Going for a walk has experienced something of a renaissance due to the pandemic. With the urban and nature mixing impressively in Dublin, exploring the Irish capital on foot is all the more worthwhile and so I walked five routes along landmarks of rock, poetry and records.
Windmill Studios – where the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Phil Lynott, Glen Hansard and U2 have all recorded music – are a good starting point for a stroll out of the city center. Head toward the beach via Ringsend Park and Sean Moore Park.
The walk continues eastwards around Dublin Bay, through Irishtown Nature Park, over some rolling hills, and past Shellybanks Beach. You pass the iconic red and white striped 207-meter (679-foot) towers of the old Poolbeg Generating Station.
Along the waterfront, you’ll reach the Great South Wall, which was the longest seawall in the world when it was completed in 1731. The lighthouse at the end, the Poolbeg Lighthouse, points the way for huge ferries and freighters into Dublin Harbor, according to the (Gaelic) Irish phrase “las mo shlí” (”light my way”).
It’s about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) along the stone wall to the lighthouse – a walk which should only be done on non-stormy days.
The commuter train (DART) takes you to Dalkey. It takes about 25 minutes and costs under 9 euros ($9) return. That’s money well spent, because Dalkey is the start of a poetic walk that can be preceded by a guided tour from the Castle & Heritage Centre. You can follow in the footsteps of writers Maeve Binchy, James Joyce, Emma Donoghue and Flann O’Brien, who all have links with the coastal Dublin suburb.
Or you can head straight to Killiney for a stroll. The path leads down the hill from the train station, past the legendary Finnegan’s Pub on the right, right onto Coliemore Road, past some pretty cottages and large villas to the small harbor.
We enter the small Dillon’s Park and directly behind it on the right into Sorrento Park – which is more of a lookout point. The Mediterranean charm of this stretch of the coast becomes clear, with plants and bushes, huge flowers and crystal clear turquoise water evoking the Gulf of Naples in front of a row of villas. It’s no wonder many celebrities have homes in this area between Dalkey and Killiney – the view is breathtaking.
Down at the southern end of Sorrento Hill, follow Vico Road to Strathmore Road towards the water, to Killiney’s shingle beach. You can make your way back to Dublin by train.
For this walk we’ll be heading north out of central Dublin and taking the DART commuter rail, which offers a glimpse of the rougher side of town, all the way to the town of Howth.
Between ice cream parlors, souvenir stores, fish restaurants, a sailing harbor and a funfair, you end up in nature. You can choose from one of four circular routes starting at the train station, based on fitness level and time.
The shortest route is halfway around Howth Head peninsula and after a few hundred yards weaves through ferny seas and hugs the cliffs alongside people who are walking to a small cafe. On hot days, the view down to sea disappears in a dense fog through which the seabirds can only be heard.
With 707 hectares, Phoenix Park on the north-western edge of Dublin is the largest city park in Europe, far surpassing Hyde Park in London or Central Park in New York. The park is within easy walking distance of the Guinness Brewery or Heuston Station, for example.
The park is divided by an axis (Chesterfield Avenue), and depending on your mood, the weather and how much time you have, short or long loop walks can be taken from there.
In the park, we pass the Wellington Monument, a huge obelisk commemorating past military victories, and small oval signs explaining where German bombs fell in 1941, or how many cricket clubs there were (20) and how many still exist (two).
Dublin Zoo is located on the right at the beginning of the park and is worth a visit at any time of the year – but especially during the ”Wild Lights” from late October to early January, when the zoo becomes a spectacular experience of lights, lanterns and animal sounds.
You will pass the huge Polo Club and also the Irish president’s residence, the Aras an Uachtarain, where one of Ireland’s most famous lights shines in an upstairs window: a symbolic beacon showing the way to Irish emigrants and their descendants and welcoming them home.
Along the Grand Canal
This walk starts behind the buildings of Google’s European headquarters. Next to the main streets at Clanwilliam Place and Warrington Place, below the pavement behind a small wall, runs a path along the Grand Canal, which has been the subject of many songs and mentioned in just as many books. It was built in the 19th century and connects the city with the inland.
Today it’s a relaxed and romantic stroll under the shade or – depending on the weather – shelter from the raindrops of the trees, heading west. Past countless small and large pubs and restaurants – Mexican, Indian, American, Irish – it goes all the way to the Portobello district. On balmy afternoons and evenings you could almost think you’re in Amsterdam.
If you turn right towards the city center at the Atlas Language School on the canal, you can easily find St. Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street, a popular shopping street. Or walk further back east to Merrion Square Park to visit the statue of Oscar Wilde.
