What to See & Do in Dun Laoghaire
Sights
Dún Laoghaire makes a perfect base for exploring the immediate area, and is also an ideal point of entry into the attractions of County Wicklow and Dublin. The many bus routes and the Dart service make it easy for visitors to get around, and a short journey into the town centre will connect you to anywhere in the country.
Dun Laoghaire is a popular tourist spot due to its vast selection of activities. The restaurants and pubs are plentiful, and the piers offer scenic walks. Marine Road is the main street from George’s Street to the stunning harbour. Two massive granite piers enclose a large expanse of water, making this one of Ireland’s finest harbours. The piers are each about a mile in length, and are a favourite place for the locals to see and be seen. A promenade stretches from the East Pier right along the coast to Sandycove, a tiny sandy harbour overlooked by a Martello tower, called Joyce’s Tower, after the writer James Joyce, who set the first section of his novel Ulysses here.
Fishing is also a popular attraction and boats, rods and lines can be rented by the day from Dun Laoghaire Harbour or any of the other local harbours. The whole stretch of coast is available for fishing. Sailing, horse-riding and rock-climbing are amongst the other popular activities here, and there are also many points along the coast that are safe for swimming. The five-hundred berth marina is the largest in the country.
Dun Laoghaire is a compact town, and everything you need is in easy walking distance, but if you feel the need for a change of scene then the historic city of Dublin is only a fifteen-minute Dart-ride away. The new Bloomfields Shopping Centre and twelve-screen cinema have also recently opened, as new investment has poured into a town which just twenty years ago was gripped by recession.
Accommodation
In Dun Laoghaire you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing a place to stay. From 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels to campsites, guesthouses and self-catering, you’re sure to find what’s right for you, with prices ranging from €20 or less to €100 or more per night.
Transport
Dún Laoghaire is connected to central Dublin by the DART suburban railway, frequent bus service, and has a ferry connection to Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales. The Dublin to Kingstown railway, constructed in 1834, was the first ever railway in Ireland. Beside the railway station is the terminus of the 46A (Dún Laoghaire - City Centre (An Lár)), the most frequent and heavily used bus route in Dublin.
A number of years ago, Lower George’s Street underwent pedestrianisation, with a ban on all general traffic with the exception of some bus routes.
