Luxury Irish Experience: An Overview

What you can expect

Ireland is a country that lives up to its reputation of having a lush green landscape populated with the friendliest people you will ever meet, Ireland is a place of great historic and cultural importance. - In Ireland there are no strangers, only friends who haven’t met yet – W.B. Yeats

The many castles, ruins and manors that can be found across the country, are not only breathtaking attractions for visitors, but also point towards a strong national heritage. From Forts built by the Celts to Norman castles, there is a breadth of architecture in Ireland to excite all history enthusiasts.

Dublin has long been a centre of art and culture. Stroll through the elegant Georgian streets of Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares, shop in the elegant emporiums of Grafton Street and Powerscourt Townhouse, explore the collections of the National Museum and National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and many fine small private collections. The city is over a thousand years old, and many of the towns and settlements that surround it are equally ancient. Successive centuries have left their distinctive overlays of character and architecture which means that Dublin has a wealth of historically significant and fascinating sights to explore such as Dublin Castle, where the Normans ruled from the 12th Century, St Patrick's Cathedral, of which Jonathan Swift was Dean, and Trinity College, famous for The Book of Kells and for its alumni who include Oscar Wilde and Oliver Goldsmith.

Connemara
Is the area of Western Galway & South Mayo bounded by the Atlantic & Lough Corrib. It is an area beloved by artists & poets who find magical inspiration in its wide open bogs & its towering cloud-capped mountains. Cottages nestle into hillsides where wild looking sheep with thick fleeces & great curling horns freely graze. The rugged coastline is punctuated with little fishing villages.

Cliff of Moher & The Burren
The Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's top visitor attractions, loom high over County Clare’s west coast. From the cliffs, one can see the Aran Islands, Galway Bay, O'Brien's Tower, another of Ireland's most photographed landmarks, guards one prominent headland of these majestic cliffs. Watch the sunset from
the North platform overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, one of Ireland’s most spectacular sights. The Cliffs claim one of the most astonishing views in Ireland, and on a clear day the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay as well as The Twelve Bens, the Maam Turk Mountains in Connemara and Loop Head to the south. The North platform is located at the highest point of the Cliffs, Knockardakin at 214m or 700 feet above sea level. It is also the location of the Tower viewpoint, O’Brien’s Tower, built by Cornelius O’Brien. From here you can see An Branán Mór Sea Stack, home of the guillemots and razorbills.

You can also see the surfing wave ‘Aileen’s’, Aill Na Searrach, to the right when it is up and running. On a clear day you can see across to the Aran Islands: Inis Oírr, Inis Méain and Inis Mór and to the left views of the beautiful Galway Bay. Also from this platform you have a fantastic view of the South Cliffs that stretch for 8km. You can walk to Doolin, approximately 5km, from this point along the Coastal Walk. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher region of north Clare has been awarded the prestigious designation of membership of the UNESCO supported Global Geopark network at the 10th European Geoparks Conference in Langesund, Norway.

This iconic location attracts close to one million visitors per year. the exciting Atlantic Edge display. The Burren, from the Gaelic word Boireann is an area of limestone rock covering imposing majestic mountains, and tranquil valleys with gently meandering streams. With its innate sense of spiritual peace, extraordinary array of flora and wildlife, and megalithic tombs and monuments older than Egypt’s pyramids, the Burren creates a tapestry of colour and a seductively magical aura which few people leave without wanting to experience again.

Dingle Peninsula
The Slea Head Drive is a circular route, beginning and ending in Dingle that takes in a large number of attractions and stunning views on the western end of the peninsula. Once cited as 'the most beautiful place on earth' by the National Geographic; was voted among the top 100 destinations in the world by Trip Advisor. The Dingle Peninsula or Corca Dhuibhne stretches 30miles (48 kilometers) into the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland's south-west coast. The peninsula is dominated by the range of mountains that form its spine, running from the Slieve Mish range to Mount Brandon, Ireland's second highest peak. The coastline consists of steep sea-cliffs, broken by sandy beaches, with two large sand spits at Inch in the south and the Maharees to the north. The Blasket Islands lie to the west of the peninsula. Travellers usually travel clockwise in order to avoid the large tour buses that frequent the route during the summer. The route is suitable for motorists, but is also enjoyed by cyclists: it is possible to hire a bike at a number of locations in Dingle.

Belfast
Most of Belfast’s main streets radiate out from the hub of Donegal Square. In the center of the square stands the vast rectangular Portland stone bulk of the1906 City Hall. It has an elaborate tower at each corner and a central copper dome that rises to a height of 173 ft. Queens University is Northern Ireland’s most prestigious university. The main building, designed in Tudor style red and yellow bricks by Charles Lanyon in 1849 bears similarities to Magdalene College, Oxford. The area around Queen’s University to the south of the city has two major a ttractions in the Ulster Museum and the Botanic Gardens. To the north, there are splendid views to be enjoyed from the heights of Cave Hill. Belfast has a rich maritime history and a long and distinct pedigree in building ships of elegance, grace and power. You can take a walk through the Titanic Quarter and immerse yourself in the fact and the fiction that surrounds the Titanic. Learn about Harland & Wolff the firm that built the Titanic.

Giant’s Causeway
The very beautiful Causeway Coastal Route is simply breathtaking – ranked amongst the Top 10 Drives in the World, The Glens of Antrim and the dramatic Dunluce Castle teetering over the cliffs are just two of its many highlights. What seems remarkable to us now, in the 21st century, is that there was much argument as to whether the Causeway had been created by men with picks and chisels, by nature or by the efforts of a giant.

Loop Head
Loop Head is a slender finger of land pointing out to sea from the most westerly point of County Clare, on Ireland’s Atlantic coast. With the ocean on one side and the Shannon Estuary on the other, this tiny peninsula would be an island but for a meagre mile of land connecting it to the rest of Clare. But despite its isolation, its people are far from insular, having spent hundreds of years welcoming strangers by water. In 2010, Loop Head became a European Destination of Excellence in aquatic tourism. It’s also right in the middle of the Wild Atlantic

Way, 2,500 kilometers of the finest coastal scenery in Ireland. Loop Head epitomizes what the Wild Atlantic Way is about: panoramic cliff views, abundant local seafood, your choice of aquatic activities, and plenty of quiet beauty spots where you can pause and wonder at this unforgettable part of the world. Loop Head Tourism is committed to three pillars of responsible tourism– environmental integrity, social justice and economic development. In responsible tourism, individuals, organizations and businesses are asked to take responsibility for their actions and the impacts of their actions.