Fodor's Expert Review Sandymount Strand

South of the docklands, a few blocks west of the Sydney Parade DART station, Sandymount Strand stretches for 5 km (3 miles) from Ringsend to Booterstown. It was cherished by James Joyce and his beloved Nora Barnacle from Galway, and it figures as one of the settings in Ulysses; it's also a popular spot with strolling Dubliners today. (The beach is "at the lacefringe of the tide," as Joyce put it). When the tide recedes, the beach extends for 1½ km (1 mile) from the foreshore, but the tide sweeps in again very quickly. A sliver of a park lies between Strand Road and the beach, the water of which is not suitable for swimming. At the end of the strand there's a wonderful walk out along the south harbor wall to the Poolbeg Lighthouse, which has eye-popping views of Dublin Bay.