Hike along this running stream through Ireland’s pleasant green countryside and stop for cruises, watersports and meals on barges.
The Grand Canal is a scenic trail of water through woodland and grassy meadows away from Dublin’s bustling city center. It features an ideal trail for bird watching and discovering aquatic life in the canal. Take your family for a picnic on a warm summer day and enjoy the serenity of the lush Irish countryside.
Find out about the ecosystems and trails along the canal at the Waterways Ireland Visitors Centre in the heart of Dublin. Embark on the 5-day hike from Adamstown to Shannon Harbour. It spans 80 miles (130 kilometers) of glorious rural trails past farms, fields and bridges. Bike or hike on the 5.3-mile (8.5-kilometer) greenway between Inchicore and Lucan in the western outskirts of the city.
Bring binoculars to observe the range of birds that hover over the canal. Identify the variety of species, such as mallard, mute swans and kingfishers. As you move farther from the city, hear the distinguishing call of the moorhens.
Dine on one of the quaint barges and take a cruise along the canal. A little southwest from the canal’s terminus at the River Liffey is the Sunday market at Percy Place. On Thursdays, have lunch while enjoying live music at the Mespil Road market.
Go on a cycle tour with a local operator. Try sailing or other watersports from the complex in the Grand Canal Dockyard.
Hear about the 18th-century disaster when 150 drunken passengers overloaded a boat, making it capsize and killing 11 of them. Another tragic accident on the canal in the 1800s claimed six lives, when a horse-drawn carriage fell from a bridge.
Find the Grand Canal at the point that it enters the River Liffey just east of the city center. Get a train to the Grand Canal Dock and walk southwest along the pleasant banks of the canal. A little farther west along the waterway is Charlemont, a stop on the Green Line of the tram.
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