The city of Olbia is the entry point to the Costa Smeralda. Located on the Gulf of Olbia the city is a crossroads for international air and sea traffic and has very ancient origins dating back, as it does, to the time when it was founded by the Carthaginians in the 4th century B.C. and was known as  “Terranova”.

Olbia is also famous for its shopping malls, night life and restaurants.  And some of the most famous beaches on the North-East coast of  Sardinia are just a few miles outside the city.  The recently renovated Colonna Palace Hotel Mediterraneo is right in the centre of the city, not far from the railway station, the port and the airport.