I love Portobello Harbour…read more I live in the area and it's wonderful having the canal on your doorstep. In the winter there are teams of swans. In the summer schools of fish. And the odd monster of a pike every kilometre all year round. I've watched Cormorants fish at Portobello Harbour. One even managed to catch one of the monster pike too. People love to sit on the jetty. Some like to drink there too. On a fine sunny day, sure why not. The square is also pleasant, with a new summer market taking place there. Today was the first such market in 2016. I'm hoping there will be more. Later in the year will be the second Canalaphonic music and culture festival. It will use Portobello Harbour as one of its outdoor venues. It's good to see the space bring utilised.

Portobello has a new harbor, refurbished for the summer but in the same place as before. Good place…read moreto enjoy few drinks, read a book or just socialize.

My first site seeing in Ireland was here. I was amazed of the beauty of Howth. No need to travel…read moretoo far away from Dublin. At the time we went there by bus (can't remember bus №). I'll tell you little secret. There's this private road off Thormanby Rd. You may be clamped or gates might be locked, so be warned and I don't advise to drive there, but I did };p~ (location: http://goo.gl/cJ3tJG). You must come here and go down to that little beach full of polished sea stones. Seals are common fellows there. Sadly, scumbags don't appreciate nature and you'll find too much of trash. Destroys all pleasure of this little stony paradise. It is very slippery on a wet day, be extra careful then on them steep stone stairs. Over on another side you can reach the lighthouse. It has helipad. There opens up a gorgeous Dublin bay / Bull island view and The Poolbeg Chimneys. Be prepared to climb a bit on the way back to the car park. There are several routes and you may extend your journey further on by hiking around the rest of the Howth by trail, which will eventually lead to the Howth village.

A wonderful walk around the peninsula that is Howth Head…read more The first time we did this walk it was pouring rain, so we cut it short. What a pleasant surprise we had when we finally managed to do the whole circuit the second time round. There was so much more to see, we had no idea how great it was going to be, to be honest. There are a few inlets and small beaches too, so you can cool your feet off too! That's what we did anyway and it was wonderful. I recommend you get some pre-walk tapas in Octopussy on the pier first, then walk it off around the head, with a post-walk drink in the Bloody Stream. On a summers day it's a wonderful way to pass the time and burn some calories.

It's a sandy beach! Nice, clean, fine, lovely-to-walk-in sand!…read more In the last spate of sunny weather, I trekked out to Killiney thinking this was the spot, the pretty spot the place to go. Pretty yes, nice to sit down or lie on, no! It's all stoney and not conducive to the lazy beach day you would generally have in your mind. Now as for Portmarnock! I had quite the opposite image in my mind, especially after the recent press, but ladies and gentlemen, you will be rather pleasantly surprised if you take the trip out here! Ice cream vans, sculptures, a nice grassy verged area, a huuuuggge beach that goes on for miles, and - wait for it - SANDY sand! The only cautionary note I will end with is - if you're not a major fan of teenagers, or perhaps the younger childer - perhaps stay away. The place is jam packed full of em! The further down the beach you go (away from the parking), the better. You get better sand, more of it, and you are less likely to have to stick some ear plugs in! Re. the parking - we ended up driving into one of the local estates as we couldn't find room anywhere along the roads, and the White Sands Hotel was charging a tenner (TEN EURITS!!) to make the most of their tarmac!

When I have worked too much and have too many tests to correct and too many lessons to prepare and…read moretoo much going on (wow I need to breathe!), I cycle all the way from Dublin centre to this beach. I love cycling and this route is about 17 kms long and I love every second of it! This place makes me feel peaceful and the strand is very long with beautiful rocks and scenery. If you do not exercise that much, there are buses and a main Dart train line in this area too. There is also a Martello tower overlooking the beach, a very local small ice cream stand besides several hotels along the path and a nice monument to honor the first solo westbound transatlantic flight which began there. When you are in the middle of the beach you can see a bit far away Ireland's Eye, a tiny uninhabited island directly north of Howth Harbour. I swim most of the times when I am feeling brave enough and the waves can be quite rough so you need to be a kind of good swimmer.

Beautiful little fishing village located just a 30 minute train ride from Dublin!…read more We heard great things about Howth and honestly this made a great side trip on our first day in Dublin. Away from the city we were transported to a small village town with gorgeous scenery and people. We went for a ferry ride to see Irelands eye and the Howth cliffs and unfortunately it got too foggy during the tour. For an hour long it was mostly fog but we did see a seal just chilling in the water. It was sunny on the mainland so it was very unexpected that there would be not much visibility on the water. We wanted to see puffins but they are rare to see I think. The ferry ride was pricey so not sure I would recommend it especially since you're not guaranteed to see everything. I would suggest going up the Howth cliffs walk as it is a beautiful view from up top! The locals in the village are also super friendly and love a good chat. Such a great place to visit if you are travelling around Dublin!

