In the north of the island, the principal draw is the weird basalt geometry of the Giant's Causeway, not far from the lush Glens of Antrim. To the south of Belfast lies the beautiful walking territory of the softly contoured Mountains of Mourne, divided by Carlingford Lough from the myth-drenched Cooley Mountains.

The interior is nowhere as spectacular as the fringes of the island, but the southern heartlands of pastures and low wooded hills, and the wide peat bogs of the very centre are the classic landscapes of Ireland. Of the inland waterways, the most alluring are the island-studded Lough Erne complex of Fermanagh, and the River Shannon, with its string of huge lakes.

Some of the country's wildest scenery lies just offshore: the west-coast Aran Islands are the best known of the islands, but equally compelling are storm-battered Tory Island, to the far northwest and the savage Skelligs, off the southwest coast.

For anyone with strictly limited time, one of the best options must be to combine a visit to Dublin with the mountains and monastic ruins of County Wicklow. Dublin is an extraordinary combination of youthfulness and tradition, a modern European capital on a human scale with elegant Georgian squares and a vibrant cultural life. Belfast vies with Dublin in the vitality of its nightlife, while the cities of Cork and Galway have an energy and bustle that makes them a pleasure to visit