Ireland is drop dead gorgeous all year round, with stunning coastline and hundreds of cozy pubs where you can absorb the friendly atmosphere and drink a pint of great beer. The Irish are famous for their hospitality and great sense of humour, so a trip around this spectacular country is a guaranteed journey of a lifetime. To help you plan your escape to this beautiful part of Europe, check out our list of the top 10 best destinations in Ireland.
1. Ireland - Counties Fermanagh & Tyrone (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the Counties Fermanagh & Tyrone chapter from Lonely Planet’s Ireland guidebook.
2. Ireland - Counties Meath, Louth, Cavan & Monaghan (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
Download the eBook version of Lonely Planet's Counties Meath, Louth, Cavan & Monaghan PDF chapter from the Ireland guidebook.
3. Ireland - County Donegal (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the County Donegal chapter from Lonely Planet’s Ireland guidebook.
4. Ireland - Counties Londonderry & Antrim (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
This is the Counties Londonderry & Antrim chapter from Lonely Planet’s Ireland guidebook.
5. Ireland - County Cork (PDF Chapter)
Everything good about Ireland can be found in County Cork. Surrounding the country’s second city – a thriving metropolis made glorious by its location and its almost Rabelaisian devotion to the finer things of life – is a lush landscape dotted with villages that offer days of languor and idyll.
6. Ireland - County Kerry (Chapter) Lonely Planet
County Kerry contains some of Ireland’s most iconic scenery: impossibly crenulated coastlines, endless green fields criss-crossed by tumbledown stone walls, and mist-shrouded mountain peaks and bogs. The lively tourism hub of Killarney spills over with colourful shops, restaurants and pubs with spirited trad sessions.
7. Ireland - Counties Limerick & Tipperary (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
From marching ditties to rhyming puns, the names Tipperary and Limerick are part of the lexicon. In both counties, ancient Celtic sites, medieval abbeys and other relics endure in solitude, awaiting discovery. And even Limerick and Tipperary’s best-known sights retain a rough, inspiring dignity.
8. Ireland - County Clare (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
Clare combines the stunning natural beauty of its long and meandering coastline with unique windswept landscapes and dollops of Irish culture. But if the land is hard, Clare’s soul is not: traditional Irish culture and music flourish.
9. Ireland - Belfast (PDF Chapter) Lonely Planet
Belfast has pulled off a remarkable transformation from bombs-and-bullets pariah to a hip-hotels-and-hedonism party town. The opening of Titanic Belfast in 2012, along with the 50th anniversary of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s – the UK’s second-biggest arts festival – saw visitor numbers soar by more than 40%.
10. Ireland - Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny (PDF Chapter)
A golden tiara of wide sandy beaches graces the counties of Wexford and Waterford and deeper inland, the meandering River Barrow separates the farm-filled spaces of Carlow and medieval Kilkenny. The region’s history is suitably swashbuckling with marauding Vikings and impressive fortresses and castles.