Sardinia

With its 7000 mysterious Bronze Age stone towers, Neolithic 'Giants Tombs' and hundreds of Spanish watchtowers, Sardinia is an outdoor museum where its tangled past meets its colourful present. The most isolated island in the Mediterranean, it basks in a seven-month summer and boasts jagged mountain ranges, beautiful flowering bougainvilleas, glitzy jet-set coastal resorts and 2000km of emerald coastline. Nowhere else in Italy will you find bands of nomadic shepherds, three-storey yachts, myrtle-scented liquors, pink flamingos, Wild West towns and otherworldy celebrations all within 30 minutes of one another.

Striking beauty and rugged brawn all await, so pack your snorkel, lace your hiking boots and discover one of Italy's last truly unspoilt corners. Including sections on what the locals say to help you find those lesser-known gems, a month-by-month guide to pros and cons of visiting at certain times of the year, tips on the perfect places to picnic and pick-up your goodies, plus a series of great driving routes and city walks. Covers Cagliari and the south, Oristano and the west, Nuoro and Ogliastra, Gallura and Sassari and the northwest.