Dalkey and Killiney Hill: the Irish Riviera
A castle in the village, the Vico Road, and the climb to the Bay of Naples view. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Dalkey village and the Castle
Start on Castle Street, where two medieval towers — Goat Castle and Archbold's Castle — sit in the middle of the village like nobody noticed. Dalkey was the medieval port of Dublin; these are the survivors. Coffee on the village's main street before you climb.

2. Sorrento Terrace and the Vico Road
Out past Sorrento Point to the Vico Road, a curving coast road named — only half in jest — for the Italian Riviera. Sorrento Terrace is the row of houses on the point; this is the wealthiest postcode in the country, and the view explains why.

3. The Vico bathing place
A set of stone steps and platforms down to the sea off the Vico Road, the local swimming spot for over a century. You don't have to go in — but on a warm day the regulars will, and the water is clearer here than anywhere closer to the city.

4. Killiney Hill Park gate
Climb up off the coast road into Killiney Hill Park (Victoria Park), the wooded common bought for the public in 1887. The path up is steady rather than steep. Take the upper route for the sea on your left the whole way.

5. The Obelisk and the summit view
The summit, crowned by an 18th-century obelisk built to give famine-relief work. From here the whole sweep of Killiney Bay curves south to Bray Head and the Sugar Loaf — the curve people call the Bay of Naples, with more conviction than accuracy. The best view in greater Dublin, and free.

6. Descent to Killiney Bay and the DART
Drop down the eastern side toward the beach and Killiney station. The DART runs right along the shoreline here — one of the great train rides in Ireland. Time it for the late-afternoon light coming off the bay as you wait on the platform.

Dalkey and Killiney Hill: the Irish Riviera