Mariano II was Oristano’s nothern gate, one of the few remains of the city’s medieval defenses.*

*Views of the Catedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. The 14th century bell tower still stands. The rest of the current structure is 18th century.*

*Left – Torre di Portixedda, part of Oristano’s original medieval walls. Right – street scene in central Oristano.*

Kilmacduagh Abbey: Ireland’s Iconic Leaning Tower

Kilmacduagh Abbey is about halfway between Galway and Ennis and just outside Burren National Park, in west-central Ireland. The area is full of natural and historic wonders. Kilmacduagh has one of the finest collections of monastic buildings in Ireland and is definitely worth a visit if your travel plans take you to The Burren or Galway area. The round tower’s lean is definitely noticeable, but it has somehow survived for 1,000 years. The Abbey was likely established in the 7th century by Saint Colman (Colman MacDuagh), son of Duagh. It was the center of a thriving community in the 12th century. A number of battles with the English were fought in the area and the Abbey was plundered, but survived in part, thank goodness. The Abbey became part of the order of St. Augustine in the 13th century.

This Abbey is free to visit. There are a few informational signs at the car park entrance.

*Views of the 11th century Cathedral and graveyard at Kilmacduagh (Saint Colman is buried in this graveyard).*

The famous leaning tower at Kilmacduagh is about 2 feet out of alignment. It is 112 ft tall and likely dates from the 10th century (some sources say 12th century). In the 1800’s some work was done to refurbish the tower, particularly the conical roof.

*The leaning tower at Kilmacduagh. Towers such as these were used for defensive purposes as well as serving as a belfry.*

The 14th century Glebe House, possibly the Abbott’s residence. Insider tip – I believe you can access the Glebe House (and perhaps O’Heynes Church below) with a key from the keeper’s house across the street. I learned this later, unfortunately!

*O’Heynes Church, a short walk from the other buildings at Kilmacduagh, was built in the 12th century.*

*Left – The little stone Church of St. John the Baptist is likely the oldest surviving structure at Kilmacduagh. Right – one other view of the Cathedral, Tower and graveyard.*

Bosa, Sardinia – A Great Day Trip from Alghero

About one hour south of Alghero by car (45 km or 28 miles) is the town of Bosa, home to Sardinia’s only navigable river (the Temo River). We visited Bosa as a day trip from Alghero and we made it part of an interesting loop drive – visiting Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia on the way (see below) and Nuraghe Santu Antine. It’s possible to visit all three sights in one day if you get going early from Alghero. (For a general map of the regions we visited in Sardinia, click here).

Bosa is an ancient town, it was established by the Phoenicians and continued to grow under the Romans. It’s easy to see why, Bosa is an ideal port location – close to the coast and at the mouth of the Temo River.

*View of Bosa and its 13th century castle as seen from our drive into town.*

Malaspina Castle

One of the main sights in Bosa is Malaspina Castle. You can drive up to the castle and park just below it. Even then, you have a steep walk up into the Castle. There is not much left of the Castle other than the walls (which you can walk), a few towers (which you can climb) and the 14th century Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos, which has some lovely frescoes.

*14th century frescoes of Saints in the Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Regnos Altos, within the walls of Malaspina Castle.*

*The old town of Bosa is a delight to wander, and as is possible in every Italian town, we enjoyed some great food!*

A postcard view of Bosa with the Malaspina Castle in the distance, the old town across the river, and Ponte Vecchio spanning the Temo River. We parked for free near this spot, just a short walk from the old town.

St. Peter’s Church

Just outside Bosa along the south shore of the Temo River is St. Peter’s Church, which dates from the second half of the 11th century. The Church can be visited, but was closed at the time of our visit. There is information posted about the Church near the entrance.

On the Drive to Bosa: Basilica della Santissima Trinità di Saccargia

The Church of the Holy Trinity Saccargia is about a 40-minute drive (50 km or 31 miles) from Alghero. It is well worth the “detour” to visit this fascinating 12th century Pisan-style basilica on the way to Bosa. The abbey was built on the site of a pre-existing monastery, of which there are some scant ruins.

*Views of the exterior of The Church of the Holy Trinity Saccargia, constructed of alternating layers of white limestone and dark volcanic rock.*

*Views of The Church of the Holy Trinity Saccargia’s nave. The frescoes are from the second half of the 12th century – amazingly well-preserved.*

Some interesting figures in the church – left – a face in the wall of the nave and right – cows carved into a pillar on the portico. Some believe the name of the Church comes from the Sardinian word for “cow with the spotted hide”, but this is not likely. The land surrounding the church is rural and probably has been perfect grazing pasture for centuries.

