Ireland, Dublin, Cork City and Belfast

Ireland

When I was in Europe in the 70's in Belgium, I did take the hovercraft over to United Kingdom. Only problem was, my visit was confined to London. I regretted not venturing further, for the Republic of Ireland, the third largest island in Europe,[1] and the twentieth largest island in the world, is just next door. I missed visiting Dublin, its capital city.

I had faced lots of difficulties and wasted much precious finding accommodation when I was traveling around Europe in the 70s which could have been better spent enjoying the sights and sound of the places I visit. Now with the convenient Internet, I can just book online my accommodation at online booking websites like Ireland Hotels

Dublin

Dublin is not only the vibrant capital city of Ireland, it is also its economic, administrative and cultural center and largest city. It boasts of interesting nightlife full of pubs and tourist attractions. My colleague talks proudly of pub crawling as a student in Australia. If you like that, you can do exactly the same thing in Dublin. If you have interest to see an intricately decorated New Testament text dating back to 800 AD named Book of Kells, go to Trinity College, Ireland's oldest and most prestigious college.

Photo of St. Patrick's Day Parade
by William Murphy

A good day for you to plan your visit to Dublin will be on St. Patrick's Day on 17th March when a big parade will march through the city. It is part of a part of a five-day festival, a celebration of Irish culture as well as a Christian festival. See those attractive ladies in the photo above. Wouldn't you like to be there to watch? Online accommodations booking is available at Dublin Hotels

Cork City

Photo of Cork City sidestreet
by Connor Turner

Cork City, the administrative capital center of County Cork, Province of Munster is Ireland's third most populous city after Dublin and Belfast. You can find interesting sidestreets like the one in the photo above with sidewalk cafe.

It hosts many festivals, including

• Midsummer Festival from mid June to mid July
.

• Film Festival from the beginning of October


• Jazz Festival on the last weekend of October

The Midsummer Festival is a month long festival when lovers of theatre, music, art, poetry plus others can enjoy them throughout the city during this period. During the Cork City Film Festival, film lovers get to watch not only Irish, but also international films. Cork City host one of Europe's largest jazz festival which from year to year brings together great jazz musicians from around the world. All these has helped Cork City earned the honor of being called a festival city.

Visitors to Cork City can book their accommodation at Cork Hotels

Belfast City

Photo of Belfast
by Lyn Gateley

Belfast is the capital of the Province of Ulster of Northern Ireland which is a constituent country of the United Kingdom, . It is the second largest city of Ireland. If you are put off by the more expensive Dublin, you can enjoy a nice and cheaper vacation in Belfast. Belfast is sprouting new hotels, bars, restaurants, clubs and shops every day and is becoming a great vacation city. You will also enjoy the sight of beautiful gardens and great Victorian and Edwardian architecture like what you see in the photo above.

Instead of strive and killing that has wrecked Belfast in the past, you will find peace and prosperity. If you visit Belfast, it is likely you will be greeted warmly by its inhabitants, and if you patronise the numerous pubs and bars, its local patrons will be curious as to what brought you to Belfast and probably eagerly share a little bit of the history of Belfast with you. It will be a great change from that tourist trap, London.

Online accommodation booking is available from Belfast Hotels .