Although the bus tour only drove in, stopped for a rest stop, then left, the limited time looking…read moreout at this vast park in the city was a good experience. I would love to go back, there's an embassy residence on site, that I would like to explore. The roads around the center are narrow and tight. I wouldn't have wanted to drive the bus. If you have a young family, you could spend all day here.

Beautifully maintained walled and open Victorian gardens. We stopped to stroll and admire the…read moreluster - wishing our thumbs were as green. The visitors center is an educational experience for all ages & experience levels. The Cafe is especially nice with outdoor seating in the courtyard and inside. Make sure if you're a first time visitor look for the large evergreen tree just outside the watchtower gates. It's worth the time to walk inside her bows and experience to hidden charm of a Hobbit Lair.

Killiney Hill is an absolute must see if you're visiting the area. It's beautiful and flowing with…read morehistory. There's many different routes to get to the obelisk at the top, but you can't go wrong with any of them

One of my favorite spots in Ireland thus far! A total locals spot to go walking and see some…read morewonderful views. This place is incredibly dog friendly (off leash) so you will be greeted by dozens of furry pups running around. There is a slight uphill climb on the trail at one point but it is paved and not too bad overall. Once you get to the top there are wonderful 360 views of the city, and the water including a beautiful obelisk on the top of the hill. You can see Wales from a distance, the city of Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains. Highly recommend this spot, especially if you want to escape touristy Dublin.

If you're visiting Dublin and looking for a free, relaxed tourist spot to visit I'd highly…read morerecommend coming to Phoenix Park, one of the largest public parks in Ireland. We taxied up from city center to Phoenix Park and it wasn't too far. There are local bars and such not too far from the park if you need a snack or brew before hitting the park. We were told that this park sometimes hosts concerts and some major events, even that Obama had visited and spoke during one of his trips. The park is lush, spacious and with lots of nature to see. My favorite thing about this park is the free roaming deer that you can see. They are extremely friendly and gentle. It's so unique to get an experience like this to walk with deer and to have them be so comfortable that you can approach them and that there were so many. A beautiful place to spend an hour or two in nature and not far from Dublin City, worth checking out.

I didn't explore too much of Phoenix Park, just the end near the Wellington Monument. But what I…read moredid see is super. The park is one of the largest enclosed recreational spaces in any European capital city. 1700 acres, it's home to the Dublin Zoo, the Flower Gardens and more. Lots of walking paths. Lots of monuments including the Wellington. Lots of meadows and woodlands and landscaped spots. The park is peaceful even with the buses running along its main avenue. There are a number of benches and lots of space for laying out a blanket for a picnic. Well worth the time to explore. [Review 1986 of 2024 - 167 in Republic of Ireland - 23008 overall]

Love this park, but also dislike its one biggest flaw - motocross bike presence…read more You can be chilling and enjoying beautiful surroundings when youngsters go full throttle on a motocross bike or some scooter doing a wheelly. The rest is great. Little pond with a fountain. Little isle there with the swan nest. Some ducks. Small river beside at the back there. I like the fact that this park is not as flat as others. Has a nice kids playground.

An elderly Finglas gentleman once told me that this park was once a dump. Looking at how it looks…read moretoday I find that hard to believe with it's clean flowing river in which I've seen people fishing and well kept grassy areas. When I walk through this park I find it peaceful and the ducks and swans on the wee lake seem to like it too. There is also a golf course in the other side of the river. If anything bad has to be said it's the boy racers that occasionally ride through this park but I haven't seen any for a few months.

A lovely place. Great scenery on top with nice rocks. You can see the whole Dublin…read more Coming here mostly with a road bike. A good challenge to get up there. You may park at the bottom and walk up. Be prepared to sweat a little bit. There're at least two ways. I tried the other one and it was all gravel. No good for road bike. But nice walking experience.

Ticknock has up to 10 km of mountain and forest walks catering to seasoned hikers, mountain bikers,…read moreskateboarders, mountain runners, Sunday strollers and everyone in between with fantastic views from Dublin City to Bray Head. The forest has an extensive network of forest trails managed by Coillte and Ticknock is part of the Dublin Mountains Partnership which aims to improve the recreational use of the Dublin Mountains. The area comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. There are two trails specific to just Ticknock with the addition of the Wicklow Way Trail. The first trail 'Mountain Access Route' starts and finishes at the Ticknock Forest carpark. It meanders through the woodland paths before going straight up to the summit of Two Rock at Fairy Castle. This trail comes back down the same way. It's an 800m walk which takes about 20 mins. It's marked by Coillte and the Dublin Mountain Partnership as moderate and it seems to be used by runners a lot for training, as well as the occasional skateboarder on the lower part of the trail where it is tarmacadamed (I know this isn't a word, but you get what I mean!). I tend not to do this trail as it's a bit too short. The ground is partially forest walk, partially forest road and partially uneven mountain trails. It's a nice short, steep walk to the great views from Fairy Castle. The second trail 'The Fairy Castle Loop' starts and finishes at the same point but covers 5.5km and takes an estimated 1hr 45mins although as we took the wrong path for a little while on Sunday it took us closer to two hours, but hey, it was a lovely sunny day so no harm done The trail is also considered moderate. It's grand, a little uneven in places and some parts are a little on the steep side, but if you have any level of fitness you should be fine. This trail loops past Fairy Castle at the summit and passes Three Rock on the way back down (or up if you go in the opposite direction). Another thing to note is that the Dublin/Wicklow Way also runs through this part of the mountains, and so there are often other walkers coming from further afield. You can also extend your walk by heading along the Wicklow Way to either Tibradden Wood and joining the 'Tibradden Mountain Trail' or to Kilmashogue Forest which is another lovely walk. The Coillte and Dublin Mountains Partnership websites both have handy downloadable free maps which I would recommend taking if you're unsure of the trails and you don't want to bring an OSI map with you. The trails are well marked in places but not at every possible diverging fork. There is quite a lot of parking available at Ticknock as it is a very well used part of the mountains. Apparently the 44B is the closest public transport but I've had a look and it seems the closest stop might be at Lamb Doyle's.

