“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”– Andre Gide.
We visited Bray and Greystones in July 2021.
Thanks to the Sunny Weather (believe me, it didn’t rain that day in Ireland), it was really a wonderful trip.
We took the Public transport (Luas) from Saggart to Connolly (Last stop of the red line)
Connolly Luas (Tram) and the Dart (Train) stations are quite near to each other.
The Dart station is in the first floor and you can take lift/escalator from the Luas Platform to reach there.
For travel, It is always advisable (not mandatory) to use a Leap card (it saves some money and no confusions taking tickets using the vending machine).
More detail about Leap Visitor card can be found here:
If atall you don’t have leap cards, you can buy it from the shops within or nearby the Luas/Dart stations.
You can touch off your leap card in the machine provided at the entry. Don’t forget to tag off at the exit station aswell.
Connolly station:
It is the biggest train station in Ireland. There are around 7 platforms in Connolly (+ 2 Platform for Luas).
The train timings and Platforms are clearly marked on the boards. So you don’t have to panic and there are even sign boards clearly indicating the platform numbers.
You can get a train to Bray from the Connolly Station. Some trains go beyond Bray station.
(Note: Not all trains stop their journey at Bray. The rail line extends beyond Bray to Grey stones and other destinations. Also, some trains don’t stop at all stops (18 in number) between Connolly and Bray.)
There are departures in 15 min (am not sure) and approximately it takes around 40+ min (18 stops) for the Dart to reach the Bray from Connolly (recommended to take the left side seats for the sea side views).
Bray is relatively a small station.
You can also go to Bray in bus and there is a bus depot aswell, in Bray.
Main Attractions in Bray:
1. Sea Life Aquarium:
We couldn’t visit the aquarium as the entries were restricted with prior booking (due to covid restrictions).
2. Bray Beach:
Bray beach is not a pure white sand beach.
You will see a lot of pebbles here.
There are lots of snack shops (ice creams shops and restaurants) near the beach area.
3. Bray Head to Graystones cliff walk:
You can see more details/photos of this trail walk here:
This is one the most scenic cliff walks that we have done here in Ireland.
The Bray to Greystones cliff walk is simply breath-taking with the DART tracks running right below the walk.
Few points to note:
a) There are clear indications through out the walking trail.
b) Remember the Wicklow Litter Code: You wouldn’t see any bins through out the walking trail. You will have to keep the rubbish with you and throw it in the bins at the start or the end point.
c) Some of the paths in the walking trail is very narrow. A one way traffic might have to be followed there.
4. Greystones Beach:
The final destination of this cliff walk is the Greystones Beach.
Compared to the Bray beach, the Greystones beach is less crowded. (You can play/swim here).
The bay area here is really nice.
The Greystones town is small and there are lot of shops in both sides of the road (for light refreshments and so on).
The Greystones dart station is around 1 km / 10-15 min (walking distance) from the beach.
There is a small and nice beach near to the station.
You can take the train from Greystones to Bray (if you have parked your cars in the Bray Parking area).
For those who wants to return back to the Dublin City Center, you can take direct train to Connolly from Greystones station.
For those who wants to explore beyound Greystones, please check out the rail network. There’s a great rail network coverage and you could pick some nice destinations.
There are lot of restaurants and small coffee shops available in both Bray and Greystones.
Some among them are:
PLATFORM Pizza Bar and BOX BURGER (in Bray)
We had tried some of the Indian restaurants (lots of options available) in Greystones and really liked ‘Chakra By Jaipur’ the most.
If you are looking for ice-creams, our personal recommendation would be ‘Gino’s’
Another cool hangout place for Vegetarians in Greystones is ‘The Happy Pear’.
Bray and Greystones is infact a great one day trip from Dublin.
NOTE: We have covered only a few places here in this blog. Our idea was to give you a high level overview of this place. Certainly do a homework and make a proper plan. You can really craft a beautiful one day itinerary for this destination.
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
We visited Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough and Kilkenny In Ireland in December 2018. We booked this trip through ‘Wild Rover Tours’. The details of the tour can be seen in the link below:
This is a full day trip from Dublin, Ireland and the booking can be done online.
Route Map:
During online booking, they give you some discounts (10-15%) on other similar tour packages operated by the same company.
They have 3 Pickup points in Dublin and the trip starts at 8:10 AM
8:10am at Gresham Hotel, O’Connell St Dublin 1 8:20am at Ulster Bank Bus Stop, Dame Street / College Green Dublin 2 8:30am at Jurys Inn, Christ Church Dublin 8
Note: They have only 1 Drop point near O’Connell street (will be back by 6PM)
Charges: Adult: €33.00 Child (under 12): €25.00 (they don’t accept reservations for babies under 2) Student: €28.00
Place 1: As a part of this trip, we first visited ‘Richard Collen’s Working Sheep Farm.
Mr Richard and his wife explains how they run the farm.
Also a very interesting ‘Sheep Herding Demonstration Using Border Collies’. It’s an interesting one, for people like me who have not seen this before. This is a wonderful experience not to be missed!
After demonstration, they hand us the baby lambs for hugs and cuddles and you can take pictures with the baby lamps.
Place 2: The next place is the famous heritage site of Glendalough; a glacial valley and medieval monastic settlement. Its just a 5 minutes drive from the sheep farm.
The Bus will be parked there for 2 hours (expected to be back in bus by around 12PM)and we can visit the Glendalough Monastic Site. Nick (our guide) from the Tour operator side will explain about the place and once the walking tour is over, we can walk till the Glendalough Upper and Lower Lake. Please note that the walking distance is around 1.6 Kms+ (one side) from the parking area. The views are stunning and I would personally recommend this.
There are restaurant and bathroom facilities available in the ‘Glendalough Hotel’.
I would personally suggest you to take some light food from here as the bus would stop only at the next attraction at around 1:45 PM.
Enroute to the place 3, we will pass through the beautiful scenic mountains (Wicklow Gap) lying both sides of the Braveheart Drive road. You will also pass through very small town like ‘Holly Wood’. The bus will also stop for 10 minutes, for you to take some beautiful snaps of the mountains. You will also get a chance to see a lot of ‘Fairy trees’ enroute.
Place 3: The last and final place of visit is ‘Kilkenny’ Medieval City. We might reach here around 1:45 PM and bus will be parked near the Kilkenny Castle till 4PM. Before reaching Kilkenny, the guide will provide all the information related to the various attractions in that area.
If you are a person who is not fond of History, this is not a location that you might enjoy.
