There are few greater travelling pleasures than getting lost gazing out the window of a train as the countryside whizzes past. That feeling of relaxation that sinks in as your journey slips effortlessly by. In that moment, we promise ourselves to take the train more often.
Taking the car can take the fun out of a trip. What with the kids shouting for a toilet-break just after you've left. Or when your seat gets kicked as all hell breaks loose in the back and you find yourself with spillages to clean-up when you arrive.
It is in that moment, while stuck in traffic, monotonously shifting from first gear to second and back again, that we look out the window and remember our broken promises.
Removing the stresses from a journey is reason enough to book your next trip with Irish Rail. But in case you need more of a push, we’ve selected some top attractions from around the country for you to visit - all are accessible by train.
Belfast Titanic Museum
Opened to coincide with the centenary in 2012, the Titanic Experience in Belfast is a stunning, interactive exhibition space which resides on the very site where RMS Titanic was built back in 1912.
This storied and tragic ship is brought back to life through nine vivid gallery spaces, which look to recreate what life was like on board the world’s most ambitious and doomed voyage from the twentieth century.
This landmark blends history and modern modes of storytelling together to create one of the top tourist attractions around – this is a must visit.
Dublin National Gallery of Ireland
The trains run both ways, of course, and the newly refurbished and reopened National Gallery of Ireland is a great reason for a trip to Dublin.
After six years of painstaking restoration works, the historical wings of our National Gallery reopened to the public this June. The collections housed within are something to behold, and certainly worth the wait.
Whether it is the chance to catch touring exhibitions such as the Vermeer & the Masters of Genre Painting, or seeing the work of our own greats such as Louis le Brocquay, Jack B. Yeats and Margaret Clarke amongst the permanent collection, or the rotating portrait collection of Irish luminaries that’s on display, there are surprises around every corner and in every room.
Even the refurbished rooms themselves will take your breath away; it is a National Gallery we can be proud of once again.
Galway International Arts Festival
Running until the end of July, Galway Arts Festival transforms the Atlantic ocean city into a bustling, breeding-ground for arts and entertainment for a full fortnight of every summer.
This year marks the fortieth edition of the festival, so why not hop on the train and mark the occasion by catching the next big show out West.
To celebrate there will be performances of the Beach Boys iconic 1960’s Pet Sounds album by Brian Wilson and his band in the Big Top Tent, composer Donnacha Dennehy teams up with Enda Walsh for an opera called The Second Violinist, while the world premiere of Woyzeck in Winter will be a highlight, as it boasts an all-star cast of Patrick O’Kane, Camile O’Sullivan, Barry McGovern and Rory Nolan, amongst others.
Iarnród Éireann, also known as Irish Rail in English, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Research and book your trip online at www.irishrail.ie
