“You won’t find the magic of Ireland in Dublin.”
So says Anna Duke, Traitors star and avid TikToking tour guide from her home country of Ireland.
The 29-year-old did has posted several videos about Ireland’s hidden gems and here reveals even more, kicking off with the reasons why tourists should miss the capital if they want to experience the Emerald Isle at its most magical.
She says: ‘Dublin is a really cool city – I even lived there for a decade – but it’s where the most overrated place in Ireland is: Temple Bar.
‘I think, aesthetically, it looks like old Ireland – you get traditional music and there’s a really good atmosphere. But it’s not really authentic and, oh my god, the pints there are so expensive!
“It’s where every tourist wants to go and I get it – I also want to go to touristy things when I’m on holiday – but I can guarantee you, there’s not one Irishman drinking there.”
Instead, Anna recommends renting a car (‘one of the obstacles of Ireland is that we don’t have public transport’) and heading to the west of the country, where ‘the magic of Ireland lies’.
‘We have some of the most amazing scenery in the world, and some really ancient history,’ she adds. ‘But almost everything can be found along the west coast.
Anna Duke, Irish star of BBC’s The Traitors, has revealed her top tips for exploring her country. Here she is pictured in Sligo – her favorite part of Ireland
‘You won’t find the magic of Ireland in Dublin,’ declares Anna, who notes that the city’s Temple Bar area (above) is the most overrated place in the country.
Pictured: Anna on the west coast in Sligo, which she says has ‘some of the most stunning scenery in the world, and some really ancient history’
Anna in a promo picture for this year’s series of Die Verraaiers
‘It has the best sunsets, the best cliffs, the best sea. I’m just so proud of it.’
Anna’s favorite part of Ireland is Sligo – a three-hour drive from her home town of Wicklow, which is just south of Dublin on the east coast.
She adds: ‘I always say when I’m in Sligo I feel like I never worry about anything. I might be going through the most stressful thing in my life, at home, and then I go to Sligo and it doesn’t exist.
‘I love it because it’s absolutely stunning and it feels so old Ireland there. When you walk into a bar, everyone will turn around and say, “Who are you?” And they will all want to chat with you.
‘When you’re driving around it feels like you just have to turn on the Riverdance soundtrack because you’re driving through the most magical place in the world, with all these stone walls, and just magical places.
“There’s also a lot to do in Sligo because it’s on the sea, so you’ve got all the sea sports, like rowing, kayaking and canoeing, and then you just get sunsets that are absolutely out of this world.”
“I might be going through the most stressful thing in my life, at home, and then I go to Sligo (pictured) and it doesn’t exist,” says Anna
Anna is originally from Wicklow, just south of Dublin on the east coast. The area has waterfalls (left) and forests sprinkled with fairy doors (right)
In the photo: Anna’s partner standing outside a sweater shop in Sligo
If you head further south down the coast towards County Clare, Anna says you’ll find Ireland’s most beautiful natural scenery – including the Cliffs of Moher, where a scene from Harry Potter was filmed.
She says: ‘They are these absolutely magnificent cliffs, and they make you feel so small. It feels like you’re on the absolute edge of the world when you stand on them.’
Anna also mentions The Burren, which can also be found in County Clare.
‘It’s this weird area in Ireland that has its own flower, and it’s got all this limestone, and it’s got some old cemeteries too,’ she reveals. ‘I just love the pagan history of Ireland. So that’s very, very cool.’
Although Anna loves the west of Ireland, she believes the most underrated place in the country is a Unesco World Heritage Site in the east.
“I’m obsessed with Newgrange,” she says. ‘I think it must be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It’s known in Ireland, but it should be known worldwide!’
Anna says you’ll find Ireland’s most beautiful scenery in County Clare – including the ‘magnificent’ Cliffs of Moher (pictured). She says: ‘They make you feel so small. It feels like you’re on the absolute edge of the world when you stand on them’
Anna believes Newgrange (pictured), a Unesco World Heritage site in the east, ‘should be one of the Seven Wonders of the World’
LEFT: Newgrange is an ancient temple surrounded by stones built during the Neolithic Age, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. RIGHT: Anna believes the best time to visit this monument is on the winter or summer solstice, as the sun is setting. She explains: ‘It’s so amazing. There’s this little door you can walk into the monument through, and the light from the sun bounces off every wall and lights up the full room.
Anna loves The Burren, in County Clare (pictured). “It’s this weird area in Ireland that has its own flower, and it’s got all this limestone, and it’s got some old cemeteries, too,” she reveals.
Located in County Meath, overlooking the River Boyne, Newgrange is an ancient temple built during the Neolithic period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.
Anna believes the best time to visit this monument is on the winter or summer solstice, as the sun is setting.
She explains: ‘It’s so amazing. There’s this little door you can walk into the monument through, and the light from the sun bounces off every wall and lights up the full room.
‘It also has these 12 stones around it and every month the sun changes to shine on a different stone, so it’s one of the oldest calendars in the world.
‘This is ancient, ancient, pre-pyramid Ireland, so the maps they would have to do to figure out where exactly to put each stone to detect a ray of sunlight… I don’t know how they did it not. We were smart!’
Another place Anna recommends as a ‘really good place’ to visit is Dingle, in the north of Ireland, partly because it ‘always feels really Christmassy’.
Anna recommends going to Dingle (pictured), in the north of Ireland, partly because it ‘always feels really Christmassy’
Dingle’s coast is an attraction (pictured). “I think people just go a bit crazy with the salt, but in the best way, where they’re just the best craic,” she says
She continues: ‘There are lots of little bars and restaurants that you can wander out of, but again, somehow it’s an area that’s still untouched. For example, one of the bars is heated by an Aga (an old oven) which sits in the middle of the room.
‘It’s also a surfing town, which is really cool. Anywhere that’s by the sea, I think people just go a little crazy with the salt, but in the best way, where they’re just the best craic, and they’re just always ready for anything.’
While Ireland is notoriously expensive – especially Dublin – Anna says you don’t have to spend a penny to see the country’s ‘rich history’, thanks to free walking tours, ‘really cool churches’, as well as free museum entry.
And when it comes to accommodation, Anna recommends staying in an Airbnb, which “has some really good options in Ireland,” or going to Groupon to get a deal on a hotel stay.
She adds: ‘Hotels in Ireland can be a bit expensive so this is a cheaper way to go.’
