If you choose one of the ancient stone nuraghi to see, make it Su Nuraxi. It gives you a good taste of the primitive grandeur of the island's only indigenous civilization. The only problem is that it's abit tricky to gte there if your don't have your own wheels. The site lies a kilometre outside the village of Barumini, which is 50km north of Cagliari, to which there are only two daily ARST buses, which stop here en route to Désulo and Samugheo.

At Barúmini, turn left at the main crossroads and walk the last leg to Su Nuraxi (open daily 9am–sunset; free). Its dialect name means simply "the nuragh" and not only is it the biggest nuraghic complex on the island, but it's also thought to be the oldest, dating probably from around 1500 BC. Comprising a bulky fortress surrounded by the remains of a village, Su Nuraxi was a palace complex at the very least – possibly a capital city. The central tower once reached 21m (now shrunk to less than 15m), and its outer defences and inner chambers are connected by passageways and stairs. The whole complex is thought to have been covered with earth by Sards and Carthaginians at the time of the Roman conquest, which may account for its excellent state of preservation.