Phoenix Park & Howth Head — Dublins Natürliche Ausflugsziele
Dublin's natural spaces: Phoenix Park (the 707-hectare public park on the north bank of the Liffey, the largest urban park in any European capital city (larger than Hyde Park, Regent's Park, and the Bois de Boulogne combined), containing the herd of approximately 600 free-ranging fallow deer (established in the 1660s by the Duke of Ormond), Áras an Uachtaráin (the Irish President's residence), the US Ambassador's Residence, Dublin Zoo, and the Wellington Monument) and Howth Head (the rocky peninsula and fishing village 13 km north of Dublin city centre, accessible by DART suburban train).
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Phoenix Park — 1,750 Acres, Larger than Central Park
Phoenix Park (1,750 acres, 8km from Dublin city centre, the world's largest enclosed urban park) contains the Irish President's official residence (Áras an Uachtaráin, free tours Saturdays), the Dublin Zoo (€22, 700 animals), and a free-roaming fallow deer herd of 600 that can be watched from the main road at dawn and dusk.
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Howth Head — Cliff Walk Above the Irish Sea
Howth Head (14km from Dublin city centre, reached by DART in 25 minutes) offers a 6km cliff walk from the village of Howth to the Summit and back — the walk passes sea-stack formations, the ruins of Howth Castle (private, 500 years of continuous occupation), and views of Ireland's Eye island; seals haul out on rocks visible from the path.
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Dún Laoghaire Pier — Victorian Granite Promenade
Dún Laoghaire's twin granite piers (West Pier: 1.5km, East Pier: 1.8km, built 1817–1842) are the most-walked promenades in Ireland — the East Pier lighthouse is the turning point for 5,000+ daily walkers; the ferry terminal dispatches Stena Line ferries to Holyhead (Wales, 2 hours); the Victorian bandstand hosts summer concerts.
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Wicklow Way — Dublin to the Mountains
The Wicklow Way (127km, begins at Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, 20 minutes from Dublin by bus) is Ireland's most popular long-distance walk — the first day's stage climbs from suburban Dublin through the Tibradden and Three Rock Mountains to Knockree; the route passes Powerscourt Waterfall (121m, Ireland's highest) on day two.
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Bray to Greystones Coastal Walk — Dart Accessible
The Bray to Greystones cliff walk (8km, 2.5 hours, entirely on the cliff edge above the Irish Sea) starts at Bray DART station and ends at Greystones DART station — the route crosses the remains of the Great Southern and Western Railway's original coastal line (Brunel's engineering, 1855) where rock falls repeatedly closed the route; a replacement inland railway was built in the 1880s.
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Dalkey Island — Viking Fort 300m Offshore
Dalkey Island (300m offshore from Colliemore Harbour, Dalkey, 30 minutes from Dublin city centre by DART) contains the ruins of a Viking fort and a 12th-century oratory — water taxis run from Colliemore Harbour (€10 return, weather permitting); a small goat population (descendants of an 18th-century landing) roams the island freely; grey seals pup on the southern rocks in October.