The city of Cork, in South Ireland is a cool city known for its history, beaches, good food and fine coffee spots. We were in Cork for one summer day and we simply loved our time spent there.

We started our full day in Cork with a good breakfast and a coffee at this super nice place, Good Day Deli in the center of the city. Not only that the place is really nice, but they even serve healthy and organic food made with local products.

After breakfast, we took a walk along the River Lee and in FitzGerald Park, which is a nice popular place with walking paths, fountains and monuments.

We arrived at Cork City Gaol. It's a super interesting spot. It looks like a castle and it used to serve as prison until 1923. There are guided tour that you can book to learn more about the interestig history of the place.

We then had a short drive to visit Blarney Castle, a medieval stronghold, nor far from Cork. Once there, we had to climb a a narrow staircase to the top of the castle to and to this "magical" stone on top of it.

After the castle, we had a drive towards the historical town of Cobh. Situated in the south of Cork, on an island, in Cork's harbour, it is the Titanic's last port of call in 1912. I personally very much liked the view with the row of those cute colorful houses stretching up a steep street in Cobh. They are known as the Deck of Cards.

On the way back to Cork, we made one more stop, at Fota Wildlife Park. It's a nice green spot with animals from different parts of the world.

Back to Cork, we checked an iconic place of the town, the English Market. Open in 1788, the traditional market is one of the oldest municipal markets and it offers fresh bread, seafood, chocolates, wines and more.

One Day in Cork

Dublin, Ireland's capital, is a beautiful medieval city. It's known for its historical sites, ancient buildings, but also street art and cultural heritage. It was named "City of Literature" due to many famous writers being born and raised in Dublin, like Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce and many others.

We started our day in Dublin with a walk on Grafton Street, one of the main shopping streets in the city. It's a pedestrian street filled with boutiques, souvenir shops, restaurants and cafes, both by local and international brands.

We then arrived at Dublin Castle. The actual castle was built in 18th century, but there are also some remains of the 13th century former castle there. The place is still partially in use today as a government site for big events.

Temple Bar is a cool neighbourhood in Dublin, right on the River Liffey bank, with nice cobbled pedestrian lanes. There are plenty of pubs, live music shows and young people fill the area. It's a lively atmosphere on the streets of the neighbourhood. 

We paid a visit to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Saint Patrick is actually the patron saint of Ireland and the church is Ireland's national cathedral, dating back to 1220. It's a nice place to visit, due to its architecture and historical significance.

We had a long nice walk in Phoenix Park, Europe’s largest urban park, with forests, lawns and some wild animals. We had the chance to spot a herd of deers. The area is also home to Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the Irish president, that can be visited on Saturdays.

After the walk, we paid a visit to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. It's a beautiful imposing building housing permanent collection and temporary exhibitions of modern art.

We ended the day with some beers in a traditional Irish pub, by the river. There's also the place where a flea market is taking place on Saturdays, Ha’penny flea market.

Dublin

Ireland is a spectacular country with breathtaking coastal landscapes, green rolling hills and scenic road trips. We planned this road trip away of major cities to discover the country's natural beauty. We arrived in Dublin, rented a car and headed away.

Today we only drove to Sligo town on the west coast of Ireland. We spent the night here.

We had breakfast and left the town towards wilder landscapes.

Our first stop was a hike to Cuilcagh Mountain, often referred to as "Ireland’s Stairway to Heaven". The way to the top of the mountain is a nice boardwalk that makes the hike easier on all weather conditions. The walk took us about two and half hours in total.

We next visited The Marble Arch Caves, not far from Cuilcagh Mountain. We booked a tour of the natural limestone caves. The tour included a 10 minute underground boat ride, it was pretty impressive.

Benbulben is Ireland's most distinctive mountain due to its unusual shape. The trail of Benbulben Forest Walk starts in a secluded forest and later opens up with spectacular views of Benbulben Head. We spent there about two hours.

We spent the night at Benbulben Farmhouse B&B, a beautiful inn with nice views over Benbulben.

We had a good breakfast at our accommodation.

We started our day with a nice hike on Queen Maeve Trail up on  Knocknarea Mountain, a limestone hill with historic tombs on top. From the top there are beautiful views of the ocean. We spent around two houres there.

After the hike, we stopped to eat at Shannons Corner Restaurant before heading to the next spectacular point. The food was just perfect.

Our next stop was at Slieve League Cliffs. This is one true amazing place. 600 meters mesmerising cliffs above the ocean. The place is a paradise for hikers. We could not get enough of this beauty.

A 40 minutes drive took us above the amazing Silver Strand Beach, on a horseshoe shaped bay, accessed by steps down the cliffside. 

On the way to our accommodation for the night we took the road through the scenic Glengesh Pass.

We got up early in the morning, had breakfast and went to explore a bit of Ardara's coastal area.

Caves of Maghera and Maghera Beach are a really beautiful corner of this world, the kind of place where you go to search peace of mind. After spending some tome here, we got back in the car and headed north.

Horn Head Loop Drive was extremely beautiful ending with the spectacular view point at Horn Head. A short easy hike to here from the parking lot. 

We next stopped at the blue flag Killahoey Beach. We took our shoes off and walked along the beach a bit.

We next arrived at Ards Forest Park. There are nine different trails you can choose from here that take you through dunes, beaches and woodlands.

The beautiful Atlantic Drive took us to Trá na Rossan view, a sensational view point.

Next we stopped at Fanad Head Lighthouse, a magic coastal corner.

Awesome Wild Ireland

We were in Dublin with some things to do, but we managed to free one full day and decided to explore some of the country's wild coastal areas. We rented a car and headed west.

Our first stop for the day was at Kilmacduagh Monastery, a very interesting place with a ruined abbey dating back to 7th century AD. The monastery contains a tall round tower, now leaning half a metre from the vertical.

Next we arrived at Cliffs of Moher, the heighlight of the day. We spent about two hours exploring the extremely beautiful and dramatic cliffs on the area. There's a pretty long hike along the coast, but it's not that difficult to take. The views from there are stunning.

We moved on along Galway Bay and the Wild Atlantic Way, where we admired some more dramatic landscapes. We stopped in Burren, known for its limestone rock and cliffs overlooking the ocean. Pay attention to the uneven surfaces and cracks between the rocks, there were many people injured on the site!

We stopped in Galway town, situated where the River Corrib meets the Atlantic Ocean. It's one of the most picturesque towns in Ireland. We visited the center of the town, with nice cobblestone streets and colourful Irish bars.

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