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Liscia Ruja beach © Italian Tourist Board |
Overview: The jet-set strip of Sardinia, Costa Smeralda is a six-mile
(10km) stretch of coastline between the gulfs of Cugnana and
Arzachena on the island's northeast coast, which has become a
developer's paradise and extremely popular with holidaymakers.
Legend has it that a fabulously wealthy consortium of businessmen
first exploited this beautiful wild coastal strip in the 1960s,
backed by the Aga Khan. Today the local villages and towns around
Costa Smeralda have become discreet up-market resorts crammed with
private villas, luxurious holiday villages, contrived
Mediterranean-style shopping malls, low-rise high-priced hotels and
huge yachting marinas packed with gleaming yachts. The main town of
the area is Porto Cervo, a crime and litter-free playground of the
rich with its ranks of pale pink and red villas climbing the hill
from the busy marina. The other favourite retreat for celebrities
is the town of Porto Rotondo, situated on a natural cove about 10
miles (16km) from Olbia, site of the international airport. The
town offers a wealth of beaches, nightclubs, bars and restaurants,
most clustered around its Piazza San Marco, and the marina. The
main attractions of the Costa Smeralda are the numerous sequestered
beaches, none signposted, which can be discovered simply by
following a dirt track down towards the sea. Among the most scenic
are Cappriccioli, Rena Bianca and Liscia Ruja, all south of Porto
Cervo.
Nearby Attractions
Garibaldi’s House
Famous revolutionary, Giuseppe Garibaldi, lived the last third
of his life on the woody, undeveloped island of Caprera, a short
ferry-ride from Palau on Sardinia. The trip to view Garibaldi's
house and museum is very popular in season, with visitors queuing
to catch one...
see full detailsNuraghe
The mysterious Nuragic people who arrived in Sardinia around
1500 BC festooned the island with about 30,000 circular fortified
structures. Today about 7,000 of these remain standing to be
marvelled at by tourists. The complex of Nuraghe in Barumini has
been added to UNESCO's...
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