Dublin The largest city in
Ireland is
Dublin. Due to its proximity to Britain, it was the most important city in Ireland during the
Tudor conquest of Ireland and subsequent British Invasions until after 1922 when the
Irish Free State was formed. As the British held a presence here for over 500 years, most of the historic buildings from the 1500s on were built by them. As
Dublin Airport is located just outside the city, most international visitors to Ireland begin their stay here. Among the main attractions in Dublin are
Dublin Castle, the seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922,
Phoenix Park, one of the largest inner-city parks in the world,
The General Post Office, one of Ireland's most famous buildings due to the
1916 Easter rising,
Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison turned museum that held and executed the rebels of the 1916 Rising and
Trinity College, where the
Book of Kells and the
Book of Durrow are held. In 2010, Dublin was awarded the title of
UNESCO City of Literature, as many famous writers such as
Jonathan Swift,
Oscar Wilde,
W. B. Yeats,
James Joyce,
George Bernard Shaw and
Samuel Beckett are from the city.
Other attractions •
Guinness Brewery, a brewery founded in 1759 that produces Guinness. As of 2018, it was most-visited fee-charging tourist attraction in Ireland. •
Bloomsday, a festival of celebration into James Joyce's life, during which the events of his novel
Ulysses are relived. It is held annually in Dublin on 16 June. • The
Ha'penny Bridge, a famous Victorian bridge spanning the
River Liffey. •
Croke Park, one of Europe's biggest stadiums and principal stadium of the
Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). •
Temple Bar, an area on the south side of the city that has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow
cobbled streets. It is now known for its nightlife. •
St Stephen's Green, a city centre public park. • The buildings of
Georgian Dublin, e.g. the
Customs House and the houses at
Fitzwilliam Square and
Merrion Square,
Mountjoy Square,
Parnell Square, and
Henrietta Street (one of the buildings in Henrietta Street is now a museum showcasing the history of that particular Georgian building). •
Samuel Beckett Bridge, a recent, 21st century (
Celtic Tiger) landmark in the
Docklands. • The "Millennium Spire" or
Spire of Dublin, a recent, 21st century landmark on
O'Connell Street. •
The General Post Office, a late
Georgian building on O'Connell Street that served as the headquarters of the leaders of the 1916
Easter Rising (now partially a museum about said Rising). •
St. Patrick's Cathedral, a 12-th century cathedral serving as the national cathedral of the
Church of Ireland, largely rebuilt in the 19th century. •
Christ Church Cathedral, an 11-th century cathedral, the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the (Anglican) Church of Ireland, largely rebuilt in the 19th century.
Cork Situated on the southern coast of Ireland,
Cork is the second biggest city in the country. Due to a population explosion in the 19th century, many of its public buildings are from this era. In this period two cathedrals were built, the
Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne and
Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral. Another historic attraction from this time is Cork City Gaol which opened in 1824 and was redeveloped as a visitor centre in the 1990s. Cork's best known building and a symbol of the city, the
Church of St. Anne in Shandon, is known for its clock tower dubbed the "four faced liar" on account of all four of the clocks showing slightly different times.
Cork Airport is located just outside the city and connects Cork to several other European cities, although many direct flight routes are only available in the summer. In 2024, Cork was named on
National Geographic's 'best of the world' travel list.
Other attractions •
Fota Wildlife Park, a zoo located just outside the city on
Fota Island, now one of the most popular visitor attractions in the country. •
Elizabeth Fort, a 17th-century
star fort just off Barrack Street, originally built as a defensive fortification outside the city walls, it is now a tourist attraction. •
Cork Opera House, an opera house built in the 1850s. •
The English Market, a food market that dates back to 1610. The market draws visitors from throughout the world, including a visit by
Queen Elizabeth II during her
2011 state visit in 2011. •
University College Cork, a
National University of Ireland, the grounds are popular with visitors due to the fact the
River Lee flows through it. •
Blarney Castle, a medieval castle in
Blarney, a town just west of Cork. The castle is now a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and battlements and is the location of the
Blarney Stone, a stone which is rumoured to give you the gift of
eloquence when you kiss it. •
Spike Island, a former prison island located in Cork harbour, just off the coast of Cobh. A 24-acre star-shaped fort was built in the late 1700s and this became the largest prison in the world in the 1850s, during the famine years. The island was converted into a visitor attraction in 2016 and won the title of 'Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction in 2017.
Limerick Situated on the mouth of the
River Shannon,
Limerick has been an important gateway city for over 800 years. Due to the city's location on the midpoint of the
Atlantic Corridor, nearness to Shannon Airport (12 Miles) and good supply of reasonably priced hotels it has become something of a base city for tourists travelling along the west coast of Ireland, although the city has many attractions in its own right.
King John's Castle in the medieval quarter of the city is arguably the best-known attraction in the city, dating back to 922AD. The old city walls of Limerick surround a small bit of the site, although most of the walls have collapsed. St Marys cathedral also in the medieval quarter is a must see. It is a completely restored 12th-century cathedral with views over the city. The
Hunt Museum in the city hosts one of the world's greatest private collections in the world, winning the Museum of the year award many times over the years. The museum has a wide collection of both ancient and medieval pieces of art and sculpture, originating from varied locations and civilisations around the world including
Ancient Greece,
Ancient Rome,
Ancient Egypt and the
Olmec Civilisation. Artists' works in the museum include
Pablo Picasso,
Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
Jack B. Yeats and
Henry Moore.
Other attractions •
Foynes village and Museum, a small village outside Limerick City that was the last port of call for
Seaplanes heading towards
The Americas. This stretch of the
River Shannon became one of the biggest civilian airports in Europe during
World War II, and was where the drink
Irish Coffee was first served. •
St John's Cathedral, one of two cathedrals in the city, this one has been in continuous use since 1861 and its spire is the tallest in the country, topping out at 94m. Built in a
Gothic Revival style, it is one of the few Irish buildings designed by
Philip Charles Hardwick. •
Adare, a tourist destination and heritage centre, many of the buildings in this village still bear their original thatched roofs or crafted stone exteriors. •
Lough Gur, one of Ireland's most important
archaeological sites, humans have lived at Lough Gur since about 3000BC and there are several
megalithic remains there.
Galway Achieving city status in 1484,
Galway celebrated its quincentenary in 1984. Galway in itself is not particularly known for its attractions, but rather for its lively atmosphere and entertainment scene. This is partly because 25% of the population of Galway (75,529 in 2011) is made up of students primarily from
NUI Galway and
GMIT, two third-level institutes in the city. Galway is particularly popular with American tourists as Galway is said to be the most 'Irish' of Ireland's cities, and is one of the few urban areas where you are likely to hear Irish spoken, due to the fact the
Gaeltacht area of
Connemara is only a few kilometres away.
Waterford Waterford is a city in the
South-East region of Ireland. It is the smallest city in the country, with a population of just over 53,504 in 2016, although it is the oldest, being founded by
Vikings in 324AD. Situated in the southeast, the city has one of the warmest climates in Ireland, getting on average an extra hour of sunshine each day. The seaside town of
Tramore is located just south of the city and has 5 km long beach, and is also a surfing spot. ==Coastlines and resorts==