After dinner near Glasnevin and heading to Drumcondra station, I had the pleasant experience of…read morewalking through Griffith Park. It's hard to believe that this was once a landfill because today it is a peaceful and very pleasant walk through trees and along smooth pavements. I very much enjoyed my walk here. Thanks, Dublin! [Review 1823 of 2024 - 82 in Republic of Ireland - 22845 overall]

This park has the wonderful location of being en route to the Botanical gardens and the river Tolka…read moreruns through it creating a lovely riverside walk. It covers the two neighbourhoods of Glasnevein and Drumcondra. The park is just over 7 hectares in size. The park has a fine selection of trees, a beautiful flower garden, and a popular playground. There is also a new pedestrian bridge. Great spot for a picnic or to have your lunch before catching a game at Croker.

A mile of promenade along the beach in the lovely seaside town…read more This is absolutely one of my most favorite places in the world to visit. The promenade has seafront hotels, shops, restaurants, and homes (including the former home of Sinead O'Connor---we stayed a couple of doors down and passed it daily, multiple times). There also Victorian-style beach offerings such as carnival type ice cream tents. The views of the Irish Sea are simply lovely. The beach itself is immaculately clean and nice for strolling and swimming. The promenade is wonderful for strolling, resting on a bench, and people watching. Super dog-friendly area with locals walking their furry friends on a daily basis. Locals are so incredibly welcoming and kind. We prefer to visit off-season when it's just the folks who live there. The promenade and businesses are easier to access with virtually no crowds at all. I have never felt more relaxed and at ease than I do when here. I would move to Bray in a heartbeat if I could.

Some brave tourists may prance around in bikinis on Bray 'beach' but locals have long accepted that…read moreBray doesn't really have beach. It does have a vast collection of stones to rebuff the ever creeping tide but to call it a beach would imply there's a bit of sand in there too. That's not to say that Bray's Victorian promenade doesn't have many purposes - it's the perfect place for a stroll, a game of Frisbee, a jog or a knock around with the football (though officially I think this is frowned upon). The seafront also becomes a concert venue in the summer, hosting open air concerts on its iconic bandstand. Funfairs, carnivals and markets invade the seafront's grassy patches during Bray's Summerfest. On any sunny day, the promenade and the pubs,ice-cream shops and amusement centres that face it, are a hive of activity. If you do go for a wander along the promenade, then make sure you make it to Bray's little harbour to the north. There are some beautiful view s here at sunset and you can meet Bray's swan population (though don't venture too close!). Bray has popular rowing and fishing clubs and you might even catch the odd surfer bobbing out on the water, praying for waves. In short, Bray 'beach' has many wonderful things to offer, but sand is not one of them!

Bray Head and its views are breath-taking. It's so peaceful and calming…read more The coastal views are nothing short of stunning. We decided to do the cliff walk from the promenade up to the head. At the very top is the infamous cross. The last time we were there much of the cliff walk was closed due to mudslides. We decide to soldier on and made it almost to the top. We were ill-prepared for the mud and walk rounds. While we were wearing good walking shoes, we should have been wearing hiking boots. The experience of the climb is one that you won't forget. When all open and no mudslides it's not a very difficult walk at all. Depending on how far you want to go, the walk can last 1-3 hours. A shorter walk around the summit is just about an hour. The loop to Greystones is longer but absolutely worth it.

Good little hike, even if not especially demanding or challenging. Also an ideal way to spend half…read morea day outdoors away from Dublin using only the train and/or bus. We went up from the Bray side - basically, walk the sea promenade, start going up and then keep to the right - and diverged from the main route midway to merge with the Cliff Walk heading to Greystones. The marked path is a loop walk but we wanted to avoid going back towards Bray. I don't think you need to be specially fit to get to the top, there are a couple of short but steep inclines, but I believe most people can do it if they take their time - or stop for a lot of photos. You'll see plenty of families climbing it :) I just wouldn't recommend it on or right after a very rainy day, as parts of the track can get muddy and slippery. The views along the way are very rewarding, and it's good exercise too. The loop walk alone should take you 1.5/2 hours if you are relatively fit and make few stops. You can spend a good 2.5 hours if you continue your hike towards Greystones. And as if the green landscape descending into the sea wasn't enough to sell this hike, there's also some nice places both in Greystones and Bray where you can rest up and treat your tired self to some nice food and drink - for the ultimate feel-good experience, I'd recommend the Happy Pear :)