Experienced and first-time travelers alike rely on Fodor's Gold Guides for rich, reliable coverage the world over. Updated each year and containing a full-color, foldout Rand McNally map, a Fodor's Gold Guide is an essential tool for any kind of traveler. Smart travel tips and important contact info make planning your trip a breeze, and detailed coverage of sights, accommodations, and restaurants give you the info you need to make your experience enriching and hassle-free. If you only have room for one guide, this is the one for you.
The best guide to Ireland, updated every yearAll about dazzling Dublin, with step-by-step city walks from Fitzwilliam Square to trendy Temple Bar
Five-star scenery: the best country drives to medieval abbeys, Palladian manors, Killarney lakes, and the prettiest coastal villages
Top shopping -- Waterford crystal, Aran sweaters, and more
Great golf, fishing, hiking, biking, and Gaelic sports
A genealogical map with the 150 most common Irish names
Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budgetCastle resorts, top-value city hotels, regal country estates, plus cozy cottages and family-run B&Bs
The latest restaurants, country-house dining, new European-style cafés, and tastiest pub grub
Fresh, thorough, practical -- off and on the beaten pathCosts, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands
All reviews based on visits by savvy writer-residents
32 pages of maps, 16 vacation itineraries, and moreSmart travel tips
Fodor's Choice
What's Where
Pleasures & Pastimes
New & Noteworthy
Festivals
Further reading and videos
Complete index
This excerpt, from the
Pleasures and Pastimes section, gives you a taste of what Ireland has to offer and the sights and scenes that make it a great place to visit.
Dining
To the astonishment -- and delight -- of many visitors, Ireland is in the throes of a food revolution. This new Irish cuisine has moved beyond the heavy traditional roast beef and Yorkshire pudding styles of the old Anglo-Irish country houses. In their place an innovative, indigenous style is emerging, marrying simple treatments of traditional dishes with more exotic, complicated dishes that feature unusual combinations of the best local, often organic ingredients.
Literary Haunts
Wherever you are in Ireland, the literary heritage is never far away. Sit a while in Dublin's Davy Byrne's pub and spend an hour studying a map of Ireland. Thanks to the beguiling names you'll find on it -- Ballyvourney, Labasheeda, Toorenamblath, Clonmacnoise, to name a few -- it will fire the poetic imagination almost as much as a lyric by Yeats.
Music
Ireland is the land of ceol agus craic, which, loosely translated, means "music and merriment." Wherever you go in Ireland, you'll hear a musical air to accompany the scenery, and every town buzzes with its own individual blend of styles and sounds. The traditional music scene, far from becoming fossilized as a permanent tourist fixture, has evolved with each generation, remaining lively and contemporary while still cherishing the craft and skill of its past exponents.
Outdoor Activities and Sports
Bicycling -- The combination of numerous side roads and very light traffic makes Ireland a terrific destination for cyclists. Those who brave the mountains of the West and Southwest will be rewarded by magnificent scenery and a wonderfully varied coastline.
Cruising -- Fully equipped boats are rented by the week on the Shannon and the Grand Canal. It's a simple and relaxing holiday, allowing you to explore lesser-known, but beautiful, corners of Ireland. Boats can accommodate up to eight people and have toilets, showers, and well-equipped galleys.
Fishing -- Ireland is well known as a game-angling resort: Wild Atlantic salmon, wild brown trout, and sea trout abound in the rivers, lakes, and estuaries; and offshore is the deep-sea challenge. Coarse fishing (for all fish that are not trout or salmon) is also available.
Gaelic Games -- Gaelic football is an extremely fast and rough form of football, which involves two teams of 15 who kick and run around a field with a round, soccerlike ball. Hurling, considered by many to be the fastest field game in the world, also involves two teams of 15 who use a 3-ft wooden stick with a broad base to aggressively catch and hurl a leather-covered ball toward goalposts; a typical game produces several injuries.
Golf -- There are more than 360 golf courses in Ireland (including Northern Ireland), from world-famous championship links courses to scenic nine-holers. Choose amoung the challenging links of the Atlantic coast, the more subtle layouts on the eastern seaboard, and the mature parklands of the inland courses.
Hiking -- Ireland is an excellent walking country, with its mild climate and virtually traffic-free byroads. In Northern Ireland, there is the challenge of the 790-km/491-mi Ulster Way, a footpath that travels through spectacular coastal scenery.
Horse Racing -- There is a horse race somewhere in Ireland almost every day of the year. The flat season runs from March to November; steeplechases are held throughout the year.
The Pub
Pubs are among the pillars of Irish social life -- places where you can chat, listen, learn, and gossip about everything from horse racing to music to philosophy. Especially in rural areas they can be an important source of local information. If you're stuck for a meal or a bed for the night, ask a friendly publican if he knows of anyone who can solve your problem.
Shopping
Few visitors leave Ireland without purchasing a tweed hat or a hand-knit Aran sweater, a linen tablecloth or a piece of Waterford crystal. All these items are reasonably priced investments that can easily last a lifetime. If you're after something a little different, keep an eye open for signs indicating "craft workshops": There are at least 20 of them around the country, where independent craftspeople sell directly from their studios.
Antiques -- Top-quality antiques shops are concentrated around Dublin's Francis Street area, but it's still possible to pick up modestly priced pieces of 18th- and 19th-century silver, 19th-century pewter, and antique period furniture elsewhere in the country. Try Cork City, Castlecomer, Kilkenny, Galway City, and Limerick.
Crystal -- Irish lead crystal is justifiably world famous. The best known of all, Waterford glass, is on sale all over Ireland in department stores and crafts shops. The demand is so great that substantial export orders can take weeks or even months to fill. Check out the lesser-known crystals -- Cork, Dublin, Kinsale, Tipperary, Tyrone, and Galway crystal.
Food -- Smoked salmon can vary greatly in taste and quality. Make sure it's wild salmon, not farmed; and if the label tells you what sort of wood it was smoked over, opt for oak chips. Or go for whole farmhouse cheeses like St. Killian's -- a Camembert-like pasteurized cheese. More exotic and more expensive are the handmade farmhouse cheeses, each from an individual herd of cows.
Jewelry -- Dublin and Cork City are the best spots for antique jewelry, but don't despair if the prices there are beyond your resources. Beautiful modern reproductions of such Celtic treasures as the Tara brooch are on sale for a fraction of the antique price.
Knitwear -- The religious symbols and folk motifs woven into distinctive patterns once enabled local people to identify one another's families and localities. Even today, no two Arans are alike: If you want to buy a hand-knit, take your time and wait till you find one that really strikes your fancy.
Linen -- A pure linen blouse, like an Aran sweater, can last forever. Designs are classic, so they won't become dated. Linen handkerchiefs for men make useful gifts. Damask tablecloths and crocheted-linen place mats make ideal wedding gifts.