About 20 minutes south of The Church of the Holy Trinity Saccargia is the ancient archeological site of Nuraghe Santu Antine, also a very worthwhile stop before turning southwest on your drive towards Bosa. Since I covered our visits to Sardinia’s ancient Nuraghe in another post, I won’t comment further on it here.

After our visit to Bosa, we drove north along the west coast of Sardinia back to Alghero. It was a scenic, beautiful drive and the perfect end to another perfect day in Sardinia.

Caerlaverock Castle – Defending Scotland’s Border

Less than an hour’s drive northwest from Carlisle, England is the 13th century Caerlaverock Castle. Standing on the edge of Scotland, near the Solway Firth, this castle once guarded an important gateway into Scotland.

*A view of the triangular-shaped Caerlaverock Castle.*

The castle we see now is actually the “new castle” built about 50 years after the “old” castle, which has been partially excavated, south of the current castle.

In 1300 King Edward I besieged and captured the castle, the first of several sieges. As with many castles, Caerlaverock underwent numerous renovations, including a 17th century addition in the interior courtyard which is still visible today.

*Views of the 17th century castle room additions – making it much more comfortable for the many residents and servants. As many as 30 people shared a bedroom!*

If you’re in the Carlisle area, I recommend visiting Caerlaverock Castle. A rental car is the easiest way to visit. There is a small museum on the site as well as restrooms and a gift shop. If you plan on visiting multiple historical sites in Scotland, consider getting a Historic Environment Scotland membership or pass – we got the 14-day Explorer pass and it was a great value by paying for itself after visiting just a few sites (including Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle). All other visits using the pass were then free.

One of My Favorite Corners of Sardinia

La Pelosa Beach

The island of Sardinia, Italy has so many lovely beaches it’s difficult to narrow down the list of “best beaches” but one that would have to be near the top is La Pelosa, near Stintino on the north west coast of Sardinia. This beach is so popular that you need to make reservations to visit it during the busy season (May – October). The reservations are not expensive nor difficult. To my knowledge, this is the only beach in Sardinia that requires a reservation. When you see it, you will understand why it is so popular.

*Other views of La Pelosa Beach, Sardinia.*

*The water is calm and very shallow at La Pelosa, you can walk out a long way and the water may still not be up to your waist, making this a perfect beach for young children.*

*One of the boardwalks leading down to La Pelosa Beach.*

There is paid parking along the street facing the beach – be sure to pay – you don’t want to get back to your parking spot after a lovely day at the beach and find your vehicle has been towed away! I recommend getting here early in the morning or later in the afternoon, not only will the beach be a little less busy, but convenient parking will be more plentiful too. We visited in early October, after an overnight stop in Castelsardo. The water was still warm and the beach was fairly busy, but it did not feel overcrowded at all. To check in at the beach, there is a kiosk where you get a wristband after showing your reservations on your phone or a hardcopy. Be sure to bring towel mats as well, to avoid taking home the precious sand – Sardinia is focused on keeping their beautiful sand where it belongs – on the beach.

Alghero

Less than an hour south of La Pelosa Beach is Alghero. Alghero was probably my favorite town in Sardinia. The combination of its magnificent setting and harbor, a beautiful old town with medieval towers and walls, and lively evening scene made this a perfect spot to stay for a few nights. We rented a lovely apartment that was just a ten minute walk from the old town.

*Views of Alghero’s Harbor from the city walls.*

*A great view of Alghero’s Old Town walls and towers.*

*Alghero’s city walls are a perfect place to watch the sunset after another glorious day on this wonderful island.*

Castelsardo, Sardinia – A Great Stop along Sardinia’s North Coast between Costa Esmeralda and Alghero

Castelsardo is a very picturesque little town on the north coast of Sardinia and worth an overnight stop if convenient in your travels, or a least a short visit on your way to other destinations. For us, we stopped here overnight on our way to the magnificent beach at La Pelosa (near Stintino, on the very northwest tip of Sardinia) and then on to Alghero.

Castello dei Doria

The 13th century castle at the top of the hill in Castelsardo is named after the Genoese family who was entrusted with its care. It is open to visitors and there are a few rooms you can visit with various displays, including the Museum of Mediterranean Interweaving.

*A view from the top of Castello dei Doria.*

Street Wandering

As with any small European town, it is fun to just wander the narrow, steep streets. Our hotel was on one of these little streets. There was plenty of car parking outside the old town on the sea side of Castelsardo.

