All around the Dublin coast are Martello towers, squat circular stone forts erected by the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The most famous of these, in nearby Sandycove, now houses the James Joyce Museum, where the writer lived briefly in 1904. Two stops south, alight at Dalkey, a Georgian and Victorian seaside town with well-preserved period houses and cottages. The harbor town of Howth, with its expansive view of the Irish Sea, is just a short train ride from Dublin. North to Howth Retrace your journey to Tara Street Station and, if you have the energy, continue north to the end of the line at Howth, a picturesque fishing port nestled below the headland.
Sunsets can be spectacular here.
Before heading back to the city center, grab an early-evening libation in Abbey Street in the atmospheric Abbey Tavern, parts of which date back to the 15th century and where a peat fire burns even in summer. A day at the races Horse racing is an Irish passion that attracts the humble and the mighty alike in a fraternal effort at beating the odds. Leopardstown is a rarity, a racecourse in a city. Fairyhouse, Punchestown, and Navan are a few miles out of Dublin, as is the beautiful rolling heathland of the Curragh, home of Irish racing, where classic races such as the Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger are run. The Grafton Street stroll Back in town, you can spend your winnings in Dublin's inviting shops.