Fodor's Western Ireland

Book excerpt: Get inspired and plan your next trip with Fodor’s ebook travel guide to Western Ireland and Dublin. Intelligent Planning: Discover all of the essential, up-to-date details you expect in a Fodor’s guide, including Fodor’s Choice dining and lodging, top experiences and attractions, and detailed planning advice. Easy Navigation for E-Readers: Whether you’re reading this ebook from start to finish or jumping from chapter to chapter as you develop your itinerary, Fodor’s makes it easy to find the information you need with a single touch. In addition to a traditional main table of contents for the ebook, each chapter opens with its own table of contents, making it easy to browse. Full-Color Photos and Maps: It’s hard not to fall in love with Western Ireland as you flip through a vivid full-color photo album. Explore the layout of city centers and popular neighborhoods with easy-to-read full-color maps. Plus, get an overview of Irish geography with the convenient atlas at the end of the ebook. What’s Covered? Get to Know Western Ireland and Dublin: The multiple delights of Cork City make it an excellent base to explore the treasures of County Cork--from Blarney Castle to the breathtaking views over Bantry Bay. Kerry and Limerick Counties are nestled in the southwest of Ireland, with sights that top every tourist’s must-see list. The most brazenly scenic coastal drive in the land, the Ring of Kerry will use up your entire flash card in a jiffy! The Gap of Dunloe lets you walk through the heart of Killarney’s purple mountains and cross the glittering blue lake of Killarney. And don’t forget to have your camera handy for Ireland’s prettiest village, Adare. To the north lies County Clare. Set with postcard-perfect villages like Doolin, the lunar landscape of the Burren, and the towering Cliffs of Moher, County Clare is pure tourist gold. Nearby, Galway City offers a compact historic center with a lively music and pub scene. For a look at traditional Irish culture, take a trip to one of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. With the most westerly seaboard in Europe, Connemara and County Mayo remain the most Irish part of Ireland. Connemara is an almost uninhabited landscape of misty bogland, studded with deep blue lakes under huge Atlantic skies, and distant purple hills. Outside the main towns—Castlebar and Westport—the rest of County Mayo has long empty roads leading to isolated shorelines and stunning vistas. Most travelers to Ireland will not be able to resist a stop over to Dublin, Ireland’s capital, and one of Europe’s most popular city-break destinations. With magnificent museums including Hugh Lane and the National Museum, Georgian architecture, and of course, hundreds of pubs, the city’s pleasures are uncontainable. Note: This ebook edition includes photographs and maps that will appear on black-and-white devices but are optimized for devices that support full-color images.