Belfast

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom; here, you pay with Pound Sterling, and EU citizens need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) for entry, even if there are no checks at the land border with the Republic. The capital Belfast tells of its shipyard history with the Titanic Belfast museum, and of decades of conflict through murals and peace walls.Along the Causeway Coast on the north coast are the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and the ruins of Dunluce Castle. From Dublin, you can reach Belfast by car, bus, or the Enterprise train, which crosses the border without changing.

The Giant's Causeway on Northern Ireland's north coast consists of around 40,000 regularly shaped basalt columns, formed 50 to 60 million years ago by volcanic activity. Together with the adjacent Causeway Coast, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986; much of the area belongs to the National Trust, which operates a visitor centre with an exhibition.Along the coast are other well-known destinations: the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge over a 20-meter-deep chasm, for which you must book a time slot in advance, and the ruins of Dunluce Castle on the cliffs between Portballintrae and Portrush. Inland stands the Dark Hedges beech avenue, which has been closed to vehicle traffic since 2017.

Brú na Bóinne in the Boyne Valley north of Dublin is one of Europe's most significant Stone Age landscapes and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993. The Newgrange passage tomb was built around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza; at the winter solstice, the light of the rising sun shines through an opening above the entrance directly into the burial chamber.You can only visit Newgrange and the neighbouring Knowth with a guided tour starting from the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre near Donore; from there, shuttle buses take groups to the monuments. Tickets are limited, so advance online booking is highly recommended. Places in the chamber on solstice morning are allocated annually by lottery.

Howth is located on a peninsula at the northern edge of Dublin Bay and is directly accessible from the city centre via the DART coastal train. The fishing harbour with its marina and seafood restaurants is the starting point for the Howth Cliff Path Loop, a 7.8-kilometre circular path, marked with green arrows, leading over the cliffs to Baily Lighthouse.The loop takes about two hours; along the way, you'll gaze upon Dublin Bay and the bird island Ireland's Eye, to which boats depart from the West Pier in summer. Seals are often seen in the harbour; feeding them is prohibited.

Glenveagh National Park in northwest County Donegal spans approximately 16,000 hectares of mountains, moors, and lakes; golden eagles have been reintroduced here since 2000. At its heart lies Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh, a castle built between 1867 and 1873 with extensive gardens, which was later handed over to the state.Access to the park is free; a shuttle bus runs from the visitor centre to the castle, which you can visit with a guided tour. The castle is closed on some weekdays, so check opening hours in advance.