Basilica of San Simplicio
The city's Romanesque jewel, in granite, just behind the centre: beneath the square, the necropolis tells two thousand years of Olbia's history.
Olbia · the Kombo guide
Olbia's old town, at the foot of the Basilica
We tell it from here: our door opens onto the square of San Paolo.
The Basilica of San Paolo
The majolica dome you can spot from afar
It is the symbol of Olbia's old town: the church of San Paolo Apostolo, built where a Roman temple to Hercules once stood and already mentioned in fifteenth-century documents. The building you see today owes its character to eighteenth-century baroque remodelling, with its square granite bell tower — the stone of this land.
The famous dome clad in polychrome majolica arrived in 1939 and became the city's icon: at sunset, when the light sets it aglow, you understand why locals still photograph it.
Kombo Street sits literally at its foot, at Via Cagliari 5: when the stroll ends, you're already at our door.
What to do in Olbia
A day in the centre, unhurried
Corso Umberto I
The promenade artery: shops, cafés and period buildings from the town hall down to the sea. In the evening it fills with voices — it's the Olbia ritual.
Archaeological Museum
On the little island in the harbour, it keeps the Roman wrecks of the ancient port and Olbia's story from the Phoenicians to the Middle Ages.
The waterfront
Molo Brin and the walk along the gulf, fishing boats at their moorings — perfect before dinner, or to walk off dessert.
The beaches
Pittulongu and its sisters are minutes away: pale sand and the island of Tavolara on the horizon. The Gallura sea starts here.
Gateway to the Costa Smeralda
From Olbia, Porto Rotondo, Porto Cervo and the coves of the coast are half an hour away: the perfect base for exploring — and for coming back to dinner.
When evening comes
Dinner, steps from the dome
The old town is at its best at the blue hour: the dome lights up, the corso slows down, tables spill outside. It's Kombo Street time — a signature at the bar, then chef Anna's seafood cooking, with the Basilica as the evening's backdrop.