Most international travellers arrive in Dublin, Ireland's largest city. You'll find most tourist activities centered around O'Connell Bridge, including Trinity College, home to the ninth-century Book of Kells, and Grafton Street, a popular pedestrian shopping district.
Dedicate a few days to discovering Dublin and consider purchasing a Dublin Pass, which buys admission to more than 30 of the city's top sites, including churches, museums, the Guinness Storehouse and Dublin Castle.
The medieval city of Galway is an easy three-hour train ride from Dublin. Galway is known today for its dedication to the arts. Each summer, the Galway Arts Festival draws thousands of visitors from across Europe. For information on exhibits and events, visit http://www.galwayartsfestival.com/.
Ireland's countryside is as breathtaking as it is diverse. Renting a car here is relatively easy, so you can get out of the city and see some of Ireland's landscape.
The drive from Dublin to Dingle, through the interior of the country, should include a stop in Kilkenny, a lovely inland city and one of the oldest cities in Ireland.
To visit County Cork and the southern coast, including the famous Blarney Stone, plan to spend a couple of days in Kinsale, a popular resort town with a beautiful sheltered bay.
The famous Ring of Kerry is a 120-mile-long road that winds through some of Ireland's most beautiful lakes and mountains. The narrow roads and proliferation of tour buses can make the journey a little nerve-racking at times, but it's well worth the effort for the spectacular views.
To experience the true Irish culture, spend an evening listening to traditional Irish music in a pub. The food is good, the pubs plentiful and the company is lively. Entertainment usually starts shortly after 9 p.m.
The Irish pub is the cornerstone of Irish culture. Each pub has its own personality and style. A pub crawl, the Irish version of bar hopping, is a great way to spend an evening. You can even select a theme for your crawl. Literary pub crawls visit the former haunts of such literary greats as Oscar Wilde and James Joyce.
The Irish love to celebrate their culture, and there are few celebrations more festive than St. Patrick's Day in Ireland. And this isn't just one day of celebrating. St. Patrick's Day is a five-day bacchanalia of all things Irish. For more information on upcoming celebrations, visit http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/home.html.