Left – restaurants offering tables in the narrow alleys of Castelsardo. Right – Robyn pointing out our accommodation for the night in the heart of the old town. The rooftop of our little hotel offered a wonderful view of the sea and is where we had breakfast.

*View of Castelsardo’s 16th century Cathedral, with a magnificent view of the Mediterranean Sea and Sardinian coast line in the distance.*

*I loved this image of an old 1st story floor/ceiling, in a visitor’s center near the Castle. I can’t imagine trying to build anything that would be square and level in those days!*

*Some of the other 16th buildings near the Cathedral in Castelsardo’s old town.*

Elephant Rock

Just off a road leading into Castelsardo from the east is this interesting volcanic rock formation, aptly named “Elephant Rock”. What is even more interesting is that within this rock there are two pre-nuragic tombs, dating to a time before Sardinia’s Nuraghe were built, likely 5,000 or more years ago. We just pulled off the side of the road to take a look.

Views of ancient tombs carved into Elephant Rock. In the right and left images you can see the horns of a bull carved into the stone. It was a little difficult to get these photos, Elephant Rock is taller than it appears.

*Don’t miss beautiful Castelsardo if you have the chance!*

Visit Montserrat: Must-See Monastery Near Barcelona

While there’s a lot to see in Barcelona, Spain there’s also a lot to do outside this beautiful city. We were only in Barcelona for three days and decided to spend one of those three days visiting the famous monastery of Montserrat, known as Santa Maria de Montserrat.

Getting There

There are various ways to get to Montserrat, you can take a train from Barcelona, drive a car, hike up the steep hills (as pilgrims have done for centuries), or take a tour. We decided to take the easy route by joining a day-tour from Barcelona. We made our reservation at a tour kiosk on the beautiful Las Ramblas street in Barcelona. The tour bus drove us up to the head of the valley right below Montserrat and then we took a steep train ride (Cremallera Rack Railway) the rest of the way up the mountain.

On the return, our tour bus met us at the bus parking area next to the Monastery and we drove all the way back down to Barcelona. The bus ride was about one hour each way. I think we had about 3 1/2 hours to visit the monastery, which was enough time to visit the Basilica where the Black Madonna is housed, visit the various shops, walk up to the St. Michael’s Cross overlook/viewpoint (fairly steep but paved most of the way), take the Sant Joan funicular (super steep!) behind the monastery to a spectacular viewpoint and access point for the hiking trails high above the monastery, and to be back to the Basilica in time enough to get in line to (hopefully) see the Boys Choir perform. Reservations are now required to see the Boys Choir and our tour did not include those reservations – our tour guide warned us of that fact when we got on the bus. However, we waited in a line in front of the Basilica shortly before the afternoon performance and we were able to get in and find seats at the last minute.

Monastery

One of the best features of the monastery is its striking setting in the Montserrat mountains. It was originally founded in 1025, and I can see why it was founded here – a protected site that is not easy to get to and pretty easy to defend! The Monastery has a long and famous history, it’s been a pilgrimage site for a thousand years because of the Black Madonna, housed prominently in the Basilica.

*Above – various views around the Monastery grounds, including the entrance to the courtyard of the Basilica (left), and Monastery Hotel (right).*

*A very interesting statue of a knight – his eyes followed you left or right – you could swear they moved!*

The Basilica courtyard (left) and interior (right) – the Black Madonna is in the upper center of the image – it was hard to get a good zoom-in photo in this light. You can buy a ticket to get a closer look.

*One of Montserrat’s Benedictine Monks.*

More about Montserrat’s history can be found here. In addition to a day trip, you can stay overnight at the hotel on the Monastery’s grounds if you wish.

Montserrat Boys Choir

Montserrat Monastery is home to one of the oldest boys’ choirs and music schools in Europe, dating back to the 14th century. It’s called Escolania de Montserrat. More information on the choir can be found here. We were so glad that we were able to see them perform. We visited in October and they were doing a couple of performances that day, and luckily we were able to get into the Basilica for their afternoon performance, in perfect timing with our tour visit.

*A view of the Boys Choir at Montserrat’s Basilica.*

A short video of the Boys Choir performance.

Views From Around the Monastery

Sant Joan Funicular

You can buy a ticket to take the steep funicular ride up the hill behind the Monastery. I highly recommend this if you have time. The views are incredible, and you can hike all around the tops of these mountains.