My decision was to visit the St. Canice’s Medieval Cathedral and Round Tower. You need to pay a small fees for getting onto the top of the Round Tower from where you can get a 360 view of the town. Beware that there are around 100 steps and it’s a risky one for the elders and young kids.
There is also a small ticket for seeing the inside of the Cathedral.
Based on individual preference, you can also decide between:
Kilkenny Castle
Ballykeefe Distillery
Rothe House & Garden
Saint Francis’s Abbey Brewery
National Craft Gallery
You will be back in the City Center by 6PM, if the bus starts around 4.15 PM from Kikenny.
Overall, I feel that the trip is very economical. The Travel Guide ‘Nick’ and the pilot ‘Paddy’ were very supportive and caring. Nick has spend more than 30 years in Ireland and he gives a lot of information (using Mic and speaker) about the History of Ireland, Dublin and the attractions that we visit. He was amazing – not only was he informative but hosted walking tours along the way which was interesting. He also brought along some instruments and entertained us with his music along the way.
The only thing what you have to keep in mind is that the operator doesn’t spend/waste time by stopping the bus in front of the restaurants. Anyway food is not included in this package. So be prepared to grab a short menu like Burgers or sandwich wherever the bus parks. This is quite a busy journey throughout the complete day. In case, if you want to save some money, you can also pack food from your home/hotel. The tour operator don’t block you from having outside food inside the coaches.
Overall, I would recommend this one-day package to my fellow travellers.
As for the tour itself, everything was great except time. But I guess that’s the same thing for all day tours; there’s little time for so many things to see and do. All in all, it was a great tour, and we were lucky to have a beautiful weather to make it more enjoyable.
Anyway, there are some other tour operators like ‘Paddywagon’ who are also operating in the same route.
We visited county Galway from Dublin, in February 2019.
This was a part of the 5-day road trip from Dublin covering mainly Mayo, Galway and Clare counties.
Road map- Day 2:
Places covered on Day 2 (In County Galway)
1) Connemara National Park:
The park covers nearly 3000 hectares of land and includes mountains, bog, heath and woodland. Entrance to the park is free. Pets are allowed.
There are four trails in the park. The Woodland Trail, Scruffaunboy Walk, Lower Diamond Hill Walk and Upper Diamond Hill Walk, however the real reason for coming here is to do one thing only, and that is to climb Diamond Hill, the 445m mountain that stands majestically in the centre of the landscape. The full hill walk is combination of 3 of the walks, 7.5km and takes 2-3 hours. You will find the visitor centre in the entrance of the trail.
We did not proceed for the Trails, as we were running short of time.
Note: Connemara is also known for Connemara Pony Breed.
2) Kylemore Abbey:
This is one of the most visited tourist attractions in this part of the County Galway. Seems like this Abbey was a former castle.
You can visit some rooms in the abbey, many of them were redesigned with the original furniture and provide a lot of information about the history of Kylemore Abbey.
There is a entry fee into the Abbey.
Another attraction that we skipped in this region was ‘LetterFrack Village’. The village has some traditional music bars, restaurants and so on.
3) Aasleagh Falls:
Aasleagh Falls, sometimes spelled Ashleigh Falls, is a small but picturesque waterfall on the River Erriff near Killary Harbour. There is a parking area, a short walk from the falls. Salmon fishing is popular in this region.
We also saw the Killary Fjord Boat tours office on the way. The service was not operational because of Winter.
There is a nice parking space here. There are seats wooden seats arranged in this place. You can park your vehicle and relax for some time.
5) Clifden:
We had gone upto Clifden that day but it was already late evening and we had to leave back to county Mayo where we had booked for that night stay.
Clifden is around 15 minutes from Letterfrack and is one of the largest towns in this region.
The main attractions in Clifden are:
1) Sky road: The Sky Road drive in Clifden is a popular route in the Connemara region and has been described as the most impressive coastal drive in the country.
2) Clifden castle / Dunguaire Castle
Road Map – Day 3
Places that we covered/planned to cover on Day 3 (In County Galway)
Glengowla Mines
Rossaveal Ferry (To Aran Islands)) (we did not go for boating here)
Salthill Promenade
National Aquarium
Claddagh (Corrib Princess Boat) (we did not visit here)
Spanish Arch (we did not visit here)
Galway Bay
Kinvarra Fishing Port (we did not visit here)
1) Glengowla Mines
We really wanted to go inside this mines but at the entrance gate, we realised that it is normally closed to Visitors during winter.
It’s an old lead mine that was only in operation for fifteen years or so in the 1800’s(1851-1865) but now it’s open for tours down into the mine. Its an interesting place to learn about the miners work and about Irish history. Mainly Silver and lead was mined from here.
Am little confused if we should call it as a Historic place or a Tourist attraction.
Please note that the mine is open for the season from March 18th and close by the end of October. They are open from 10 AM till 6PM, with the last guided tour at 5 PM.
They have various options like Guided Tours, Sheep herding, Farm walks, Museums, gift shops and so on.
Fares:
Adult : 11 Euros
Children : 4.5 Euros
Students : 10.5 Euros
Family : 27 Euros
2) Rossaveal Ferry ( To Aran Islands):
Ferry services are available to Aran islands from Rossaveal.
This ferry port is around one hour drive from the Galway city centre.
They also suggest booking the tickets well in advance, to avoid any disappointments at the last moment.
Notes:
You have to park your vehicles (Parking charges apply) in the designated parking space.
They also arrange a shuttle bus which leaves Galway city on time to get you to the ferry.
They allow pets inside the ferry.
Bicycles are allowed (but with some restrictions on the total numbers)
Travel times to the Aran Islands from Rossaveal.
Rossaveal to Inis Mór (Inishmore): 40 Minutes.
Rossaveal to Inis Meáin(Inishmaan): 50 Minutes.
Rossaveal to Inis Oírr(Inisheer): 55 Minutes.
3) Salthill Promenade:
The Irish for Salthill is ‘Bóthar na Trá’, which literally means ‘the road by the sea’.
Salthill’s main attraction every year has been its promenade and numerous sandy beaches. The promenade covers approximately 3kms of coastline, overlooking Galway Bay.
This is an ideal area for jogging, rollerblading or strolling.
There are lots of bars, restaurants, and hotels. There are many designated parking space aswell.
4) National Aquarium:
You can see a wide and diverse collection of Ireland’s native marine and freshwater animals here.
Galway Aquarium is designed over two floors, where visitors follow a vivid interpretation of the Irish aquatic landscape, from the glacial mountain streams of Connemara, down through the famous River Corrib and out into Galway Bay.
