We spent an amazing day in Sandymount on Saturday! It’s a little neighborhood/village of Dublin that is right on the coast and has beautiful view of Dublin Bay. I don’t think I really realized that Dublin is so close to the sea, but in fact you can get to various villages on the water, which are considered “suburbs” of Dublin, within about 10 minutes drive from the city (we walked, so it was about 30 minutes). You feel like you’re in a whole different world!

Sandymount Green is a cute little green grass park right in the middle of the village. There’s not a playground there or anything, but kids were riding bikes and trikes and kicking soccer balls. Surrounding the green were various restaurants, cafes, pubs, and shops. Even a grocery store, a butcher, a baker, a flower shop, hair salon, etc. It seemed like everything you could need could be found within these few blocks.

We saw a cute looking place for brunch called Browne’s, and went in. Lots of families out for Saturday brunch, so we felt right at home. We ate some delicious food and then decided to head down to the water to walk along the beach. Isaac really wanted to find some beach toys, so we stopped in a few stores in the town to ask if they had a bucket and shovel, but they said they only carried them in summer.

One of the stores we stopped in on our beach toy search was a lovely little bookstore called Books on the Green, and I would totally go back there. They had a regular adult section, but also a huge kids section and also a ton of toys/puzzles/art supplies — lots of good quality stuff like Melissa and Doug. We also popped in a cute boutique called Mira Mira, which had cutesy/chic gifts and kid stuff too. 

A few minutes walk from Sandymount village/green is the water. We walked over to the beach and walked along Sandymount Strand, which is a big sandy stretch that goes for miles. James Joyce references this beach twice in his novel Ulysses, so it’s said to be the most famous beach in Irish fiction. The tide goes really far out, too, so you can walk far out among tide pools and sand bars. People walk their dogs along, jog, or fly kites. We just plopped down in one place and Isaac dug in the sand for awhile (even without a bucket and shovel…just used his hands), collected shells, and threw rocks in the water. It was a blast! Definitely going back there another day.