Top Tourist Attraction Places in Ireland

1. Cliffs of Moher

On the west coast of Claire, just north of Lahinch, you can stand on top of Europe's highest cliffs and feel really small and retiring as you watch the open Atlantic deep below. Truly majestic scenery with boats looking like toys on the waves below. You can easily get a feeling you are standing at the end of the world. The cliffs where once the site for watch towers looking out for invading Vikings. Tips! Stop and listen to the girl, who plays the beautiful Irish harp, on the steps up to the look out tower.

2. Killarney

Visit the lagoon Hotel in Killarney, County Kerry, and have a dinner watching the stunning view of the Killarney Mountains and its lake system. Must be one of the most romantic settings in the world. Here you can also take a horse and carriage tour. Then take a trip to the Victorian Muckross House situated at the middle lake, visited by Queen Victoria in 1861. More than a century after her visit, much remains the same in this fine Victorian mansion, set in the spectacular outlook of Killarney National Park.

3. Giant's Causeway

Thousands of perpendicular polygonal basalt columns, hexagonal in shape, tightly filled together in form of a giant pathway disappear out in the sea. At a first glance this remarkable geological formation appears to be man made. It is not hard to understand the birth of the myth, saying it was the giant Finn McCool, who started building this pathway, to cross the sea to deal with a rival giant called Fingal in Scotland

4. Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry

For those who seen the film "Ryan's Daughter" knows regarding the endless beaches on the Dingle peninsula. There is also a big "pirates cave" on one of the beaches figuring in the film. The film "Far and Away" with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was also shot on the peninsula. If you make the Slea Head drive around the peninsula you must have a look at the steep zig-zag walk down to the harbour Dunquin, where you can take a boat over to the Blasket islands. The town of Dingle has its own celebrity resident dolphin, that you are almost guaranteed to se on the guided tours that foliage from the harbour.

5. Skellig Islands

Skellig islands wound up like two black pyramids circled by birds in the Atlantic Ocean. These islands are the blue print for all magic mystical islands, the place you would imagine home for pirates, but in fact a monastic outpost of the Early Christian period. The archaeological value of the islands is as well known as it is well-preserved. To reach them is a one and a half hour boat trip leaving from Valentia during April to late September. The islands are also home for many varying birds species.

6. Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Antrim Northern Ireland

23 meters over the Atlantic you cross over a little rope bridge, traditionally erected by salmon fishermen. Carrick-a-Rede Island is the home of Fulmars, kittywakes, guillemots and razorbills which breed on the islands close to the rope bridge. Be prepared for a vertigo sensation as you look down or out on Rathlin Island and Scotland. A short coastal footpath leads to Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. On the way, there are wonderful vantage points to stop and take in the natural beauty.

7. Glendalough, County Wicklow

Glendalough is a gasp taking glacially sculpted green valley with steep mountains coming down to two tranquil lakes. As a true Oasis in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, Glendalough is one of the most visited locations in Ireland, within distance from Dublin. The site sports a Round Tower in a monastic settlement, established by St Kevin, a reclusive monk, who for seven years enjoyed a simple and solitary existence, with animals and birds as his only companions. You can clearly understand why he chooses to settle down here when you visit. Enjoy one of the many walking trails of unreliable difficulty round the lakes. Maybe you will catch a glimpse of the Oscar winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis who lives in the Wicklow Mountains.

8. Garnish Island

Garnish Island is Located in the protected harbour of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, in Southwest Ireland. The island enjoys a warming oceanic influence of the Gulf Stream the climate is in some respect almost subtropical. The island is open to visitors each day from 1st March to 31st October and only accessible by boat through a small archipelago occupied by sunbathing seals. On the Island resides the garden of Ilnacullin which is a fairytale postcard with the Kerry Mountains as a backdrop.

9. Croagh Patrick

Challenge the Peak of Croagh Patrick 764 metres over the sea exterior Westport in County Mayo. Croagh Patrick has been a site of pilgrimage, since Saint Patrick reputedly fasted on the summit of Croagh Patrick for forty days in the fifth century and built a church there. The walk to the summit might seem easy but be prepared for a two hour climb. On the top you can enjoy a magnificent view over the Clew bay, with its many islands, where John Lennon reputedly once was rumoured to settle down to live a hippie lifestyle away from the hectic music industry.

10. Newcastle, County Down

A lesser known pendant to Kilarney is located at the base of the Mourne Mountains. Have a dinner at the famous Slieve Donard Hotel, looking out over the majestic Slieve Donard Mountain, while listening to the grand piano in the hotel restaurant. The Hotel once harboured Charlie Chaplin among one of its many famous guests. The town has recently benefited from a multi million upgrade which makes it a high quality seaside attraction. Many visitors walk in the Mourne Mountains, made famous by Percy French in the song "Mountains of Mourne", You can also play golf at Royal County Down (venue for the 2007 Walker Cup), or to just turn up the prom and relax on the beach. Also visit Tollymoore Forrest Park.

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