Galway Atlantaquaria typically opens for every holiday and Bank holiday weekend (St Patrick’s Day, Good Friday etc).
Opening Times:
Open Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm
Open Saturday, Sunday 10am – 6pm
Last admission 45 mins before closing time every day.
Admission Fee:
The admission fee includes entry for the day, so visitors are allowed to come and go any time but need to hold the receipt for re-Admission
General:
Adult €13.00
Child €8.50
Senior €9.50
Student €10.00
Children ages 2 and under are free.
Family Tickets:
2 Adults and 1 Child € 31.00
2 Adults and 2 Children € 35.00
1 Adult and 2 Children € 24.00
Each Additional child € 4.50
Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult at all times!
There is also a fish feeding demonstration happening at different timings like 3Pm for big fish feeding.
As Ireland’s largest aquarium, they strive to ensure that a visit to the Galway Aquarium provides a real wonder for visitors of all ages.
Claddagh (Irish: an Cladach, meaning “the shore”) is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century.
The boat was not operational in winter and hence had to skip this in our tour.
They do some sailings in April and in the month of October.(Private group hire of 20+ passengers)
Public daily sailing happens between May and September.
Corrib Princess Boat is a luxury 157 seat passenger boat. They sails from Woodquay in the heart of Galway city. The journey takes passengers along the majestic River Corrib and onto Lough Corrib, the Republic of Ireland’s largest lake, providing visitors with unsurpassed views and natural amenities that make this the most spectacular waterway in Ireland.
The sailing duration is around 90 Min.
6) Spanish Arch:
The Spanish Arch built in 1584, stands on the left bank of the River Corrib, where Galway’s river meets the sea.
7) Galway Bay:
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway and the Burren in County Clare.
Galway Bay is famous for its unique traditional sailing craft, the Galway Hooker.
You can get in touch with Galway Bay sailing club for sailing related details.
8) Kinvarra fishing port/ Kinvara Harbour
Due to the limited time, we did not visit the Fishing port.
Kinvara is a picturesque fishing village, located on the South Shores of the famous “Galway Bay”.
By late evening, we managed to reach the Home stay which we had booked through Airbnb. We had stayed in Pake’s Cottage (Near Cliffs of Moher, County Clare).
This is one of the most visited places in Dublin (by families).
You would need 3-4 hours to cover the entire zoo.
This zoo is located in Phoenix Park just after People’s Garden and its one of the oldest zoo in the world (opened to the public on 1st September 1831). Its spread across 28 hectares.
Dublin Zoo has not got a designated car park. However, there are lots of places to park around Phoenix Park.
An interesting history:
The zoo is noted for its lion breeding program, and since the 1850’s, more than 700 lions have been bred here. The most famous past resident is probably the MGM trademark lion. Named Slats, he was filmed for the opening sequence that preceded all films from the then newly formed MGM studio, and first appeared on screens in 1924.
You can buy tickets online and save some money.
Ticket price below:
There are other options like ‘Annual Pass’.
The zoo is open almost throughout the year.
The zoo is home to roughly 400 animals from 100 different species, and you can visit all of them across the eight different habitats, which range from an Asian jungle to a family farm, where kids get to meet the inhabitants up close and milk a (model) cow.
Some of the mammal’s that you find are:
Chimpanzee,
Gorilla
Orangutan
When visiting the new Orangutans enclosure in Dublin Zoo be careful when they are crossing above your head.
They’ve been known to pee and poo down on onlookers for the craic.
Elephant ,
Giraffe,
Hippopotamus,
Rhinoceros,
Lemur,
Okapi,
Oryx,
Sea Lion,
Zebra,
Snow Leopard,
Tiger Wolf
Some of the Bird’s that you find are:
Flamingo,
Ostrich,
Pea cock,
Penguin
Family Farm
Located near the entrance/exit, the zoo also has a petting farm, where visitors can interact with farm animals
Cows,
Sheep,
Pigs,
Goats,
Rabbits,
Chickens,
Other animals
There is a Snake park with in Campus.
There is a beautiful lake within the zoo.
Carefully recreated habitats:
Their habitats have been carefully recreated, there is no cage in this Zoo and you can feel the wellbeing of the inhabitants. The Zoo has worked on an expansion project for 20 years including a huge African Plains area, a new sea lion cove habitat, a forest trail for the elephants, a forest for the orangutan and a rainforest for the gorilla.
Play Forest:
Dublin Zoo has got a free and innovative play area for children (mainly kids aged from 3 to 10). Named Play Forest, it is strategically located across the lake from the main entrance, just past the main Asian Forest attractions — or about a 10 minute walk if you weren’t stopping to look at the animals. The play area includes fun wooden climbing structures and a giant slide.
There are restaurants and souvenir shops within the campus.
There are lot of seating arrangements in the campus. It’s really good option to relax yourself after a long walk. If you have taken food from home, you can take advantage of the numerous picnic areas scattered throughout the zoo.
We visited county Mayo from Dublin in February 2019.
This was a part of the 5-day road trip from Dublin covering mainly Mayo, Galway and Clare counties.
Road map- Day 1:
Places covered on Day 1:
1) Termonbarry Lock
2) Strokestown Park House
3) Downpatrick Head
4) Céide Fields
1) Termonbarry Lock (This is in County Roscommon)
Happened to see that the re-opening of Tarmonbarry Lock on the Shannon Navigation was done in Apr 2015. This lock is still operational. This is really an Engineering marvel.
You can spend around 30 minutes in this location, as it is quite near to the main road.
There is a lot of parking space available.
2) Strokestown Park House / National Famine Museum (This is in Roscommon County)
Strokestown Park is a unique historic property in the west of Ireland and is the home of the first landlord to be assassinated during the height of the Great Famine of Ireland the 1840s.
If you are a history lover, this place can be in your itinerary. The museum contains some of the best records from the time of the Famine.
Please note that there is a ticket charge involved to get into the National Famine Museum (around 10 Euros/person).
There is a Woodland Walk which is free of charge and open 7 days a week from 10.30am-3.30pm. This would be interesting for kids. (You don’t have to buy any tickets to use this walkway)
This place should be in your itinerary, if you are going to this part of Ireland.
It’s a place of absolute coastal beauty. It is one of the Signature Points on the Wild Atlantic Way in Mayo.
From the parking area, there is a nice walk. A little bit upwards, but easy to make.
The name Downpatrick is derived from a time when St Patrick himself founded a church here. You can still see the ruins of the church building, a stone cross and holy well here today. This was once a popular destination for pilgrims, who came here each year on the last Sunday of July, known as ‘Garland Sunday’. Today that tradition lives on, and mass is still celebrated at Downpatrick Head on that same day.
