DK Travel : Dublin : Places of interest

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Grafton Street

Considered to be the premier shopping street on the south side of the Liffey, Grafton Street is also a pedestrianized venue for street musicians, performers and flower-sellers. There is the usual eclectic mix of high street shops, and ugly neon signs clash with the more classical features of such shop-fronts as Marks & Spencer. The street runs south from College Green, marked by the statue of Molly Malone (irreverently known as “the tart with the cart”), opening out onto St Stephen’s Green at the southern end. Brown Thomas is one of the street’s famous high-class department stores and Bewley’s Oriental Café, with a shop at the front selling traditional Irish foodstuffs, is another popular landmark (see Bewley’s Oriental Café).
Guinness Storehouse

To the west of the centre, this comprehensive exhibition, set in the old brewery building, takes the visitor step-by-step through the creation of the famous beer, from the grain to the final glass of creamy topped black liquid.
Hook Peninsula

The peaceful “Ring of Hook” headland lies beside the broad Waterford Harbour, with long sandy beaches, rugged cliffs, and many relics of the past. At the northeast corner, ruined Tintern Abbey – with beautiful grounds and a little stone bridge – was founded in 1200 and, although much altered, remains atmospheric. The peninsula’s wild tip, where there has been a lighthouse since the 5th century, is beloved of bird-watchers.

Hook Peninsula
Horn Head

This dramatic 180-m (600-ft) rockface is home to hundreds of seabirds, including guillemots, gulls and puffins, which swoop in and out of the crevices hewn into the rock. The headland is covered in purple heather and the views over the Atlantic are stupendous.
Inishowen Peninsula

Undiscovered by so many, this glorious corner in the far northwest has possibly the finest scenery in Ireland, with the spectacular Slieve Snaght Mountain in the centre, Foyle and Swilly lakes to east and west, and the dune-fringed beaches facing the Atlantic. The peninsula also has its share of dramatic headlands and boasts Ireland’s most north-westerly point at Malin Head.
Jerpoint Abbey

One of Ireland’s best examples of a Cistercian monastery, the restored chapterhouse and part of the cloisters of 12th-century Jerpoint stand grandly among its ruins in a peaceful countryside setting. The Jerpoint community quickly established itself as a great centre of culture and learning, and was very prosperous at the time of the Dissolution in 1540. Many fine pieces of stone-carving can be seen, and there is a useful Interpretative Centre.
John F Kennedy Park and Arboretum

Some 4,500 international species of trees and shrubs – all carefully labelled – grow in this delightful 600-acre arboretum, created in memory of the former US president. Just below the arboretum stands the humble thatched cottage where the president’s great-grandfather was born.
Kayaking

Children are attended by qualified instructors who take them kayaking in Dublin Bay. All equipment is supplied.
Kenmare

Designed by the Marquess of Lansdowne in 1775, this prosperous town has more of a continental atmosphere here than Irish, with its smart shops and fine restaurants. Kenmare’s greatest claim to fame, however, is more traditional, as a centre of lacemaking.
Killaloe

A chic marina town rising steeply from the southern end of Lough Derg, Killaloe is a centre for watersports. Its 12th-century St Flannan’s Cathedral and Oratory have Romanesque decorative stonework.