Metropolitan City of Cagliari

Understand

Cagliari is an Italian metropolitan city and the capital of an autonomous region of the island of Sardinia. The city has about 155,000 inhabitants (2015), while its metropolitan area (including 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants (2017).

Tourist information 1 Infopoint, Via Roma n. 145 (Palazzo Comunale), ☏ +39 070 6777397, [email protected]. Apr-Oct: 09:00-20:00; Nov-Mar: M-Sa 10:00-13:00 14:00-17:00, Su 10:00-13:00. (updated Sep 2017) You can download audio and PDF guides from the Cagliari tourist website organized by 6 walking tours.

Cagliari city council website

Getting there

By plane 1 Aeroporto di Cagliari-Elmas (CAG IATA) (next to Elmas, approximately 6 km northwest from central Cagliari). The busiest airport in Sardinia. Cagliari is served directly by a number of domestic and international flights, while well-connected Milan-Linate and Rome-Fiumicino airports can also serve as intermediate stops to this airport. (updated Sep 2017)

Ground connections By train 2 Stazione di Elmas Aeroporto (next to the airport). Trenitalia railways connect the airport to the city (10-min ride, every 20-min or so) and the rest of the island. (updated Sep 2017) By taxi A number of taxi companies serve the airport.

By car The airport is on the SS130 road.

By boat

3 Stazione Marittima di Cagliari. Connections by Tirrenia ferries with Civitavecchia via Arbatax (the ferry leaves Civitavecchia at 19:00 and arrives at 08:00), Naples and Palermo. Other ferry connections to Cagliari by Grimaldi Lines can be found online here.

By train 4 Stazione di Cagliari (Cagliari railway station). Connections to Elmas airport, Sassari (and the ferry terminal at Porto Torres), Olbia (and the ferry terminal at Golfo Aranci), Oristano, Iglesias and Carbonia Serbariu. (updated May 2023)

By bus While ARST is the main regional bus service provider to the city, a few other companies are also operate in the region. Notably, Turmo Travel runs buses to Olbia (and the airport) and Santa Teresa Gallura.

5 Stazione ARST Autolinee (regional bus terminal), Piazza Matteotti, toll-free: +39 800865042. (updated Sep 2017) Services Deposito bagagli (Left luggage) (at the bus terminal, next to McDonald's), ☏ +39 346 5720570. 07:00-20:00. There is no left luggage service at the train station, but the bus station is next to it. It's a short walk from the ferry terminal. Small item €1/hr, medium €1.5/hr, large €2/hr, 15% discount for 3 items.

Getting around

By bus

CTM. Cagliari public transportation provides efficient and reliable (to Italian standards) services to get around the city and suburbs. There are about 30 bus and 3 trolleybus (filobus or trollino in Italian) lines in the city. As of Jun 2023, you can also download the CTM busfinder app, which allows you to buy tickets using your credit or debit card. The tickets must be validated onboard by scanning a QR code near the doors of the bus; follow instructions in the app. Single, valid 90 min €1.30 (sold on board €1.80); Single bus+metro, valid 2 hr €2 (sold on board €2.50); Day pass €3.30. Tickets must be validated on 1st boarding. (updated Sep 2017)

By light rail Metrocagliari. A light rail system run by ARST. It has 2 lines that serve the town of Cagliari and part of its metropolitan area. Both lines run quite off the centre of the city. Single, valid 90 min €1.30. (updated Sep 2017)

By car It is really difficult to get parking and drive in rush hour even if the road network has been improved. The city center has several limited traffic zones (ZTLs): Marina, Castello, Villanova, Stampace Alto, and Stampace Basso (maps and hours). There's also a limited traffic zone in Poetto (map).

See

The best thing is to walk through the old city and discover it. Almost everything you have to see in a quick visit of Cagliari can be reached on foot. Plus there are some spectacular views, for example of the Gulf of Cagliari seen from the old city that are best seen from points that are not reachable by car.

Old town The core of the old town is the Castello district which lies on top of a hill facing the Gulf of Cagliari.

1 Cattedrale di Santa Maria di Castello (Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Cecilia), Piazza Palazzo 4/a. Cagliari Cathedral is a beautiful 13th-century church with Neo-Gothic façade. Do not miss the Shrine of the Martyrs, excavated out of the rock. Free. (updated Sep 2017) 2 Palazzo di Città (Ex Palazzo di Città), Piazza Palazzo, 6. Sep-May: Tu W Th Su 10:00-18:00, F Sa 10:00-20:00; Jun-Aug: 10:00-20:00. €6. (updated Oct 2017) 3 Palazzo Regio (Viceregio). Daily 09:00-19:00. The building was the residence of the royal representatives during the 14th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it passed through some reconstruction and restoration stages. €3. (updated Jun 2023)

4 Bastione di Saint Remy (Piazza Costituzione). This impressive fortification was built in the late 19th century. Climb the huge stairways to be rewarded by a stunning view of the city, the sea and the mountains. Or use the elevator. free. 5 Bastione di Santa Croce. 6 Porta Cristina. The gate built in 1825 in neoclassical style. (updated Sep 2017) 7 Chiostro di San Domenico, Via XXIV Maggio. The cloister dates back to the 15th century. It was restored after World War II. (updated Sep 2017) 8 Chiesa di San Michele, Via Ospedale, 2. M-Sa 09:00-12:00, 19:00-21:00; Su 08:00-11:00, 19:00-20:30. This church was consecrated 1538, but its Spanish Rococo decoration dates back to the 18th century decoration and considered the best example of this style on the island. (updated Oct 2017) Pisan towers

The towers were built in the 13th century during the Pisan domination of the city.

9 T

Do

Museums 1 Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari, Piazza Indipendenza 7, ☏ +39 070 684000, [email protected]. Tu-Su 09:00-18:00. National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari. €5. 2 Galleria Comunale d'Arte, viale San Vincenzo, 2 (Giardini Pubblici). Sep-May: Tu-Su 10:00-18:00; Jun-Aug: Tu-Su 10:00-20:00. The art gallery of Cagliari hosts paintings and sculptures from the period between the 19th and 20th centuries. It also includes a so-called Stanze del Collezionista (Collector's Rooms), the Collezione d'Arte Francesco Paolo Ingrao (Collection of Art Francesco Paolo Ingrao) which contains works of art in the period between mid-20th century towards the 1980s. €6; combined ticket €8 (Museo d'arte simaese + Palazzo di Città + Galleria Comunale d'arte). (updated Sep 2017) 3 Museo d'Arte Siamese "Stefano Cardu", Piazza Arsenale, 1. See the collection of 15th- to 19th-century Oriental art. Entry €3. (updated Sep 2017) 4 Pinacoteca Nazionale. Houses a collection of 16th- to 20th-century paintings by Sardinian artists, 15th- to 18th-century paintings of the Genoese, Neapolitan and Roman schools, a collection of Sardinian and Catalan altarpieces. (updated Sep 2017) 5 Museo delle cere anatomiche Clemente Susini (The Clemente Susini Collection of wax models of the University of Cagl