If the regular polls of departing travellers are to be believed, it's Ireland's timeless traditional side that continues to hold the key to the country's draw as a tourist destination. At the heart of it all is the often breath­taking scenery, still gorgeous enough to make your jaw drop despite the best efforts of developers to scar some of the most beautiful bits with round­abouts, brutal suburbs and summer bungalows. From the lonely, wind-lashed wilderness of the Beara Peninsula to the awe-inspiring landscapes of County Derry, Ireland is one of the world's most beautiful countries, and worth every effort you make to explore it. The sometimes overwhelming popularity of the scenic superstars like Connemara and Killarney National Park has seen the emergence of quieter idylls as the preferred destination of the discerning traveller, who has discovered the beauty of the lakes of County Roscommon, the villages of County Waterford and the rarely visited County Westmeath. Here you can come into contact with a more genuine Ireland, the kind removed from the slick machinery of the tourist trail. Of course, this does not mean you should miss Dublin: the pulsating capital has a soul and sociability unrivalled by any other European city.