There is also a holy well and a memorial to 25 Irishmen who fled from British Redcoats during a 1795 uprising. They hid in the caves at Downpatrick Head, but couldn’t get back out before the tide came in and flooded the cavern. They all perished.
There is a Lookout Post here, one of many around the coast of Ireland dating from about 1939. At these lookout posts in 1942-43, ground markers were etched out spelling EIRE and with a number – this one is 64 – to alert aircraft to the fact that they were now over neutral Ireland.
Be little careful when you go near the edge of the cliffs. Unlike Cliffs of Moher, we don’t have enough protection (steel fence) at the edges.
4) Ceide Fields:
While you visit Down Patrick, please make sure to take the short drive out to visit the Céide Fields. The Céide Fields are the oldest known field systems in the world, over five and a half millennia old. It is a unique Neolithic landscape of world importance, which has changed our perception of our Stone Age ancestors. You can also visit the Céide Fields Visitor Centre, which has exhibitions, audio-visual shows and so on.
Opening Times:
Open Easter to October 29th
Daily 10am – 6pm June to Sept
Daily 10am – 5pm Other months
Available for bookings in winter months.
Admission Charges
Adult: Euro 4.00
Group / Senior: Euro 3.00
Group / Senior: Euro 3.00
Family: Euro 10.00
After Ceide fields, we went back to the homestay.
Road map- Day 2:
Second day, we started a little early as we had to cover a lot of attractions on the same day.
Places covered on Day 2:
Achill Island
Croagh Patrick
Roonagh Pier @ Wild Atlantic Bay
Doolough valley / famine valley
Connemara National park
Kylemore Abbey
Aasleagh Falls
Sionnanach
Clifden
1) Achill Island:
Achill Island is on Ireland’s West Coast in Mayo County. It is on Wild Atlantic Way – a 2500 KM long trail that goes along the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland.
This is a place that you should cover when you are in Mayo.
Achill Island is the largest of all islands off the coast of Ireland. Achill is accessible by the Michael Davitt Bridge, built in 2008 on the site of the original bridge which was constructed in 1887.
It makes a fantastic day trip from Westport, as it’s only one hour away.
Inhabited for over five thousand years, the Irish language is still spoken on the island.
You can see hundreds of sheeps in this region. The sheeps along with the background gives you the best postcard pictures in your camera.
The 2 other places (I couldn’t go to these places) which are around 15-30 Minutes are:
Keel beach (White sand beach)
Keem Bay
2) Croagh Patrick:
Croagh Patrick is a Holy Mountain which overlooks Clew Bay in County Mayo. Croagh Patrick is 8km from Westport town and its peak can be seen soaring above the surrounding countryside. Spectacular views of the Clew Bay coastline and the south Mayo countryside can be seen from the mountain. This is one of the highest peaks in the Western part of Ireland. Please note that in case if you are not planning to climb the mountain, there might not be anything special for you at this place. There is lot of parking space (paid), available here.
3) Roonagh Pier:
We have not visited this place but heard that this is a nice place.
4) Doolough valley:
This is a magical landscape of lakes and mountains.
It is a high-quality driving route in a spectacular setting on the R335 between Delphi and Louisburgh in Co. Mayo.
There is also a Famine Memorial in this region. This is a stone memorial, in the form of a simple stone cross which was erected in memory of the victims of the famine in this area.
Unfortunately, it was slightly raining when we passed through this area. However, this is one of the journeys that I would never forget.
The last 4 destinations that we visited was Connemara national Park, Kylemore Abbey, Aasleagh Falls, Sionnanach and Clifden. I would like to cover those destinations in my blog related to ‘County Galway’.
After seeing Clifden, we went back to our home stay.
We visited county Clare from Dublin, in February 2019.
This was a part of the 5-day road trip from Dublin covering mainly Mayo, Galway and Clare counties.
Road map- Day 4:
Places covered on Day 4
Doolin Pier Point
Doolin Cave
Burren Way / Burren national park
Fanore Beach
Murrooghtoohy
Ailwee Caves/ Birds of Prey Center:
Poulnabrone Dolmen Tomb
Kilimer Port
1) Doolin Pier Point:
Doolin Pier Point is situated in the Wild Atlantic Way. Doolin is the home of traditional Irish music. Its a nice walk down to the pier, but they’re not great for getting down to the sea itself as there’s no seashore here. Its more like a rocky beach here.
This is not a beach for swimming. But it is a beach for amazing views, listening and watching the waves crash, enjoying the sun, and admiring the dazzling geology of the coastline.
I believe the Sunset view from here will be excellent.
There are high chances that you will find some Dolphins here.
There is enough parking space available here.
The pier has two public restroom spots, one by the boat booths, and one closer to the rock beach.
You have Ferry Services From here to Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher.
Since we had planned to go to Ailwee Cave, we decided to skip the Doolin Caves.
I have seen lots of discussion on internet regarding the comparison between Ailwee and the Doolin caves.
Personally I have visited only Ailwee caves and hence might not be in a position to do a comparison here. I would suggest you to visit both and draw your own conclusions.
3) Burren Way / Burren National Park:
The Burren, on part of the Wild Atlantic Way – from the Irish ‘boireann’ means rocky place.
It is a 123km walking route that takes in the best of what the Burren area has to offer, from the coast at Doolin to majestic wild-flower-decorated limestone terraces and from the remains left by the Neolithic inhabitants of the Burren to the rich heritage of early Christian churches and site.
The Limestone rocks beside the road provides a spectacular display.
4) Fanore Beach:
Fanore is located on the main road from Doolin to Ballyvaughan and this road is well worth a drive on your visit to the Burren. It has some fantastic views on a clear day.
This large sandy beach and clear water is very popular with walkers, swimmers and surfers.
Fanore Beach is on the northwest coast of the Burren and its golden arc of sand with the backdrop of bare limestone hill, make this a very distinctive Geosite.
Ample parking space with clean toilets are available.
The views are spectacular from this beach, especially the rock formations.
5) Murrooghtoohy:
From Murrooghtoohy, you can get magnificent views of the whole of Galway Bay from the Aran Islands to Oranmore Bay east of Galway City, with a back drop of the Connemara mountains.
Another place which you can cover is the ‘Flaggy Shore’. I have personally not visited this place during our trip.
6) Ailwee Caves/ Birds of Prey Center:
This was First discovered by a local farmer in 1940.
Later only in the year of 1973 is when he shared this information with a group of students (Cavers). The cave had been fully explored and mapped in 1977. The cave is not operational currently.
