Sardinia captivates with its wild hinterland, out-of-this-world beaches and endearing eccentricities. Sardinia has some of the dreamiest beaches you'll find without stepping off European shores. Yes, the sand really is that white, and the sea the bluest blue. Imagine dropping anchor in Costa Smeralda's scalloped bays, where celebrities and supermodels frolic in emerald waters; playing castaway on the Golfo di Orosei's coves, where sheer cliffs ensure seclusion; or sailing to La Maddalena's cluster of granite islands. Whether you're walking barefoot across the dunes on the wave-lashed Costa Verde or lounging on the Costa del Sud's silky smooth bays, unroll your beach towel and you'll never want to leave.

Sardinia has been polished like a pebble by the waves of its history and heritage. The island is scattered with 7000 nuraghi, Bronze Age towers and settlements, tombe dei giganti ('giant's grave' tombs) and domus de janas ('fairy house' tombs). Down every country lane and in every 10-man, 100-sheep hamlet, these remnants of prehistory are waiting to be pieced together like the most puzzling of jigsaw puzzles. Sardinia is also an island of fabulously eccentric festivals, from Barbagia's carnival parade of ghoulish mamuthones, said to banish winter demons, to the death-defying S'Ardia horse race in Sedilo.