Palau

Palau is a Gallura coastal town facing the La Maddalena archipelago, grown in the 19th and 20th centuries around its port and the station of the railway from Sassari and Tempio; today it is the ferry port for La Maddalena. A legend links this coast to the Laestrygonians of the Odyssey. Its symbol is the Roccia dell'Orso, a large granite boulder shaped by the wind like a bear, with magnificent views over the archipelago. Near the town you can visit the late 19th-century Monte Altura fortress and the Li Mizzani giants' tomb, and at San Giorgio stands a 15th-16th-century Gothic-Catalan church next to a nuraghe. The beaches of Porto Pollo, Cala Trana and Talmone are a few kilometres away, and in summer the Trenino Verde links Palau with Tempio.

What to see

• Roccia dell'Orso
• Fortezza di Monte Altura
• Giants' tomb of Li Mizzani
• Church of San Giorgio
• Beach of Porto Pollo

Nearby beaches

• Cala Coticcio, Caprera8 km
• Spiaggia del Principe17 km
• Rena Bianca, Santa Teresa18 km
• Capriccioli19 km
• Liscia Ruja19 km

Nearby hikes

• Valle della Luna, Capo Testa22 km

Nearby towns

• La Maddalena · 4 km
• Arzachena · 11 km
• Santa Teresa Gallura · 18 km
• Luogosanto · 21 km
• Sant'Antonio di Gallura · 22 km
• Aglientu · 25 km
• Golfo Aranci · 28 km
• Olbia · 30 km

Sources: Grande Enciclopedia della Sardegna; ISTAT. Original texts by Gotosardinia.