Insight Guides - Insight Guides: Explore Ireland

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Celtic romance

Glimpse the round tower through the Celtic mist at Glendalough ().

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

Children

Visit a 19th-century coffin ship in New Ross ().

Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

Gardeners

Powerscourt Gardens ().

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Literary types

The Book of Kells is at Trinity College () will explain why.

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Natural wonders

The 40,000 basalt columns of the Giants Causeway () will take your breath away.

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Picture-book villages

Choose from the pretty thatched cottages of Adare () with its fairy-tale castle above the wooded Blackwater Valley.

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Shoppers

Treat yourself to some Jerpoint Glass in Kilkenny ().

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Walkers

Walk across heathery hills on the Dingle Peninsula ().

Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

Explore Ireland

Ireland is Europes most westerly outpost, swathed with vast areas of unspoilt wilderness, dotted with romantic ruins and yet also boasting two of Europes liveliest capital cities, Dublin and Belfast.

Ireland is a land of contrasts and contradictions. It is famous for having some world-class cities, yet is also a place apart as the westernmost land mass in Europe, where serried ranges of scantly inhabited hills lead to a rugged Atlantic coast, and the legacy of its Celtic and Gaelic past persists. Throughout your travels, you will encounter the contrast of the old and traditional alongside the new. Many heritage sites have bold modern architectural additions, and the jarveys driving the horse-drawn sidecars in Killarney take their bookings by mobile phone.

Beach on Melmore Head, County Donegal

Chris Hill/Tourism Ireland

Geography and layout

The island of Ireland contains two separate countries: the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The latter, in the northeastern corner of the island, is part of the UK. In its entirety, the island covers 84,288 sq km (32,544 sq miles), measuring 485km (302 miles) at its longest point and 304km (189 miles) at its widest, while its coastline extends for around 5,630km (3,500 miles). Low ranges of mountains surround a central lowland area of limestone, much of which is covered in peat bogs.

Getting around

Public transport is a weak point. While the railways link the peripheral towns to Dublin, the lines do not interconnect to any useful extent. Neither is bus travel satisfactory for touring. If you are intending to visit rural Ireland, the only comfortable option is by car.

The routes in this guide begin with two walks exploring the historic and modern faces of the Republic of Irelands capital, Dublin. Following these are a series of drives and walks that have been arranged to run clockwise around the country, down the east coast, along the south and up the west, ending in Northern Ireland. Wicklow, the garden of Ireland, is an easy day trip from Dublin; then the routes visit Kilkenny, Waterford and the iconic Rock of Cashel, all of which are only a short distance from the main DublinCork road. After a walk through Corks medieval streets and Victorian harbour, the routes continue along the scenic coast of west Cork and Kerry to the Dingle Peninsula, before exploring castle country around the Shannon Estuary, visiting Adare, Limerick and Bunratty. The routes then proceed northwards up the more exposed west coast from the strange limestone plateau known as the Burren in County Clare to vibrant Galway city. A day-long drive through ruggedly beautiful Connemara leads towards charming Westport town and scenic County Mayo. Further north, Sligo town and the surrounding countryside were made famous in the poems of W.B. Yeats, while County Donegal has some lovely beaches. From here, we cross the border to visit Northern Irelands fast-changing capital, Belfast, with a detour to the Giants Causeway.