Sardinia · Sassari
Alghero
The Catalan city of northwest Sardinia, repopulated by Peter IV of Aragon in 1354.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Alghero is on our list
It holds Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- Airport
- In the comune (AHO)
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 41,989
- J14°
- F15°
- M16°
- A19°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A30°
- S27°
- O23°
- N19°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Alghero sits on the northwestern coast of Sardinia at the head of its own bay. The Doria of Genoa founded it in the mid-thirteenth century. The Catalan-Aragonese took it briefly in 1353, and after a siege in 1354 Peter IV of Aragon won it back, deported the Sardinian and Ligurian inhabitants and repopulated the town with Catalan settlers.
Four centuries of Catalan, then Spanish, rule left a language behind: about 22 percent of residents still speak Algherese Catalan, a fact that keeps the walled old town legible as something other than a museum piece. Eleven kilometers west, the coast rises into a limestone promontory and the natural park around it, the point where the city's own bay gives way to open cliff. North of the city, Vermentino and Cannonau vineyards carry both Città del Vino and Città dell'Olio designations, a rural counterpart to the walled maritime center. The town reads, then, as a layered thing: a Doria foundation overwritten by an Aragonese one, held between a fortified seafront and a wine country, with the language of the fourteenth-century settlers still spoken in the streets it was resettled to serve.
How to get there
Alghero has its own airport (AHO).
From Cagliari (CAG), about 3 h 39 min by car.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Sassari? Alghero is about 36 min away by road.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale di Santa Maria
Catalan Gothic building with a late Renaissance and Baroque interior, three naves inside, the bell tower a signature of the old town skyline.
Bastioni Marco Polo
Golden sandstone walls with a string of defensive towers, forming the seaward edge of the centro storico.
Grotta di Nettuno
Karst cave at Capo Caccia with stalactites and underground pools, reached by the 656-step Escala del Cabirol or by boat from the marina.
Capo Caccia
Limestone promontory dropping to the sea, part of the Porto Conte Natural Park, the western anchor of the Alghero coast.
Centro storico catalano
Walled old town of narrow streets, churches, and palazzi, where Algherese Catalan is still spoken alongside Italian and Sardinian.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
La SalettaRistorante
La Saletta has two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
MuscioraRistorante
Musciora carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Sa MandraAgriturismo
Sa Mandra has a Gambero Rosso listing and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
3 more places the guides name in Alghero
Al RefettorioRistorante
Al Refettorio has one Gambero Rosso fork (77/100) to its name.
Il PavoneRistorante
Il Pavone holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
RafelRistorante
Rafel holds two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100).
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Alghero meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 41,989 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Sassari, a city of 120,510, is 27 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 41,989, down 0.2% since 2015
- Nearest city Sassari, 27 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,900 to €3,100 per m² to buy, €7.90 to €12.90 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 88% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Alghero airport (AHO), 16 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Cagliari, 3 h 23 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Bangladesh and Senegal, against 9% across Italy. 257 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and France. There are 337 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 31% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Sassari province ranks 74th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. There is a major emergency department in the comune. The nearest children's emergency room is in Sassari, 21 km away. The nearest IB school is Ambrit International School, 376 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Sardinia International School, 111 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.98% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Sardinia spends about €1,790 a month, €530 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €539 a year for water, on the Sardinia average. In Sassari, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.31, a meal in a pizzeria €15.08 and a man's haircut €19.33.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ALGHERESE CATALAN
Variety of Catalan brought by the settlers of 1354, still spoken by about 22 percent of residents, taught in some schools and protected by regional law.
ARAGONESE WALLS
Sixteenth-century sea bastions ringing the centro storico, defensive towers contemporary with the cathedral, the postcard frame of the old town.
GROTTA DI NETTUNO
Four-kilometer cave system under Capo Caccia, reached by 656 steps down the cliff or by boat from the Alghero marina.
Common questions
- What is Alghero known for?
- Alghero is the Catalan city of northwest Sardinia, repopulated by Peter IV of Aragon in 1354.
- Where is Alghero?
- Alghero is a comune in the province of Sassari, in Sardinia, at 7 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Alghero?
- There is an airport in the comune (AHO).
- Can you get to Alghero without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- When is the best time to visit Alghero?
- Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Alghero?
- Oristano, Tortolì and La Maddalena.
- How many people live in Alghero?
- 41,989 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Alghero a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Alghero is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Sassari, is 27 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 88% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 7 m
- Population: 41,989
- Surface area: 225.4 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Instead of Alghero: coastal towns and hill towns within 2 hours
Similar
Towns like Alghero
What all six share with Alghero: near sea level
Oristano
Province: Oristano
both on the Sardinian coast · both over 10,000 people
Tortolì
Province: Ogliastra
both on the Sardinian coast · both over 10,000 people
La Maddalena
Province: Gallura Nord-Est Sardegna
both on the Sardinian coast · both over 10,000 people
Calasetta
Province: Sulcis Iglesiente
both on the Sardinian coast
Monopoli
Province: Bari
both over 10,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
- Written about. No. 92.
Chioggia
Province: Venezia
both over 10,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Read a sample letter
Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
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