The `Heritage Towns` of Ireland are towns and villages that offer unique character provided by a combination of architectural styles, often spanning many centuries, which gives them a special feeling for the past. What also makes these towns so special is the careful way in which their historical features are presented. Examples of heritage towns you shouldn`t miss are Cobh, Ballina, and Kinsale in County Clare; Listowel in County Kerry; Westport in County Mayo; and Kells in County Meath.
There is so much to see and do in Western Ireland, comprised of Counties Clare, Galway and Mayo. You will find a winning combination of rugged sea cliffs and sheltered sandy beaches, a myriad of ancient castles, medieval friaries, pre-historic burial sites and traditional Irish music!
Southwest Ireland stretches from the Ring of Kerry in the south, the Dingle Peninsula in the west, through Killarney and north to Adare, and Limerick City, offering sea and mountain scenery, interspersed with lively small towns and villages plus medieval castles and archaeological sites going back 5,000 years.
South East Ireland is comprised of Counties Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, and Wexford. This region has been settled by Vikings and Normans in the past, and is well-known for its beautiful, sunny weather amidst a backdrop of mountains rolling into lush Nore and Suir river valleys.
County Donegal offers some of the most spectacular scenery and stark beauty in Ireland. It offers tortuous country roads skirt stark mountains, rugged sea cliffs, craggy peninsulas, remote Gaeltacht communities, sheep-studded pastures, pristine strands, icy streams and horizons carpeted with bog and heather.
Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, comprises the northeastern sixth of the island of Ireland. Torn apart during `The Troubles`, Northern Ireland has emerged to become one of the largest cultural and economic hubs in the British Isles.
The 111-mile-long Ring of Kerry (Iveragh Peninsula) is a part of the mystical and unspoiled region of Ireland that has attracted visitors for hundreds of years. It provides an amazing insight into the ancient heritage of Ireland and a landscape carved out of rock by the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago.
The island of Ireland is thought to have been inhabited from around 6000 BCE. Many sites from ancient times are still in existence, such as the collection of art at the Rock of Cashel; the Hill of Tara, the seat of power of Ireland`s kings; and the megalith Newgrange which is even older than Stonehenge in England.
The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have some of the most beautiful public and private gardens in the world. Whether you`re in Dublin or the Gaeltacht, we recommend that you take time to `stop and smell the roses` during your journey.
Ireland`s countryside is dotted with castles (at one time over 30,000 of them!) that range from romantic castles and towers that are in ruins to stately chieftain castles and Irish castle hotels. They are all filled with character and history.
Explore the enthralling countryside by day and enjoy traditional Irish music sessions in local pubs by night. Traditional Irish music is the melody of the community, handed down from one generation to another. Traditional Irish music includes many different types of songs, and instrumental music from Irish history.
Irish cuisine is delicious, a favorite of many visitors, and in recent decades has become more and more innovative. Food in Ireland comes in two general forms, traditional and modern. Traditional Irish food is what most people often think of, and there is no shortage of it in the Republic or in Northern Ireland.