Ireland Travel Guide to Top Tourist Attractions
Warm and a culture remarkably rich, Ireland, nicknamed the "Emerald Isle," will not fail to put a big smile on your face. You'll fall instantly in love with its friendly people, carefree attitude, frequent tragic yet intriguing history, and its craggy, romance-inspiring landscapes. Ireland is home to scholars boasting more candidates winning the Nobel Prize than other countries in the whole world. On top of all that, the entire Irish capital Dublin was given in 2010 the designation of UNESCO city of Literature!
Places to see and popular attractions to visit are plentiful and limitlessly varied. All the state museums are free, heritage sites go as far back to prehistory, and plus there are countless outdoor options to pursue countrywide like golf, sailing, horseback riding, and many distant, untamed islands to explore with a backpack.
Discover these and much more in this strikingly lovely country with my Ireland travel guide to find top tourist attractions in Ireland.
1) The Cliffs of Moher. With numerous adjectives having been employed in attempting to describe the breath-taking Cliffs of Moher, it's extremely difficult, challenging, to come up with the right words. Dizzy-inducing and spectacular pop in my mind, and they are certainly both, and in addition as being ruggedly beautiful and completely wild. For everyone who's done his homework on the Emerald Isle before coming here, you'll recognize the cliffs, sparkling as they often do in endless guidebooks and postcards. Still no photograph could do them full justice.
This happens to be the country's most-visited attraction and for good reason. Approximately 1.5 hours by automobile from Galway, in County Clare, almost one million people visit the cliffs from across the world each year. In fact, it's a very popular day trip that begins from Dublin. The cliffs extend for 8 kilometers all along the Atlantic and lift 214 meters at their highest peak. If you stroll along the trail, you'll experience nature's majesty and raw power.
2) Grafton Street. Being far more than only a great place for shopping in Dublin, Grafton Street's alive with flower-vendors, buskers, and performance artists doing all sorts of stuns. You'll also see a sea of endless places to visit and just observe the world flow by. Cafe' culture has blasted off in Dublin, and on any bright day, everyone will forgive you for imagining you were in Lisbon or Barcelona.
Indeed, this is the capital's shopping heartland, except you do not have to break your saving account if visiting. You'll find chatty, friendly service regardless of where you go and get entertained from one end of the street to the top of St. Stephen's Green. Buy coffee or, in the morning, a super amazing Irish breakfast at Bewley's Grafton Street Cafe'. Take your time and also duck down the many streets and alleyways to look what you may discover.
3) Muckross House & Gardens. If touring the Kerry area, the 19th hundred-old Muckross House, Gardens, and even traditional farms, standing in Killarney National Park, must be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
Set nearby to Muckross Lake's shores, one of three world-famous for their beauty and splendor, this once mansion emits the gentility and grandeur of bygone days. While touring, keep in mind that even Queen Victoria visited here at one point in time. In those old days, a visit from a royal personality was a major event in itself; excessive re-landscaping and renovations occurred in preparation, and nothing--the smallest detail--was subject to pure chance.
Both the house and gardens became a true retreat, and Jaunting Cars will transport you around the place in style. Also, the attraction's old farms are well worth seeing thoroughly to get an idea of how common people once lived.
4) Trinity College & The Book of Kells. As Ireland's oldest university, Dublin's Trinity College is the nation's ancient treasure, which Queen Elizabeth l founded in 1592. In fact, the university is a world inside a world.
Once you walk past the gates, crossing the cobblestones, the modern, flourishing city outside just vanishes. Simply a brief tour in and through the grounds is a trip taking you through the long-forgotten ages and into the hushed domain of scholarly exertion. Several office and shop employees enjoy their lunchtime meals right here during summer months only to escape the world's hustle and bustle.
In addition, the college is famous for its inestimable treasures, and these include the astonishing Long Room, inspiring the library found in Harry Potter's first movie, and the wonderful Book of Kells that's now a permanent display.
5) Kilmainham Gaol. Occupying an infamously dark spot in Irish history and featured in several rebel songs, Kilmainham Gaol should be visited if you are interested in Ireland's fascinating yet troubled past. It was this very place that the 1916 Uprising's leaders were dragged and, after getting convicted of High Treason, they met their fate: execution in the prison yard. Eamon De Valera, who was the future Irish president, was the only of the group spared on account of his then American citizenship, not suffering the same gruesome demise.
As far back as 1796, this prison used to be a musty horrid institution which housed the ones guilty of such petty crimes like finding himself unable to pay train tickets and, throughout the famine, the hungry and the destitute. So, it's no surprise that for Irish folks the prison symbolizes both persecution and oppression.
A tour here will be a unique experience for opening your eyes and making a lasting and unforgettable impression. The before mentioned yard is especially spine chilling, bringing back reminders of similar places that fill anyone with a feeling of horror. In summation, you do not want to miss this absolute must-see attraction.
