Dear readers,
Of Sardinia, everyone knows the Costa Smeralda, haunt of the jet-set covered with palaces and luxurious villas.
It is often ignored that the oldest land in Italy has a lot to offer.
Starting with its sparkling and steep rocky coasts, surrounded by crystal clear waters.
The second largest island in the Mediterranean, the granite island still has many corners of paradise and very pretty addresses.
Something to satisfy lovers of hiking and slow tourism.
OUR SARDINIA FILE
La Maddalena, the untamed archipelago of Sardinia
Off the island of Santa Maria, north of the La Maddalena archipelago, the granite rocks plunge into an incredible shade of blue.
Stanislas Fautré / Le Figaro Magazine
Since 1994, the Archipelago of La Maddalena has been a protected national park of approximately 5,000 hectares and 180 kilometers of coastline.
It is assumed that millions of years ago, its seven islands and fifty islets formed a single strip of land connecting Sardinia to Corsica.
Located in the northeast of Sardinia, this myriad of granite islands and islets is unique in the Mediterranean.
Long uninhabited despite their strategic position at the entrance to the mouths of Bonifacio, they have remained intact.
A paradise of rocks and water, of prodigious but fragile beauty.
THE GREAT REPORT
Focus: five confidential beaches on the Maddalena archipelago
At the very north of the wild island of Caprera, the beach of Cala Napoletana is dominated by majestic rocks covered with vegetation.
Adobe Stock
Located at a strategic location in the Mediterranean, La Maddalena is home to two small military bases, one Italian, the other American, whose discreet presence has limited tourist expansion.
Unlike the beaches of the neighboring Costa Smeralda, those of La Maddalena are totally wild, accessible only on foot or by boat.
Overview of the quietest coves and beaches of the archipelago.
OUR FAVORITES
Why Ogliastra should be your next destination
Also take the time to wander around the ruined village of Gairo Vecchio.
Francesco Moufotografo / CE shutterstock.com
Isolated from the rest of Sardinia by the Gennargentu massif, Ogliastra has long been an island within an island, jealously cultivating its art of living – which has earned it the status of one of the territories in Europe with the more than centenarians – and its traditions inherited from pastoralism.
Preserved from mass tourism and its misdeeds, the region is proud of an exceptional natural setting, where the mountain tumbles suddenly into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Its enchanting coastline will seduce the most demanding lovers of idleness, while the hinterland, with its endearing villages and forests dominated by impressive limestone rocks, will delight hiking lovers.
PRACTICAL NOTEBOOK
In Sassari, Cagliari or Pula: our seven favorite restaurants in Sardinia
Practically at the southern tip of Sardinia, Riccio Bianco welcomes its guests right on the sand.
Alberto Blasetti
Long rooted in a tradition of pure and raw products, Sardinian cuisine has been built with very distinctive products such as
pecorino sardo
,
fregula
,
pane carasau
,
malloredus
… It is gradually opening up to creative culinary practices. which could well place it at the top of the Mediterranean gastronomy to follow closely.
GOOD ADDRESSES
Read alsoWhen to go to Sardinia?
Weather, beaches, crowds… The best time per region