Photo spot in Sardinia & the Costa Smeralda
Porto Cervo — the marina and the Piazzetta
Whitewashed arcades, bougainvillea and a harbour of large yachts — the built half of the Costa Smeralda, and the one that works in hard light.
About Porto Cervo — the marina and the Piazzetta
Get directionsPorto Cervo was designed in the 1960s to look older than it is, and it photographs accordingly: curved white walls, shaded arcades, stairs and small squares that give shape without needing a landscape. The Piazzetta and the covered walkways behind it hold soft shade all day, which makes this the fallback when the beaches are burning at midday.
The marina gives the other register: masts, dark water, teak and a long quay for a clean, uncluttered background. Early morning is best there — crews are working, the light is low along the boats, and nobody minds a small session on the public side of the quay.
Evening is when the village fills. If you want the arcades empty, shoot before nine; if you want them alive, shoot after seven and use the lit shopfronts.
Best time to shoot
Before nine for empty arcades; after seven in the evening for the lit village
Tips
The marina pontoons are private — the quay and the village are not. Ask before stepping onto a berth, and keep clear of crews working.
Other spots in Sardinia & the Costa Smeralda
Spiaggia del Principe
The Costa Smeralda in one frame: rounded pink granite, white sand and water that reads jade close in and deep blue further out.
La Maddalena archipelago by boat
Granite islands with sand in every gap: Cala Coticcio, Spargi and Budelli — a day on the water and the only way to shoot the coves without a crowd.
Cala Goloritzé
A white pebble cove under a 140-metre limestone spire, at the foot of the Golfo di Orosei — boat in, or an hour of steep path down.
Alghero — the sea walls at sunset
A Catalan old town on a bastion above the water, with honey-coloured stone that takes the last light straight off the sea.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Porto Cervo — the marina and the Piazzetta — free of charge.