Formed by water flowing through cracks in the limestone hill, it is one of the oldest caves in the Burren. The remains of bears can also be seen inside the caves and allusions have been made to it being the last bear den in Ireland. There is a also a very small water fall inside the cave.
You can also visit the Birds of Prey Center which is in the same campus.
There is a combo ticket to get inside the caves and the prey center.
Individual tickets will cost around 7 Euros and the 2 attractions combined will cost around 12 Euros. The cave ticket charge includes a guided tour. The tour takes approximate 30-35 minutes and is a great option for people who have never visited any caves in their life time.
The bird centre is the home to one of the largest and most varied collections of Birds of Prey in Ireland – Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, Owls and Vultures to name but a few.
It’s a nice place where you will get a chance to see some trained birds in flight. You can also have them land on your hand which was very exciting for the younger members in our group. Birds flying display are daily at 12noon & 3.00pm
There is a also a Café and a gift shop within the cave campus. Lot of parking space is also available.
7) Poulnabrone Dolmen Tomb:
It’s an amazing view to see the rocks (that heavy), that high off the ground and that too around 5000 years ago when there was no much machinery available.
I know from reading about this tomb that it was put back together a couple of years ago as one of the supports fractured or was going to collapse, but it still doesn’t take away from the sheer wonderment of something so old.
The site is very quite and free of charge. There is parking space available and information signs on the way from the carpark to the tomb itself. It is off the beaten track to get to this.
8) Kilimer Port:
We desperately wanted to cover a Ferry trip during this 5 days but unfortunately most of the services were not operational due to winter.
Finally we decided to take Shannon ferry which goes from Kilimer port to the Kerry island (Tarbert Port)
You can keep this as an optional plan in your trip as the driving distance is more.
Kilimer to Tarbert takes around 20 minutes one side in the ferry.
Shannon Ferries also provides a discount (15%) for the online booking.
The return Car fare cost is around 30 Euros (25.50 for Online). They charge only for the vehicles and no additional charges for the passengers in the car. You can simply drive in to the ferry and the tickets will be given during the journey.
There is a snack shop inside the ferry but it was closed (not sure if its due to the Winter season)
There are Toilets available within the ferry.
In case if you plan to take this Ferry to explore Kerry, I would suggest you to take morning trips.
The main attractions like the ‘Rings of Kerry’ would take a minimum of 2 hrs from the Tarbert Port.
We took the return trip in the ferry back to Kilimer Port and went to the Airbnb accommodation that was prebooked near ‘Cliffs of Moher’.
In case if you are near Kilimer and want to explore some other places near by (avoiding ferry to Kerry), I would suggest some of the below places:
Scattery Island
Loop Head Light House
Lahinch Beach
Places covered on Day 5:
Cliffs of Moher and then Back to Dublin
Cliffs of Moher:
This was the last day of our 5 day road trip. We wanted to spend some quality time at the cliffs and hence decided to reach there in the morning itself.
One of the important things to be noted is that we need to take tickets to visit the cliffs.
At the gate, it’s a flat rate of 8 Euros. (For adults). For Children up to 16 years, it’s a free ticket.
If you book online (at least one day in advance), you need to pay only the half amount of 4 Euros for the morning and evening visits.
Morning visit time is between 08:00 – 10:59 (Means you can enter any time between 8:00 and 10:59)
The Cliffs of Moher are located about 90 minutes south of Galway or 3 hours from Dublin on Ireland’s west coast in County Clare. This might be the most famous destination in the entire scenic wild Atlantic way. The cliffs run for around 10+ kms and at some places, it rise to a maximum height of 214 metres (702 feet) above the Atlantic Ocean. It ranks one among the most visited tourist sites in Ireland, with around 1.5 million visits per annum.
You can also visit the Cliffs of Moher visitor’s center. This state-of-the-art underground visitor centre features various interactive exhibits, images and displays that can be enjoyed by people of all age groups. There are some restaurants and public toilets available within this center.
There’s also a observatory tower here with a ticket of 2 Euros. But now its closed for some major maintenance work.
The parking area is huge. But you will have to walk a long distance to reach the cliffs from the parking area (Private vehicles).
There are safety barriers which prevents visitors from going near the cliff. However, if you keep walking away from the Visitor’s center, the barrier ends. So be a little careful and dare not to go near the edge. Already many have lost their life here.
During summer, you can use the boat trips to experience the cliffs from the water and there are Helicopter rides to see the cliffs from the top. In winter, such options are not available.
If you have only limited time in Dublin and want to cover this scenic cliffs, you can search and book for day trips. There are many companies like ‘Wild Rover Tours’ , ‘PaddyWagon’ and so on arranging such trips.
If you’re into photography you’ll want to stick around and wander along the coastal walk since there are many different vantage points to enjoy.
Being one of the busiest attractions in Ireland, you are bound to find visitors all year round, however July and August are the peak months.
It’s recommended that you leave at least half a day (or atleast 3 Hours) for your visit to the Cliffs of Moher, as the site isn’t simply a pretty tourist destination but also includes an impressive number of hiking trails that offer spectacular views of their own.
We had stayed in Pake’s Cottage (Near to Cliffs of Moher)
We took the ‘Go Bus’ service from Dublin to Cork..
The starting point was Burgh Quay (Dublin). It’s a 3 Hours journey (Direct-28 Euros including Return). The bus service was prompt and on time. The dropping point in Cork was St. Patrick’s Quay.
I have also seen bus services which take more than 4 hours (one way). I believe Go Bus is a good option. The train charges are more and hardly you can save 30 minutes by train.
We stayed in Cork on the First day at my relatives house and went to ring of Kerry on Day 2.
Area wise, Cork is the largest county in Ireland.
All year round, Cork is a great place to visit — whether it’s to relax or to explore, there are plenty of activities in and around this place. It’s one of the more popular cities in the country with a lot of good food and pubs.
As Cork is a small compact city, getting around is really easy. Walking is a great way to get around.
The main intention of this trip was to cover Ring of Kerry and hence did not explore much of the tourist destinations in Cork (Hopefully I will go back to Cork again to explore more).
In case if you would like to explore Cork, you can keep the below places in mind:
Mizen head
English Market
Hike around Gougane Barra
Cork Butter Museum
Cork City Gaol (Old Prison)
Courthouse (Washington Street)
City Hall
The National Monument at the top of Grand Parade
Walk down the Oliver Plunkett street
Echo Boy
Kiss the Blarney Stone (Nearby)
Patrick’s Hill
Holy Trinity Church on Fr. Matthew Quay
University College, Cork
Shakey Bridge (Daly’s Bridge)
Fitzgerald’s Park
St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral
Day2: Ring of Kerry:
The Ring of Kerry is a scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula in southwest Ireland’s County Kerry.
