Travel

Dublin’s Coolest Neighborhoods Shine with Sea Views, Hip Haunts, and Leafy Strolls

When it comes to the Republic of Ireland's capital city, Stoneybatter, Howth, and Portobello showcase the best of the best.

NurPhoto/Contributor/NurPhoto/Getty Images
NurPhoto/Contributor/NurPhoto/Getty Images
NurPhoto/Contributor/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Dublin might be a small city, but the broader metropolitan county-which sprawls across the Republic of Ireland’s northeastern shoreline and butts up against Counties Wicklow, Meath, and Kildare-is much bigger than the sum of many parts. Home to some 1.4 million people, the Republic of Ireland capital is stacked with a profusion of picturesque villages and smart urban enclaves that seamlessly merge buzzy dynamism with friendly approachability.

Take achingly cool Stoneybatter (Bóthar na gCloch in Irish), where buzzy new cafes, bars, and yoga studios rub elbows with generations of locals and the mainstays that have been serving them for years. Named one of the world’s top 50 coolest neighborhoods by Time Out in 2022, it’s a must visit. Howth, or Binn Éadair, on the other hand, is a vibrant coastal town peppered with seafood outposts hawking the daily hauls from the fishermen thronging the port, alongside some of the area’s best hiking and swimming opportunities. And back in the city center, Portobello (Cuan Aoibhinn) is a cultural melting pot studded with pubs of every persuasion as well as the unparalleled Jewish Museum of Ireland. It’s jokingly referred to as “Hipsteria Lane” by Dubliners thanks to the creative, cutting-edge spirit that permeates the district.

Derick P. Hudson/Shutterstock
Derick P. Hudson/Shutterstock
Derick P. Hudson/Shutterstock

Best things to do in Stoneybatter/Bóthar na gCloch

North of Dublin proper, “the Batter” as it’s known locally follows a tale as old as time. You know how it goes-a downtown-adjacent district gradually gentrifies over a number of years, a university brings a slew of 20-somethings to the area, hyper-cool restaurants and coffeeshops set up shop, and housing prices hit the roof. But what makes this particular hipster hub unique are the generations of local holdouts harmoniously living alongside the newcomers, joining forces to keep the area bursting with edgy personality. Situated half way between the city center and the Phoenix Park (Europe’s largest and home to Dublin Zoo), Stoneybatter also lays claim to the oldest place name in Dublin and remains one of the city’s earliest villages, dating back thousands of years.

The epicenter of the neighborhood is Manor Street, a wide thoroughfare lined with an eclectic mix of cafes and farm-to-table eateries, family homes, grocers, butchers, and bars. The smaller side streets are mostly residential, boasting cottages that date back hundreds of years and colorful hand-painted street art commissioned by the local government. Grangegorman University campus’s recent relocation to the area has only added to the appeal.
 Food wise, local pub L. Mulligan Grocer serves a vast range of craft beer and Irish produce prepared with a creative twist. Try the black pudding arancini or Connemara moules-frites. Next door, The Glimmer Man offers overstuffed banh mí courtesy street food vendor Vietnom, while across the road, it’s nearly impossible to get a reservation at Roberto Mungo’s Italian standout, Grano-but you should definitely try your luck all the same. The acclaimed chef’s wine bar, A Fianco, might be a safer bet and is the perfect pit stop for savory maritozzi and a glass of natural vino.

Irish people are somewhat brunch obsessed these days, so follow the crowds to Slice for a sausage scramble or Social Fabric Café for pancakes, cheese toasties, and Buffalo chicken hash. For a more zen-like experience between bites, hit the Elbowroom for ceremonial cacao or a yoga class, and on the weekends, wander the stalls at Penders Market for all things weird and wonderful.

Photo courtesy Cahir Davitt/Davitt Photography
Photo courtesy Cahir Davitt/Davitt Photography
Photo courtesy Cahir Davitt/Davitt Photography

Best things to do in Howth/Binn Éadair

Out on the east coast, Howth is a lively fishing village perched on the Howth Peninsula, about a 25-minute train ride from the city. It’s a fantastic day trip destination, complete with lots of outdoorsy fun (plus a few reasons to slip indoors, too).

For walkers and hikers, Howth Cliff Walk is a must do, complete with five different trails to choose from. It can take up to four hours to finish, but if you stick it out, you’ll be rewarded with some spectacular scenery along the way to stunning hilltop views as far as the eye can see. Looking to cool off? Consider a dip in Balscadden Bay. It’ll assuredly be a short, sharp shock to the senses, but sea swimming is big business in these parts no matter the weather, so you won’t be alone. And if all that action seems a little too vigorous for your taste, head to Howth Castle for a wander or, if you time it right, a last minute cooking class.

