Sassari

Sat on the soft hills just above the Sardinian Sea, Sassari might just be the perfect island escape from the jet setter haunts of the much-trodden Emerald Coast. Portraying an initial impression of characterless breeze-block builds and urban sprawl, the city however hides its pearl of a Centro Storico district well. That's where you will want to be, flitting between the sweet-smelling pasticcerias and the lively local trattorias, mingling with grand 18th-century palazzi and wandering the plazas under the Sardinian sun. Sassari tour guides love guiding wide-eyed visitors through its handsome Aragonese castles and beneath the carved frontispieces of San Nicola Cathedral, all before showcasing the other attractions of the greater region. Talking of those, you simply cannot miss the gorgeous Wild Asinara Park, a relatively unvisited paradise on the north-west coast of the island where eucalyptus groves tumble down to seas of perfect turquoise and green.