Without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited…read more Howth is a quaint and beautiful fishing village only about 30 minutes away from Dublin if you take the Dart train from Connelly station. It was 6,50 euro round trip per person and trains pass by about every 20 minutes or so. I would definitely recommend visiting the Howth Market if you come on the weekend. It's like a little farmers market that sells loads of coffee, tea, baked good, prepared foods, souvenirs, etc. This market is located right across the street when you exit the Dart station, you can't miss it. Once you're done there if you continue walking towards the ocean there is a trail that leads you to Howth's head and while you're making your way over there you'll pass by many shops and restaurants. The trail is a steep climb, and if you're not in relatively good shape or have proper shoes on, I'd recommend just staying in town and maybe having a drink at one of the many pubs, but if you're able to make the climb, it's completely worth it. The views are absolutely breath taking, and along the way there are endless vines of wild black berries which you'll see various people (myself included) eating as a snack. I ended up climbing the top by myself while the rest of my party waited for me back down. Please be careful and don't be stupid and take selfies in dangerous areas, make sure to stay on the trail all the time. Enjoy the beauty and charm that Howth offers, I loved it more than Dublin itself.

I have grown up around the corner from this park, so I know it better than most people. Apart from…read moreseeming slightly smaller each year as I grow older, not much has changed. There is still a little wooden hut that entertained myself, sisters and friends for hours on end. It could be used for a variety of activities such as; make believe tea partys, indians and hiding in it when it was time to go! There are also the usual swings and slide and brightly coloured climbing frames. All that is in the playground, but there is also a large open space in which you can play football, tag rugby or just sunbathe. A walk around the park shows beautiful flowers and a rock pool. This is the perfect place to spend a Sunday with the family, or an afternoon with friends. Bring your dog also. They are supposed to be kept on leashes, but if yours likes to be free, the park keeper turns a blind eye if it is well behaved.

I don't know how I never knew this beach was here! I felt like my Dub credentials were under threat…read moredue to my ignorance until I realised that apparently nobody else knows about it, not even Yelp! It's a lovely stretch of beach with pure white sand that I can only assume was imported... Located at the back of Sutton Village you have Ireland's Eye, Howth Head and Malahide on the horizon and a lovely mix of young, old, Irish and new Irish alike, not to mention some rather impressive eye candy (i.e. Tim sunning). Definitely my new fair weather spot!

Having grown up on this beach it holds a special place in my heart but I thinks it's one of the…read morenicest beaches in Dublin. Located on the Burrow Road it is known as either Burrow Beach or Hole in the wall beach as the access to the beach used to be through a large hole in a wall - you still need to climb over what's left of the wall but much easier now ! It's a lovely long flat beach and has great views out to Ireland's Eye. It's good for swimming but be careful as there can be strong currents. A great walk you can do is to get the DART to Sutton station which is very close to the beach and then walk along the beach up to Howth - then you could walk the pier and replenish your lost calories with some chips or just jump back on the DART. This however is only possible at low tide and you must be careful not to get trapped by the incoming tide

This slender strip of greenery makes for a soothing walk (or a lovely general commute path, should…read moreyou be so lucky). In Summer the trees and sidewalks are bursting with life, while in these snowy climes it offers a whisper of a wintry wonderland. Beautiful. The only thing that takes this down from a full rating is the sheer amount of litter that is dumped into the canal. Not cool. Stop it. If you're by the Rathmines area of the walk, visit the swans. There are, last I'd counted, over 50 within a single stretch of the canal - you can't miss them, and you'll commonly find a swarm placidly nestled along the sidewalk or gobbling the bread people throw at them. They don't get ruffled if you walk close to them (and if they're being fed you may have no choice in the matter), but please, resist the urge to pet them.

One of our fair cities finer features, the Canal+sunshine is probably the best day that can be had…read morein Dublin. You can walk the scenic peace of her banks, the banter of her pubs or even share a seat with Patrick Kavanagh. Or you can do as the bums do. Tie a load of cans onto a string and keep them cool in the water, only drawing them up when you need one. Might want to get a tetanus shot before trying that last one actually. Nice as it is, this is still Dublin.

After walking through Glasnevin Cemetery, it was time for some green and some bright. Not that the…read morecemetery isn't full of greenery, but let's see some without gravestones, mkay? The gardens dated back to 1795 when they were founded by the Dublin Society (later the Royal Dublin Society) and are a massive collection of some 20,000 living plants. And like the cemetery, it's free! Glass houses and gardens and walkways and benches and just beautiful flowers and blossoming trees and so much green. Even in early September as we're moving from Summer to Fall. I love that this is free and I think Dublin could do more to let people know that! [Review 1821 of 2024 - 80 in Republic of Ireland - 22843 overall]

A beautiful place with many different kinds of spaces and flowers. It was all free too! I can't…read morerecommend enough.