*View from the top of the funicular at Montserrat Monastery.*

View looking west from the top of the Sant Joan’s Funicular at Montserrat. There are a number of trails in the area, including pilgrimage routes down to the Monastery. We went a short distance on several trails just to check them out, but we didn’t have time to explore the area too much. We loved the interesting rock formations – the mountains reminded us of the Front Range (part of the Rocky Mountains) near Denver, Colorado.

St. Michael’s Cross Viewpoint

A short steep hike from the Monastery takes you to St. Michael’s Cross, also known as *Creu de Sant Miquel*, which has a commanding view of the Monastery and the valley below. The trails are well sign-posted.

Visiting Santa Maria de Montserrat is a great way to spend a day in the Barcelona region. If time allows, definitely make the visit!

Explore Sardinia’s Ancient Nuraghe: A Bronze Age Adventure

If you enjoy archeology, Sardinia, Italy should be high on your list of places to visit. There are a number of Bronze Age (approximately 1900 BC to 730 BC) settlements throughout the island. The main towers of these settlements are called Nuraghe (essentially ancient towers/castles surrounded by small villages) and they are unique to Sardinia. According to Wikipedia, more than 7,000 of these structures have been found on the island. Very little is known about the people who inhabited these structures or what they used these structures for.

Amazingly, a number of Nuraghe are in an excellent state of preservation and can be visited, including the interiors. The stone work is quite incredible and standing in these 3,000 year-old rooms and climbing the stairways of these towers was a fun experience, not unlike visiting the ancient pyramids of Egypt. Most sites allow you to visit the structures on your own, the only one that required a guide was Su Nuraxi Barumini, one the largest of these settlements in Sardinia. As with many ancient archeological sites, the builders in Sardinia understood much about astronomy and were close observers of the night sky.

*The approximate location of the Nuraghe sites we visited are shown on the map of Sardinia above.*

We visited 5 Nuraghe sites, which provided a nice sampling of Sardinia’s rich Bronze Age history.

Below is a brief overview of the sites we visited.

Nuraghe la Prisgiona & Coddu Vecchiu

Nuraghe la Prisgiona was one of the smaller nuraghe sites we visited. There are a number of interesting archeological sites near Arzachena, Sardinia (including this one), a person could easily spend a day or more exploring all the nearby sites.

*Within walking distance of Nuraghe la Prisgiona is Coddu Vecchiu, called the Giants Tomb. The tomb is from the same era and part of the Nuraghic civilization, about 1800 BC.*

Nuraghe Majori – Complete with Bats!

Nuraghe Majori is another small Nuraghe site. At the ticket office, they give you a flashlight so you can see the bats inside the main tower – right photo above: look closely to see the bats hanging from the roof interior.

*Left – Majori Nuraghe tower, Middle – one of the Nuraghe wall entrances, Right – view of the surrounding countryside. Most Nuraghe occupy a strategic location, such as a hilltop.*

Nuraghe Santu Antine

*Interior views of Nuraghe Santu Antine – tall room, passageway, and stairway to 2nd level.*

Nuraghe Santa Cristina

Santa Cristina may have been my favorite site, perhaps because there is so much to see here. There are Nuraghe ruins, including a fascinating ancient well, and medieval-era buildings also. It has been a site used for religious purposes for centuries.

Sacred Well

*View from the bottom of the well stairway.*

*Above – images at the bottom of the Sacred Well. Note the precise stone work.*

Nuraghe

Medieval Church

Left – The little church at Santa Cristina was built around 1200 AD. Right – Monks’ quarters next to the church. These structures are between the Sacred Well and the Nuraghe. Be prepared to do a little walking at Santa Cristina.

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Su Nuraxi di Barumini is one of the largest, if not the largest Nuraghe site in Sardinia. It is a World Heritage Site, and when you purchase your ticket you must join a group with a guide to visit. Our tour guide was very kind and patient, he explained the features of the site in French and English, given the mix of our small group.

Above left – the main tower of Su Nuraxi from a distance. The image in the center shows what the Nuraghe looked like in its prime – very similar to a medieval castle. Right – the village dwellings below the main tower.

*Images of the doorways and courtyard of Su Naraxi.*

*Above – interior passage ways and rooms of Su Naraxi.*

In addition to the glorious beaches of Sardinia, it is certainly worth your time to visit a few of the fascinating archeological sites. Be careful in the structures. Some of the stairway stones are very slick and trust me, it’s easy to slip. Also, watch your head, many of the passageways are short and narrow. The sites we visited were well sign-posted, had parking available and are well-maintained.

