# Walls, Bastions and Old Town of Alghero, Sardinia's Catalan City

Walk · 2 h · Free · All year · Best at sunset

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/sardinia/alghero-capo-caccia/things-to-do/alghero-walls-and-old-town · Revisado: 2026-11-13

Dónde: Alghero and Capo Caccia

Alghero is the Sardinian city that most resembles one on the Catalan coast, and not by chance: its old town is of Catalan origin, on the island they call it Barceloneta and on the street signs you will see the name in Catalan beside the Italian. The best way to understand it is to walk its walls, which it preserves almost entire on the sea side, something rare in Italy.

## A little history

The city was founded by the Doria, a Genoese family, in the early 12th century, and the first walls came a few decades later, with twenty-six towers. In the 16th century the whole circuit was rebuilt: the sea side was finished and the land side left half done. From 1867 Alghero ceased to be a fortress and the land side began to be demolished. On the sea side the bastions and eight towers of the 16th century remain within the city.

## The walk, step by step

Start at the Porta Terra tower, the old Porta Reial, the entrance from Sassari. From there go down through the old town to the sea and follow the bastions, which bear the names of navigators: Marco Polo, Pigafetta, Magellano and Colombo. Today they are a wide promenade, without cars, with the sea on one side and the façades on the other.

On the way you will see the San Giovanni tower, the middle one; the Sulis tower, where fighting took place on the night of 5 to 6 May 1412 against the troops of William III of Narbonne; and the Maddalena tower, also called Garibaldi's because the general landed there in 1855. At the end of the bastions stands the Garitta Reale, a guard post.

Poke your head into the old town: the cathedral of Santa Maria, begun in 1530, with its bell tower above the roofs; the church of the Carmelo, with a gilded altarpiece; San Michele, with its dome of coloured tiles; and the cloister of San Francesco.

## When and how much

The walk is free and open all year. Allow about two hours with stops. The best time is the last hour of the afternoon: the sun sets behind Capo Caccia, across the bay, and the bastions fill with people. If you want to go into the museums, the Alghero Ticket at €35 includes the Coral Museum, the archaeological museum, the San Giovanni tower, the San Francesco complex, the Grotta di Nettuno, Palmavera and Anghelu Ruju; each museum on its own costs €7.

For dinner afterwards, Il Pavone is on the same piazza Sulis and Al Tuguri three streets away.

## Consejos

### Go at sunset
The sun setting over Capo Caccia is the moment of the day on the bastions.

### Leave the car outside
The old town is a limited-traffic zone: park outside the walls.

### Look at the Alghero Ticket
If you are going to see the cave and the archaeological sites, it pays off.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does it cost to walk the walls of Alghero?
Nothing: the bastions are a public promenade.

### How much time do I need?
About two hours with stops at the towers and the cathedral.

### Why is Catalan spoken in Alghero?
The old town is of Catalan origin and the city preserves that heritage: they call it Barceloneta.

### Can I go with a pushchair?
Yes, the bastions are flat and wide.