Whether travelling for business or pleasure, your annual

holiday or just a weekend, take The Green Guide with you

and discover for yourself the delights of this country

- Principal Sights Map, showing all the places of interest at a

glance

- Practical Points, lots of suggestions to help you plan a

successful trip : travel information, driving tours, sport and

leisure activities, popular shows and events

- Insights and Images, an illustrated introduction to the local

culture and lifestyle

- Selected Sights, description of the country with colour

illustrations :

- details of selected towns and sights in alphabetical order

- Michelin star ratings highlighting the principal sights :

highly recommended

recommended

interesting

- a selection of hotels and restaurants, carefully chosen by our

team

- essential maps and plans

Visitors to Ireland will find a warm welcome and a

friendly extrovert people, enjoying the benefits of a

modern fast-growing economy, fostered by

membership in the European Union.

Dublin, the capital city on the east coast, offers a

lively urban scene of shops and entertainment against

an elegant Georgian backdrop. Restaurants serving

excellent food and wine, and convivial pubs and bars,

combining the traditional Guinness and whiskey with

music and lively talk - known as crack (craic) - are

found not only in Dublin but also in the pleasant

country towns, which are the focal points of a

predominantly agricultural country. Slim round towers

and ancient Christian crosses recall early Irish piety

and scholarship. Ruined castles and tower houses bear

witness to a turbulent history.

The natural and unpolluted environment favours

outdoor activities : walking in luxuriant gardens and

forest parks, studying the ecology of the peat bog,

cruising on slow waterways, fishing at sea or in

mountain streams, rambling on foot or on horseback

in the mountains or on great sandy beaches.

Despite many waves of immigration, Ireland has

preserved a stronger Celtic tradition than other

European countries. Together with the legacy of the

great flowering of Irish craftsmanship in the relatively

peaceful years of the 18C, it inspires the music and

artistry of the present day.