A Magical Three-Day Visit to the La Maddalena Archipelago of Sardinia

From our start in Olbia and Sardinia’s Costa Esmeralda, we traveled north a short distance and took (with our rental car) the 15-minute ferry ride from Palau over to La Maddalena Island and town, which is part of the La Maddalena Archipelago, located at the very north east edge of Sardinia, Italy. We spent 3 nights on La Maddalena, which gave us enough time to see La Maddalena Island, Caprera Island (reached by bridge from La Maddalena) and then a day-trip boat tour of some of the other islands in the Archipelago. I’ll share a bit about each day below.

La Maddalena

We caught a morning ferry to La Maddalena from Palau, no reservations were needed in October and the ferries run continuously all day. A round trip ticket for car and passengers was about 40 Euro.

Upon arrival. we immediately headed for Cala Francese beach, not far from the main town and then explored a few other beaches around the island before checking into our hotel later in the afternoon. La Maddalena is not big, you could probably drive around the island in 30 minutes or less.

Above – Cala Francese, on the southwest coast of La Maddalena. You have to take a very short drive on a dirt road to get to the parking area and then walk on a trail for 5 minutes to get to the beach.

*Left – Spiaggia Bassa Trinita, Right – Spiaggia del Cardellino, both beaches are on the northwest coast of La Maddalena.*

*Cala Lunga, at the northern tip of La Maddalena.*

*Left – Spiaggia di Cala Spalmatore, on the eastern side of La Maddalena. Right – a view of La Maddalena town as we drove back after our tour of the island.*

The town was fun to explore, and many boat tours are offered from the harbor.

Caprera Island

After a wonderful day on La Maddalena, we decided to spend our second day on Caprera, an island connected to La Maddalena via a bridge. Caprera is far less populated, and largely National Park land. There are numerous beaches and hiking trails and to start our day we decided to do a hike on the north end of the island, to the Batteria de Candeo, a really interesting site.

*There are numerous trails criss-crossing the northern end of Caprera, and they are well signposted. There were very few people on the trails, we pretty much had them to ourselves.*

At the north end of Caprera is the military site of Batteria de Candeo, an anti-aircraft and ship emplacement built between World War I and World Ward II. It was built from the natural rock in the area and was well camouflaged – even today it looks like part of the natural landscape except for the doorways.

*Other views of Candeo. Candeo can be accessed via the Caprera trail system.*

*Other views and beaches accessed from the trail system in Caprera – left to right: Cala Crucitta, Cala Nepoletana, Cala Caprarese.*

There are some beaches on the south end of the island also, such as Spiaggia Due Mari, for example. We visited the south end and spent a while lounging on Spiaggia Due Mari beach after our hike, but unfortunately I did not capture a photo!

Note: I had wanted to visit Cala Coticcio beach on Caprera, one of the most famous beaches in Sardinia. The only way to visit is with a guide (they limit access to this beach to preserve its natural state). I reserved a date with the guide, but I also needed a Park pass, and for some reason this was difficult to do online, so I gave up and cancelled our visit to this particular beach. It is a fairly long hike to Cala Coticcio and if we had done that hike, we would not have had time to do the hiking discussed above. I think it’s just a trade off on how you want to spend your time. As shown above, there are other stunning beaches and sights that don’t have the limitations of Cala Coticcio.

Day Trip Boat Tour

On our final day in La Maddalena, we decided to do a 6-hour boat tour of some other islands in the La Maddalena Archipelago and we’re glad we did. Below are photos from our various stops during the boat tour. It was a perfect day.

Buddelli Island and Pools – Buddelli Island is known for its pink sand beach (above left – small photo), but you cannot access the beach directly, they are trying to preserve and rehabilitate the pink sand. However, we did jump off the boat and swim in what they call the “Buddelli Pools” nearby – beautiful protected water.

*Santa Maria Island (above), we stopped at this island and beach for about 90 minutes.*

Spargi Island (above and below), the beaches here were stunning. We were able to swim and lounge for about two hours.

Two more views of Spargi Island – with the wild boar terrorizing visitors on the left – we were warned to not bring food on the beach – the boar wandered around the beach area and were pretty aggressive in rummaging through beach bags! Another view of Spargi’s coves on the right – what a setting!

As with every other region of Sardinia, it would be easy to spend a week or more in these islands. The water was super clear, and the beaches were beautiful. If you go to Sardinia, don’t miss La Maddalena!