La Maddalena is the older sister of about 60 islands and islets that make up the archipelago in the north-east of Sardinia, facing the Gallura coasts, the only one inhabited within the national park with its historic town, a former Italian and American military base.

A road runs along its entire perimeter: 45 kilometers of breathtaking views. Granites and porphyries delimit jagged stretches, inlets, coves and beaches, while the hinterland is made up of gentle hills. La Maddalena gives its name to the archipelago of which it is the largest island and to the national park of which it is the administrative center. Its inhabited center is the only one in the archipelago: La Maddalena, founded in 1770, overlooks Palau, which is twenty minutes away by ferry. Eighteenth-century palaces overlook the cobbled alleys of the center, such as the town hall and the parish church of Santa Maria Maddalena.

In the small port of Cala Gavetta stands a column with the effigy of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who lived the last 26 years in Caprera, joined to the Maddalena by the Passo della Moneta and famous for: the Garibaldi museum compendium. You will admire a suggestive landscape along the road to Spalmatore, a delightful cove. Three kilometers from the center is the Cala Frances fjord and: between the Mediterranean scrub and the granite quarry, paths lead to the discovery of silent coves and dream beaches. In the southern part, following the Padule waterfront, you arrive at the Eagle's Nest, near the military fortress. Not far away, another marvel, Punta Tegge.

To the north, beyond the Strangolato isthmus, there are coves made of white dunes and surrounded by rocks shaped by the wind and beaches: unmissable Bassa Trinita, Cala Lunga and Monti d’Arena. From Maddalena you will set out to discover the other islands of the park: Santo Stefano to the south, Budelli and the famous Rosa beach, Razzoli, Santa Maria and Spargi to the north. (from www.sardegnaturismo.it)