Its (100+ Miles) one of Ireland’s most popular drives whether you choose to cycle it or drive, it is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful scenic routes in Ireland. Fortunately, or Unfortunately, it rains almost most of the days here in Ireland. If you reach here on a rainy day, you might not be able to enjoy this place fully. Unfortunately, it was raining on the day, we travelled aswell.
People say it takes around 3.5 Hours to complete the entire ring. Obviously the time would increase, as you cannot avoid stopping the vehicle for capturing some scenic places. But for sure you can complete the entire trip in 7 hours or so. Some people extend it to 2 days.
Some people go in a clock wise direction and some others in the anti-clockwise direction. Most of the guidebooks say to go clockwise so you’re going the opposite direction of the tour buses, which go counter-clockwise.
We did not see any of the restaurants (common chains) in the route we travelled. So, keep some snacks handy with you. We also faced network coverage issues in many places.
Views of the Atlantic Ocean:
The views of the Atlantic Ocean is simply superb.
Waterville Village/Beach:
This large village is famous for golf, its beach and its association with Charlie Chaplin. It is a great place to stop off and have a tea/coffee or something stronger and there are a number of pubs you’ll enjoy along the sea front. You’ll also notice the monument of Charlie Chaplin which of course is worth taking a photograph with.
Caherdaniel:
The best stop off point is the beach between Caherdaniel and Castlecove. Parking can be scarce here but it is so worth stopping off. You will know it because it has a caravan/mobile park and a beach side pub, so keep an eye out for those signs so that you can turn off the road in plenty of time. This is a small beach but its really magical, especially on a sunny day. This can be a peaceful spot, even if its crowded.
Some other places that you can explore in and around Ring of Kerry:
Molls Gap
Ladies View
Staigue Stone Fort
Ballinskelligs Castle
Kerry cliffs
Skellig Michael / Beehive Huts on Skellig Michael
PortMagee
Valentia island / Harbour
Stopping in Sneem
Kenmare (One of the cutest towns)
Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs
Caragh Lake
Rossbeigh Beach
Derrynane Bay and Ballinskelligs Bay
On our way back, we also visited Torc waterfalls (inside Killarney National Park).
Parking is free, and the falls are only a mere 300m walk from the car park.
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous
During our trip to Luxembourg in Aug 2019, we managed to do a 1-day trip to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. Trier was once the regional capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Second Rome’.
It’s around 45-50 Minutes journey by bus, from Luxembourg.
A normal search on internet would highlight mostly the train options only (which is around 16+ Euros, one side – https://www.thetrainline.com) and some options like Flix bus is available at cheaper rates (around 6 Euros – https://global.flixbus.com).
The best option that I felt was BUS 30 which starts from the Gare De Luxembourg station (city center) Zone 23.
The ticket must be purchased from the counters inside the station and you can purchase the return ticket as well. The to and fro ticket price was around 9.6 Euros/adult.
Please note that you don’t have to carry your passport for your Luxembourg-Trier trip.
We visited the following places in Trier:
1. Porta Nigra (towering Stone Roman Gate):
The Porta Nigra (large Roman city gate) is extremely old, with parts of the structure including the foundations dating back to 186 AD. While you can see the Porta Nigra for free from the outside, you must pay to walk up and explore the ruin itself.
Porta Nigra represents the last bastion of the Roman Empire’s presence north of the Alps.
The Romer Express (City Train ride) and the Hop on Hop off bus trip starts near to this place. You will also find an Information Centre from where you can grab a city map for free (Such free maps are available only with the people in the counters whereas all the other maps in shelves comes with a price tag).
There is also a Euro shop near Porta Nigra, from where you can get some Trier souvenirs (and other articles) at a reasonable price.
2. Karl Marx Statue (Near to Porta Nigra):
In 2018, Trier celebrated the 200th birthday of Karl Marx, it’s most famous inhabitant.
On this occasion, China donated a statue honouring the spiritual father of communism.
The statue weighs 2.3 tons and stands 5.5 meters high. The statue was originally proposed to be 6.2 meters. Trier stated that they would not be able to accept such a large statue so, in the spirit of compromise, the Chinese decreased the height by 27 inches and shipped the current statue.
3. Mosel river Cruise:
I have seen 2 cruise options; 1-hour trip and a 2-hour trip. The price was around 12 Euros/person. I personally felt that the cruise trip is not that attractive.
Various snacks, ice creams and drinks are also served in the cruise boat (not free though). Most of the boats have an open roof. Lot of tourists (especially in groups) explore this river cruise option.
3. A) Mariensäule:
You can also take some snaps of Mariensäule more closely from the cruise. Visible for miles at a height of 300 metres on the left bank of the Moselle is a Marian column placed here in the 1860s. The monument towers above the woodland at the top sandstone cliffs and was funded by donations from Trier’s Catholic congregation.
In case if you want to go near this monument, you can catch a bus to just 20 metres below the column, and on the platform, you can soak up an all-encompassing view of the Moselle and Trier.
4. The Romer Express city train trip:
The Romer Express city train trip takes you through a round trip of old city of Trier.
Price was around 9 Euros/Adult and the total travel time is around 35 minutes.
It’s a Nonstop journey and you cannot get down at any main attractions. Around 50 people can travel at a time in a single trip. More details here : http://www.roemer-express.de/en
City tour commentary is available in English, French and German.
Major places covered in the trip are:
4 a) The Roman Amphitheatre in Trier:
The Trier Amphitheater is a Roman Amphitheater in Trier, Germany.
The arena itself is surrounded by a protecting wall with openings for animal cages.
4 b) Imperial Roman Baths in Trier: The Trier Imperial Baths are a large Roman bath complex in Trier, Germany. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was constructed in the 4th century AD. The whole place spoke about the existence of the Roman Empire.
4 c) Karl Marx House:
The birthplace of one the most influential German scholars of the 19th century, the Karl Marx House in Trier is among Germany’s most important historical museums.
Redesigned in 2005, the permanent exhibition provides a vivid and accessible tour of Karl Marx (1818-1883) the man, his place in history and the development of his philosophical and economic ideas. Key works such as ‘The Communist Party Manifesto’ and ‘Das Kapital’ are placed in their 19th-century context.
The Romer Express city train trip will take you near this cathedral.