Howth Market
Howth Market
Howth Market

When hunger hits, Howth has plenty to offer. It’s a fishing port, so the menus here lean heavily on ocean-fresh seafood. For a casual meal, fish and chips from a local chipper is an Irish seaside tradition, generally enjoyed on a bench by the water while enjoying the salt air. That said, beware of ravenous seagulls with zero manners-they’ve been known to dive down and snatch food from unsuspecting diners. If that’s enough to scare you inside, Margadh on the seafront serves up highly rated modern Irish cuisine while King Sitric stocks a vast inventory of traditional seafood specialties.

After you’ve had your fill, hop a ferry to Ireland’s Eye, a tiny island nature reserve where you can gaze at the local seal colony while gannets swoop overhead and take advantage of first-rate selfie spots as you traverse the waters. Back on dry land, grab a gelato (or a deep fried Hungarian lángos) from Howth Market before catching the train back to Dublin.

Lukas Fendek/Shutterstock
Lukas Fendek/Shutterstock
Lukas Fendek/Shutterstock

Best things to do in Portobello/Cuan Aoibhinn

Just a 10-minute walk from the heart of Dublin, affluent Portobello’s long and rich history more than makes up for its diminutive size. Sandwiched between downtown streets and the leafy Grand Canal, its Georgian buildings have housed countless painters, writers (including George Bernard Shaw), sculptors, and politicians over the years. The area is also known as Little Jerusalem due to the large Jewish population in the area-in fact, Leopold Bloom of James Joyce’s Ulysses fame was born in Portobello, a tidbit which only bolsters the area’s artsy appeal.

Start your day with a visit to the Irish Jewish Museum to check out an impressive collection of artifacts tracing the history of Ireland’s Jewish population, including original documents and other relics unseen elsewhere in the country. Cultural immersion completed, pick up a coffee at the Bretzel Bakery, a Portobello fixture since 1870, before taking a stroll along the beloved Grand Canal. If the weather allows, embark on a canoe or pedal boat trip with local outfit Portobello Adventure and get up close and personal with the swans gracefully cruising the calm waters.

Locks 1 Windsor Terrace
Locks 1 Windsor Terrace
Locks 1 Windsor Terrace

Next up, nearby Richmond Street is perfect for antiquing before sitting down for a laid-back brunch at Alma, known for its delectable dulce de leche pancakes among other treats. For a more formal affair, soak up the amazing canal views at Lock’s Restaurant. (Lock’s is also where most of Dublin’s off-duty chefs spend their Sunday’s, so you know it must be good.) After lunch, swing by the Copper House Gallery for pop-up art exhibitions before polishing off your afternoon with an al fresco glass of wine from Brindle Coffee and Wine or Lennox Street Grocer. Whatever course you choose, leave some room for a Persian kebab from Passion 4 Food on Camden Street. At the very least, get one for takeaway and thank us later.Want more Thrillist? Follow us on InstagramTikTokTwitterFacebookPinterest, and YouTube.

Ciara McQuillan is a contributor for Thrillist.

Travel

Ditch your Phone for ‘Dome Life’ in this Pastoral Paradise Outside Port Macquarie 

A responsible, sustainable travel choice for escaping big city life for a few days.

nature domes port macquarie
Photo: Nature Domes

The urge to get as far away as possible from the incessant noise and pressures of ‘big city life’ has witnessed increasingly more of us turn to off-grid adventures for our holidays: Booking.com polled travellers at the start of 2023 and 55% of us wanted to spend our holidays ‘off-grid’.  Achieving total disconnection from the unyielding demands of our digitised lives via some kind of off-grid nature time—soft or adventurous—is positioned not only as a holiday but, indeed, a necessity for our mental health. 

Tom’s Creek Nature Domes, an accommodation collection of geodesic domes dotted across a lush rural property in Greater Port Macquarie (a few hours’ drive from Sydney, NSW), offers a travel experience that is truly ‘off-grid’. In the figurative ‘wellness travel’ sense of the word, and literally, they run on their own independent power supply—bolstered by solar—and rely not on the town grid. 

Ten minutes before you arrive at the gates for a stay at Tom’s Creek Nature Domes, your phone goes into ‘SOS ONLY’. Apple Maps gives up, and you’re pushed out of your comfort zone, driving down unsealed roads in the dark, dodging dozens of dozing cows. Then, you must ditch your car altogether and hoist yourself into an open-air, all-terrain 4WD with gargantuan wheels. It’s great fun being driven through muddy gullies in this buggy; you feel like Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park.  As your buggy pulls in front of your personal Nature Dome, it’s not far off that “Welcome…to Jurassic Park” jaw-dropping moment—your futuristic-looking home is completely engulfed by thriving native bushland; beyond the outdoor campfire lie expansive hills and valleys of green farmland, dotted with sheep and trees. You’re almost waiting to see a roaming brachiosaurus glide past, munching on a towering gum tree…instead, a few inquisitive llamas trot past your Dome to check out their new visitor. 

