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Busy, popular Westport is still small enough that countryside can be seen at the end of the main streets. Originally built in 1780 by the Earl of Altamont as an adjunct to his mansion Westport House, this is a good example of a planned town, with its dignified central Octagon and tree-lined Mall. It was all paid for by the slave-worked West Indian sugar plantations of the Earl’s wife. Westport House remains imposing and grandly furnished, although touristy, with added attractions such as video games and an animal park.

Regarded as the “capital” of Connemara, although hardly more than a village, this busy little resort lies among lovely green hills above Clifden Bay and at the foot of the Twelve Bens Mountains. A Georgian planned town built by John d’Arcy, it retains a certain character and style. At the end of summer, Clifden hosts the traditional Connemara Pony Show, which brings in hordes of horse-lovers.

The extraordinarily over-elaborate mock Gothic castle, built as a private house in 1868 for millionaire Mitchell Henry, has been a Benedictine convent since the 1920s. Although a religious community, it is also run as a commercial tourist attraction. The house and walled gardens are delightful, and the location magnificent, next to Kylemore Lough and with views towards the Twelve Bens.

Extending from Letterfrack village to the Twelve Bens, the park is a 5,000-acre conservation area of heath, bog and hills encompassing the grandest of Connemara’s landscapes. The Twelve Bens, a dozen high peaks rising from the heart of the western mountains, dominate the Connemara skyline. A visitors’ centre near the park entrance has a permanent exhibition on the flora, fauna, geology and history of the region.

Named for its beautiful cliff-edge ocean views, the Sky Road is a 7-mile (11-km) loop that starts out from Clifden to skirt the narrow peninsula alongside Clifden Bay. Along the way it reaches empty beaches, wild hill scenery, and sights such as the ruins of Neo-Gothic Clifden Castle, the home of Clifden’s founder John d’Arcy.

Cloch na Rón is the official name of this attractively laid out, Irish-speaking “planned village” built in the 1820s. In one way, it’s an authentic, unpretentious lobster-fishing community, but it also has an arty side and many attractions for visitors, including a good beach, a range of eating places, galleries and traditional shops.

The appealing village of Leenane lies beside the long, narrow inlet of Killary Fjord. From here, the dramatically beautiful road to the small oceanside resort of Louisburgh crosses the water between the peaks of Devil’s Mother and Ben Gorm, and rises among lakes and streams along the narrow Delphi Valley, in places bursting with rhododendrons. One of the west’s loveliest drives.

Dramatic Clare Island was the stronghold of Grace O’Malley, or Granuaile, whose little fortress still stands, as does the ruined abbey where she is buried. Inishbofin has a green, lonely beauty. Home of the O’Flaherty clan, and a hideaway of Grace O’Malley, it was taken by Cromwell. Both have small populations and prehistoric ruins.

St Patrick supposedly climbed this black conical hill, one of Ireland’s most sacred sites, dedicated to Lugh, God of Light. It is considered a pious act to make the steep climb on the rough, cutting stones to the summit (which gives phenomenal views). For the annual July pilgrimage, many ascend in bare feet.

Preserved for thousands of years under a blanket of peat bog, the Céide site consists of walled fields cultivated in Stone Age times, together with stone ruins. All is explained by the excellent guided tours offered by the visitors’ centre.