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The elder statesman of Ireland’s universities, Trinity is also one of the oldest in Europe. Its buildings and grounds are a landmark in the heart of the city.

A surprisingly peaceful area, the castle was built into the medieval walls of the city and originally protected by the River Liffey to the north and the now underground River Poddle.

Entered via Christ Church Cathedral, this exhibition uses audio-visuals to recreate medieval Dublin.

Striking Norman, Gothic, Romanesque and Victorian features jostle for attention in this former Viking church.

A pint of Guinness could be the country’s national symbol. This fascinating exhibition at the Guinness Brewery ends with a welcome free pint of the famous black stuff in the sampling bar.

After a sobering tour of the onetime prison, lighten the mood at the former hospital, which now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Ideal for bargain-hunting, this market sells mainly fresh food and domestic goods. It’s worth coming here just to soak up the atmosphere of one of the oldest areas of the city.

A quick trip on the DART will take you out to the seaside village of Blackrock where, at weekends, an 18th-century tavern and courtyard house more than 60 stalls selling secondhand books, clothes and bric-à-brac, as well as genuine antiques.

This busy fishing port offers great walks around the headland. Look out for seals when the boats come in.

The first settlers arrived in Ireland from the Continent around 4000 BC, bringing with them farming skills and rudimentary tools which allowed them to establish small communities. The megalithic stone tomb of the Neolithic Age at Newgrange (see Newgrange and the Boyne Valley) is thought to date from around 3000 BC and is one of the most important passage graves in Europe.

This harbourside restaurant is certainly the best on the Aran Islands (where there is, admittedly, limited competition). Its seafood, caught the same day, must be the freshest in Ireland.

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.

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.