# Cagliari: 8 km of city beach, and flamingos behind

> Poetto runs 8 km along the city, a 1,600 hectare wetland behind it holds nesting flamingos, and the airport train reaches the center in under 10 minutes.

URL: https://myitalia.it/towns/cagliari
Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cagliari has 8 km of beach inside the city and 1,600 hectares of flamingo lagoon directly behind it, and the airport train puts you in the center in under 10 minutes for €1.30.

## Poetto, and where it stops being Cagliari

The city beach runs 8 km (5 miles) of pale sand with water shallow for tens of meters out, and the strip is divided roughly in half between the municipality of Cagliari and that of Quartu Sant'Elena. Some sections are free, others are concessions with sunbeds.

Behind the sand there is a promenade laid out for running, cycling and skating, which is what the city does with it in the evening. Prices in euros; the free stretches cost nothing at all.

## The lagoon is a nesting site, not a view

The Molentargius-Saline regional park covers 1,600 hectares across Cagliari, Quartu Sant'Elena, Selargius and Quartucciu, right up against the Poetto seafront. Salt production ended here in 1985, and the abandoned pans turned into the most important pink flamingo nesting site in the Mediterranean.

That means the birds are working, not performing. Keep to the paths and bring something with magnification, because the distances across open water are long.

## Seven thousand years in one building

The Museo Archeologico Nazionale holds over 4,000 objects spanning nearly 7,000 years, from Neolithic mother goddesses through nuragic bronze figurines and Phoenician and Punic jewelry to Roman statuary. It sits in the Cittadella dei Musei, cut out of the royal arsenal and the medieval walls between 1956 and 1979, and it has had special ministerial autonomy since 2019.

The bronzetti are the reason to come: small cast figures of archers, chiefs and wrestlers that are the closest thing there is to a portrait of nuragic Sardinia. See [the archaeological museum](/attractions/museo-archeologico-cagliari).

## Hours, and the ticket that covers two museums

The museum opens every day 8:30 am to 7:30 pm (19:30 on Italian signs), with the ticket desk closing at 6:45 pm. Admission is €10 full and €5 reduced, €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25, free under 18, and an annual pass is €36 (2026).

One ticket admits you to the Pinacoteca Nazionale as well, so allow for two collections rather than one. The address is Piazza Arsenale 1, at the top of the Castello quarter, which is a climb from the port.

## Airport to center in under 10 minutes

Cagliari Elmas has a railway station joined to the terminal by a covered walkway, and the regional train reaches the city in under 10 minutes for €1.30, with departures every 20 minutes on weekdays. The first train from the airport leaves at 6:03 am and the last at 11:07 pm in 2026.

You can pay at the machine, in the Trenitalia app, or by contactless with Tap&Tap, which is the fastest option when you land without cash. See getting to Cagliari, [things to do](/towns/cagliari/things-to-do) and [Sardinia](/regions/sardegna).

## FAQ

### Can you swim in Cagliari without leaving the city?

Yes. Poetto is 8 km of pale sand along the city, split roughly half and half between Cagliari and Quartu Sant'Elena, with free stretches and paid concessions, shallow water for tens of meters out, and a promenade built for running, cycling and skating.

### Where do you see the flamingos in Cagliari?

In the Molentargius-Saline regional park, 1,600 hectares of wetland immediately behind the Poetto seafront, across Cagliari, Quartu Sant'Elena, Selargius and Quartucciu. Salt extraction stopped in 1985 and the lagoons became the main flamingo nesting site in the Mediterranean.

### How much is the archaeological museum in Cagliari?

€10 full and €5 reduced, with €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25 and free entry under 18, in 2026. An annual pass costs €36. The same ticket also admits you to the Pinacoteca Nazionale, in the same complex on Piazza Arsenale.

### How do you get from Cagliari airport to the center?

By regional train from the station beside the terminal, reached along a covered walkway, in under 10 minutes for €1.30. Departures run every 20 minutes on weekdays, the first from the airport at 6:03 am and the last at 11:07 pm in 2026.

### What is actually in the Cagliari archaeological museum?

Over 4,000 objects across nearly 7,000 years, from Neolithic mother goddesses and nuragic bronze figurines to Phoenician and Punic jewelry and Roman sculpture. The building is the Cittadella dei Musei, made out of the royal arsenal and the medieval walls between 1956 and 1979.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il Poetto e' la spiaggia urbana di Cagliari: circa 8 chilometri di sabbia chiara e fondali bassi divisi quasi a meta' fra il territorio di Cagliari e quello di Quartu Sant'Elena, con tratti liberi e tratti in concessione e un lungomare attrezzato per corsa, bici e skate. | [Regione Autonoma della Sardegna - Sardegna Turismo](https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/it/esplora/il-poetto) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| Il Parco naturale regionale Molentargius-Saline si estende su circa 1.600 ettari nei territori di Cagliari, Quartu Sant'Elena, Selargius e Quartucciu, a ridosso del lungomare del Poetto; dismessa l'estrazione del sale nel 1985, l'area umida e' diventata il sito piu' importante del Mediterraneo per la nidificazione dei fenicotteri rosa. | [Parco naturale regionale Molentargius-Saline](https://www.parcomolentargius.it/) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| Il Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari conserva oltre 4.000 oggetti che coprono quasi 7.000 anni, dal Neolitico all'alto Medioevo - dee madri neolitiche, bronzetti nuragici, gioielli fenici e punici, statuaria romana - ed e' ospitato nella Cittadella dei Musei, ricavata fra il 1956 e il 1979 dall'Arsenale regio e dalle mura medievali; dal 2019 fa parte di un istituto del Ministero della Cultura dotato di autonomia speciale. | [Musei Nazionali di Cagliari - Ministero della Cultura](https://museinazionalicagliari.cultura.gov.it/musei/museo-archeologico/) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| Il Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari apre tutti i giorni dalle 8:30 alle 19:30 (biglietteria fino alle 18:45) e il biglietto, unico con la Pinacoteca Nazionale, costa 10 euro intero e 5 ridotto, con tariffa speciale di 2 euro per i cittadini UE fra 18 e 25 anni e abbonamento annuale a 36 euro; l'ingresso e' gratuito per i minori di 18 anni (2026). | [Musei Nazionali di Cagliari - Ministero della Cultura](https://museinazionalicagliari.cultura.gov.it/visita/orari-e-biglietteria/orari-e-biglietteria/) | medium | 2027-06-30 |
| L'aeroporto di Cagliari Elmas ha una stazione ferroviaria collegata al terminal da un camminamento coperto: il treno regionale raggiunge il centro di Cagliari in meno di 10 minuti, con corse ogni 20 minuti circa nei giorni feriali e biglietto a 1,30 euro; la prima corsa dall'aeroporto parte alle 6:03 e l'ultima alle 23:07 (2026). Si puo' pagare anche in contactless con Tap&Tap. | [Trenitalia](https://www.trenitalia.com/it/regionale/collegamenti-regionale/aeroporto-elmas-di-cagliari.html) | medium | 2027-06-30 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.cagliari.v2.1600.jpg
Author: Ryan Hodnett. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bastione_di_Saint_Remy_-_Cagliari,_Italy_2024-03-28.jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/paesi/cagliari.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/pueblos/cagliari.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/villages/cagliari.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/orte/cagliari.md