But I would certainly recommend you visit this Cathedral (a Must see in Trier)
This is a Roman Cathedral in Trier. It is the oldest church in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier, notable for its long-life span and grand design.
Today, the cathedral is an important Catholic shrine that still receives pilgrims from all over the world.
You can take photos/videos inside the cathedral.
6. Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady):
The Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Dear Lady) is a 13th-century parish church in Trier, separated from Trier cathedral by a narrow passageway.
7. Hauptmarkt (Main Market):
This is another major attraction in Trier. It’s basically a square, near Cathedral of Trier.
This is the centre of the city’s commercial activity, and you will find an abundance of stores where you can go shopping as well as cafes and restaurants (including some Souvenir shops)
This public square (where many buildings are facing towards the square) has served as Trier’s main marketplace since medieval times.
8. Alleen center (Shopping mall):
If you are looking for some shopping or some common food chains like Burger King, this mall would be a good option. More details Here — https://alleencenter.com/
In case if you want to explore more, you could also check the below Options:
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous
Paris, the capital of France has been drawing visitors from across the globe for centuries. This is infact one of the most visited cities in the world and one of the most romantic cities in Europe.
As a part of my business trip, I got a chance to visit Paris in December 2019. It was a 2 day trip and I tried to sneak in some time to visit a couple of major attractions in Paris.
It was an 1.5 hours trip from Dublin to Paris in Flight. Could capture some scenic photographs from the Aer Lingus flight that I had travelled.
There are 3 airports in Paris:
a) The Major one being Charles De Gaulle (CDG) (2nd largest Airport in Europe after Heathrow). Its around 30 Kms from city centre.
b) Orly. Its around 17 Kms from city centre.
c) Beauvais (Low cost airlines like Ryanair fly out of this airport). Its around 86Kms from City center.
There are bus shuttles from Beauvais airport to Paris which takes around 1.15 Hours+. Please note that these bus shuttle schedules are adapted to the Flight timetables.
My flight was to CDG airport. CDG has 3 terminals and they are connected with the CDGVAL airport shuttle (Driverless trains). There are clear markings in the terminals which would help you to reach the airport shuttle.
Since my itinerary was only for 2 days and my flights were from the CDG airport, I had opted for a 2 days Zone 1-5 card which costed me around 38.35 Euros. The website price was 42.20 Euros. So I believe the tickets from the counter was cheaper compared to the online option.
You can buy travel tickets from the Kiosks or from the ticket counters available in the airport. The most convenient ticket that I had found was the ‘Paris Visit’ card. These are unlimited travel cards and you can select the convenient card based on the Zone/Days. The ticket infact is a small piece of paper and its extremely difficult to handle and there are high chances that it might get misplaced somewhere. So be extremely careful with such tickets. The Paris visit card is valid in trains, Trams and buses. I had travelled only once in bus and the experience has not been great. It was extremely crowded, not sure if it was only with that bus/route which I had taken. If possible, look for metro options than the bus.
I had travelled from the CDG airport to Gare du Nord and from there, I took a taxi to my hotel in Porte De Clichy.
Gare du Nord is a large station which is connected by many local and international trains. I was told that this is one of the busiest railway stations in Europe.
If you are further travelling from Paris to places like Amsterdam, London, Cologne, Essen; this will be the station from where you will be catching such long distance trains.
Also, if you want to save some money on the taxi from CDG Airport to your hotel in Paris, my personal suggestion will be to take the train from Airport to major stations like Gare du Nord (RERB – around 9.5 Euros for a single side ticket) and then take a taxi further to your hotel from there. A direct taxi from CDG to Nord will easily cost around 50-70 Euros.
Also please note that there are some direct trains running from CDG airport to places like Marseille, Lyon, Bayeux and so on.
In this trip, I had explored some places in Paris:
a) Eiffel Tower:
When you think of Paris, the first thing that comes to mind is the iconic, Eiffel Tower (also known as Iron tower). Even though you feel like it’s a cliché, but Eiffel Tower is a must see place during your visit to Paris. You have options to reach the 1st , 2nd and summit (Top floor) of the tower and the tickets for the same can be purchased online well in advance. Its better to get the tickets booked prior to your trip to avoid disappointment at the last moment. I personally have not travelled to the top of the tower and hence might not be in a position to provide the comment whether it is worth or not.
This place is mostly crowded. So it better to reach the tower early in the morning time to avoid crowds.
The sparkling lights of the iconic monument is something that you cannot miss during your Paris trip. Every hour, on the hour, between sunset to 1:00 am, the Eiffel Tower puts on a sparkling light show that looks incredible at night!
One of the best places for shopping (and window shopping) is at Champs Élysées but please note that many of the brands are high end ones like Louis Vuitton. The streets were completely lightened up, as Christmas is fast approaching. You can also get costly cars like Ferrari for rent, from this place.
c) Pont Alexandre III Bridge:
There are many royal bridges in Paris. This is one of the most extravagant bridge.
The stone and metal sculptures, along with beautifully decorated architecture itself will define Paris. When you take the river cruise, it’s the most incredible river bridge you’ll be seeing in that journey. If possible, walk down to this bridge during the night time and you can witness some beautiful views from the bridge. The view of Eiffel tower from this bridge is spectacular.
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d) Notre Dame (Cathedral):
This is one of the most inspiring cathedrals in World/Europe with its classic architecture, stained glass, and flower garden (behind the cathedral). There were some maintenance work going on in the cathedral during my visit in December 2019
e) Seine River Cruise:
Boat trips on the Seine are really popular, with everything from five-course dinners to Champagne cruises available. But for a budget way to see the sights along the river, the Batobus does a hop-on-hop-off loop which covers the 9 major attractions. Tickets cost €17 for one day, but better value is the pass for two consecutive days for €19 per person.
The entire round trip (without getting out anywhere) will take around 1 hour 45 minutes or so. The frequency of the boat at any station would be around 25 Minutes. So plan your Hop On and Hop off accordingly.
If you have enough time, you can even walk through the banks of the Seine river.
Based on the number of days in your itinerary, please explore some of the below places aswell:
Disney Land
Sainte-Chapelle
The Louvre Museum
Arc de Triomphe
Tour Montparnasse
Thinker at Musée Rodin
Latin Quarter
Pantheon
Oldest clock in Paris
Versailles Palace
Flame of Liberty (10 minutes’ walk from Eiffel tower)
Jardin d’Erivan (park where trees are beautifully lined up)
Basilique of the Sacre Coeur
Paris Sewer tour
Shakespeare & Company (If you’re a bibliophile)
Vaux le Vicomte & Fontainebleau Castles
Montmartre
Palais Garnier
Note:
1) French is the most spoken language and very limited people speak English. Don’t consider this as a major concern. Public transports like Metro, Bus and all have proper English displays. Many of the taxi drivers whom I had interacted were also fluent in English.