To fully capture the awe of inhabiting a geodesic dome for a few days, a little history of these futuristic-looking spherical structures helps. Consisting of interlocking triangular skeletal struts supported by (often transparent) light walls, geodesic domes were developed in the 20th century by American engineer and architect R. Buckminster Fuller, and were used for arenas. Smaller incarnations have evolved into a ‘future-proof’ form of modern housing: domes are able to withstand harsh elements due to the stability provided by the durable materials of their construction and their large surface area to volume ratio (which helps minimize wind impact and prevents the structure from collapsing). As housing, they’re also hugely energy efficient – their curved shape helps to conserve heat and reduce energy costs, making them less susceptible to temperature changes outside. The ample light let in by their panels further reduces the need for artificial power. 

Due to their low environmental impact, they’re an ideal sustainable travel choice. Of course, Tom’s Creek Nature Domes’ owner-operators, Cardia and Lee Forsyth, know all this, which is why they have set up their one-of-a-kind Nature Domes experience for the modern traveller. It’s also no surprise to learn that owner Lee is an electrical engineer—experienced in renewable energy—and that he designed the whole set-up. As well as the off-grid power supply, rainwater tanks are used, and the outdoor hot tub is heated by a wood fire—your campfire heats up your tub water via a large metal coil. Like most places in regional Australia, the nights get cold – but rather than blast a heater, the Domes provide you with hot water bottles, warm blankets, lush robes and heavy curtains to ward off the chill.

nature domes port macquarie
Photo: Nature Domes

You’ll need to be self-sufficient during your stay at the Domes, bringing your own food. Support local businesses and stock up in the town of Wauchope on your drive-in (and grab some pastries and coffee at Baked Culture while you’re at it). There’s a stovetop, fridge (stocked as per a mini bar), BBQs, lanterns and mozzie coils, and you can even order DIY S’More packs for fireside fun. The interiors of the Domes have a cosy, stylish fit-out, with a modern bathroom (and a proper flushing toilet—none of that drop bush toilet stuff). As there’s no mobile reception, pack a good book or make the most of treasures that lie waiting to be discovered at every turn: a bed chest full of board games, a cupboard crammed with retro DVDs, a stargazing telescope (the skies are ablaze come night time). Many of these activities are ideal for couples, but there’s plenty on offer for solo travellers, such as yoga mats, locally-made face masks and bath bombs for hot tub soaks. 

It’s these thoughtful human touches that reinforce the benefit of making a responsible travel choice by booking local and giving your money to a tourism operator in the Greater Port Macquarie Region, such as Tom’s Creek Nature Domes. The owners are still working on the property following the setbacks of COVID-19, and flooding in the region —a new series of Domes designed with families and groups in mind is under construction, along with an open-air, barn-style dining hall and garden stage. Once ready, the venue will be ideal for wedding celebrations, with wedding parties able to book out the property. They’ve already got one couple—who honeymooned at the Domes—ready and waiting. Just need to train up the llamas for ring-bearer duties! 

An abundance of favourite moments come to mind from my two-night stay at Tom’s Creek: sipping champagne and gourmet picnicking at the top of a hill on a giant swing under a tree, with a bird’s eye view of the entire property (the ‘Mountain Top picnic’ is a must-do activity add on during your stay), lying on a deckchair at night wrapped in a blanket gazing up at starry constellations and eating hot melted marshmallows, to revelling in the joys of travellers before me, scrawled on notes in a jar of wishes left by the telescope (you’re encouraged to write your own to add to the jar). But I’ll leave you with a gratitude journal entry I made while staying there. I will preface this by saying that I don’t actually keep a gratitude journal, but Tom’s Creek Nature Domes is just the kind of place that makes you want to start one. And so, waking up on my second morning at Tom’s —lacking any 4G bars to facilitate my bad habit of a morning Instagram scroll—I finally opened up a notebook and made my first journal entry:

‘I am grateful to wake up after a deep sleep and breathe in the biggest breaths of this clean air, purified by nature and scented with eucalyptus and rain. I am grateful for this steaming hot coffee brewed on a fire. I feel accomplished at having made myself. I am grateful for the skittish sheep that made me laugh as I enjoyed a long nature walk at dawn and the animated billy goats and friendly llamas overlooking my shoulder as I write this: agreeable company for any solo traveller. I’m grateful for total peace, absolute stillness.” 

Off-grid holiday status: unlocked.

Where: Tom’s Creek Nature Domes, Port Macquarie, 2001 Toms Creek Rd
Price: $450 per night, book at the Natura Domes website.

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