2) In some routes, the Metro might not be available after 11 PM even though the Google maps might still be showing that the train is approaching soon. If there is a staff around, its always good to check the timings/alternate routes with them.
3) You could easily cover many of the important places if you have 3-4 days in your Paris itinerary.
4) The best time to visit Paris is from April to October.
5) Paris is divided into 20 neighborhoods or arrondissements and everything is being referred to 12th, 18th, etc. 1st is in the dead centre of the city and the neighbourhoods spiral outward from there. Before booking your hotel check whether the area is safe and close to the places you want to visit. If you’re in Paris for a very limited time don’t choose a place on the edge of town, as you definitely don’t want to spend hours on commuting in order to save a few bucks.
6) Keep your Paris metro ticket until you’ve exited the metro system at your final destination because the police might be checking your tickets inside the station. Also, don’t be afraid of using Metro as it easy, cheap and safe option. On many Metro lines, the doors to the train do not open unless you press a button or lift a handle.
7) Paris has loads of little bakeries and pastry (Patisserie) shops.
8) Around all major Paris attractions, you will find beggars asking you to sign a form without giving you the chance to read it. Don’t let anyone put something in your hands otherwise, they’ll keep following you around.
9) Bonjour is ‘Hello’ and Au revoir is ‘Good Bye’ in French. You can hear these words multiple times during your visit.
10) There is absolutely no need for a car in Paris. If you are really looking for one, please note that you’ll be dealing with crazy driving, expensive parking, and traffic blocks.
This time search for the Indian food took me just outside Gare du Nord station. To my surprise, I could find around 7-8 Indian restaurants in a row. I decided to have some vegetarian food and ended up eating Masala Dosa from Chennai Dosa and Milagaipodi Masala Dosa from Saravana Bhavan.
Personally I liked Chennai Dosa both in terms of taste and price.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore”– Andre Gide
Le Mans is a well-preserved Medieval city in France on the banks of Sarthe River. Since 1923, the city has been hosting the internationally famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race. It’s located about 200 Kilometres south west of Paris. The city also has many industries in the Outskirts.
As a part of my business trip, I got a chance to visit Le Mans in January 2020.
The best and fastest option will be to board a direct fast train (TGV) from Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport to Le Mans(Gare Du Mans station). Direct train would take around 1.45 Hours (around 53 Euros). Follow the boards (in Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport) with marking as ‘Trains’ to reach the train station.
The tram tickets / travel cards can be bought from the machines available at the stations. English language is also available on the display screen of the machine. The price is round 1.5 Euros for a 1-hour ticket.
You need to tap the ticket (card) in the device provided in the trams. As far as I remember, you can use the same card in bus aswell.
There are only 2-3 major taxi/cab companies here in this city and a total of around 30-40 cars are associated with these companies. Throughout my trip, I had used ‘Radio-Taxi’. Their service was very good and prompt. Many cabs don’t accept cards, so its always a good idea to carry some cash with you while going outside.
The People here are very friendly and caring. They always start the conversation with ‘Bonjour’ (‘Hello’ in English).
One of the major concerns for a tourist in this town will be communication, as most of the people here don’t understand English. The issue is to an extend that even staffs at Mc. Donald’s don’t understand words like ‘Salt’ and ‘Pepper’. We had a tough time trying to make them understand what we were looking for.
The Number of hotels in this place is less. I have hardly seen 3-4 hotels. I stayed in Ibis Lemans Centre. It’s a small hotel but stay was good.
In this Trip, I had explored the following places:
1. Le Mans Car Museum and Racing track.
The whole city of Lemans is known to the outside world because of the Sports Car Race that happens here. Traditionally, this race happens in the month of June every year. Normally, lakhs of people visit here to see this Race and they stay in Public Camp sites near to this Circuit.
The race was supposed to happen on 13th June 2020, but not sure if it would happen due to the aftereffects of Corona Virus.
There is a Car Museum here (in the North Entrance) which the automobile lovers would love, for sure. The taxi charge from the city center to this palace will be around 17-20 Euros. If you want to save that money, I would suggest taking a tram to station ‘Le Tetre Rogue’ and then walk for 2 Kms (20 min).
The combo ticket for the Museum + Track is around 12.5 Euros.
The Museum houses amazing classic cars and memories from the past events. There is also a gift shop from where you can pick up some souvenirs. You can easily spend at least 2 hours in this museum.
2. Cite Plantagenet/ Le Mans Old City:
Its named after the former inhibits of the city named Plantagenets. The most important sites in this area are the Roman Wall, Cathedral and Notre Dame Church.
It has many Cobble stone laid streets with very old houses.
Don’t miss to walk around the old city. Remember that the old city is on a hill. So, if you have any difficulty walking or pushing a pram, it might be a challenge for you. If you want to know more about these places, it will be good to take the help of an experienced guide.
3. Saint Julien de Mans Cathedral (Le Mans Cathedral):
The fabulous Cathedral St Julien is a “must-see”. This beautiful Catholic cathedral was built between 11th and 15th centuries and It has a mixture of styles because of the long-time taken to build it and is one of the largest cathedrals in France. It is dedicated to the first bishop of the city, Saint Julian of Le Mans, who established Christianity in the area around the beginning of the 4th Century. The cathedral features magnificent 13th-century stained-glass windows and two fine Renaissance tombs.
4. Gallo Romans Walls:
This is one of the oldest roman walls to survive.
These walls date back to the 3rd century and span up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) between the Sarthe and the Cathedral in Le Mans, France. The walls were intended to protect this city.
There are many other places that you can explore:
Abbaye de L’ Epau
Spaycific Zoo
Arche de la Nature (Park)
Papea Parc (Theme Park)
Maison de la Tourelle (Historic House)
Palais des Comtes du Maine (Palace)
Musée de la Reine Bérengère (Museum)
Roman Thermal Building
Musee de Tesse
In summer (July, August), the old centre is illuminated with light and sound. I believe this would be a great experience especially for the kids. Seems this is known by the name La Nuit des Chimeres.
As usual, I had tried exploring some Indian food here in Le-Mans. The two restaurants that I tried was ‘Taj Mahal’ and ‘Bombay’. The food was good at both the places. They normally prepare less Spicy food, but they will make it spicy on request.
While you are in Lemans, don’t forget to try some Bagels aswell.
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