10 Best Photo Locations in Dublin’s Commuter Belt
You don’t have to stay in Dublin city centre to find incredible places to take photographs.
Beyond the busy streets, famous landmarks and tourist hotspots, Dublin’s commuter belt is packed with castles, beaches, harbours, forests, historic towns and spectacular countryside. Many of these locations can be reached easily from Dublin, making them ideal for a photography day trip.
Whether you’re using a smartphone, a DSLR or simply looking for somewhere beautiful to explore, here are some of the best photo locations in Dublin’s commuter belt.
1. Malahide Castle and Gardens
Malahide is one of the easiest places to escape Dublin for a photography-filled afternoon.
The medieval Malahide Castle is surrounded by extensive parkland and gardens, giving photographers plenty of variety. The castle itself makes an excellent architectural subject, while the surrounding trees, pathways and gardens provide opportunities for more natural compositions.
You can also combine a visit to the castle with photographs around Malahide Marina and Malahide Beach, giving you completely different images within the same trip. Visit Dublin highlights Malahide’s combination of its historic castle, gardens, marina and coastline. (Visit Dublin)
Photography tip: Don’t photograph the castle only from straight on. Try using trees, pathways or surrounding walls as foreground elements to create depth.
2. Skerries Harbour
For colourful coastal photography, Skerries is hard to beat.
The harbour is filled with fishing boats, piers and reflections, while the surrounding coastline provides rocky textures and wide sea views. Visit Dublin describes Skerries as a historic fishing port with a rugged coastline and seafront trails. (Visit Dublin)
The town is particularly photogenic around sunrise and sunset, when the changing light can completely transform the harbour.
Photography tip: Look for reflections in the water and use the harbour walls as leading lines towards the boats.
3. Maynooth and Carton House
Head west from Dublin and Maynooth offers a completely different photographic landscape.
Carton House sits within approximately 1,100 acres of parkland and is located only around 20–30 minutes from Dublin, making it a convenient option for a photography day trip. (Discover Ireland)
The combination of historic architecture, mature trees, open landscapes and waterways means there is plenty to photograph.
Photography tip: Early morning mist or soft evening light can give the estate a particularly atmospheric appearance.
4. The Japanese Gardens, Kildare
For something more colourful, head towards Kildare and the Japanese Gardens at the Irish National Stud.
The gardens were created between 1906 and 1910 and feature bridges, streams, paths and carefully designed planting. The result is an ideal location for smartphone photography, particularly if you enjoy detail shots and vibrant colours. (Discover Ireland)
The famous red bridge is an obvious subject, but don’t stop there. Photograph small details such as leaves, water, paths and reflections.
Photography tip: Use portrait mode to isolate individual plants, bridges or architectural details from the background.
5. Hill of Tara, County Meath
For landscape photography with a sense of history, few places around Dublin compare with the Hill of Tara.
Tara was an important site from prehistoric times and later became associated with the High Kings of Ireland. Today, the landscape is dominated by large grassy earthworks and expansive views across the surrounding countryside. (Heritage Ireland)
This is a great place to experiment with minimalist landscape photography, particularly when the sky is dramatic.
Photography tip: Include a person in the frame to give a sense of scale and make your landscape images more interesting.
6. Trim Castle
Trim is one of the best choices for photographers who love historic architecture.
Trim Castle is the largest Anglo-Norman fortification in Ireland, and its enormous stone keep, walls and riverside setting create countless compositions. Heritage Ireland specifically highlights views of the castle from across the River Boyne as well as sunset photography. (Heritage Ireland)
Walk around the town as well as photographing the castle itself. You’ll find bridges, old buildings, the river and plenty of opportunities to frame the castle from unusual angles.
Photography tip: Photograph Trim Castle from across the river to capture the entire structure and its surroundings in one image.
7. Hill of Slane
A short drive from the Hill of Tara, the Hill of Slane provides dramatic views over the Boyne Valley.
The ruins and historic buildings at the summit make interesting subjects, while the elevated position offers opportunities for wide landscape photographs. Heritage Ireland even features sunset photography from the Hill of Slane in its gallery. (Heritage Ireland)
It is an especially good location when the weather is changing and clouds are moving across the landscape.
Photography tip: Don’t automatically avoid cloudy days. Dramatic clouds can add much more atmosphere than a completely clear blue sky.
8. Powerscourt Estate, County Wicklow
Although technically outside Dublin, Powerscourt is close enough to make an excellent photography day trip from the capital.
The estate combines grand architecture, formal gardens, woodland, water features and mountain scenery, giving you an enormous variety of subjects in one location. Powerscourt is in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, and is around a short drive from Dublin. (Wikimedia Commons)
The gardens are particularly impressive when photographed symmetrically, while the surrounding Wicklow landscape works beautifully for wider compositions.
Photography tip: Look for symmetry. Centralising pathways, steps, ponds and garden features can create striking smartphone photographs.
9. Malahide Beach and Portmarnock
You don’t always need a landmark to create a great photograph.
The coastline between Malahide and Portmarnock offers wide beaches, sand patterns, dunes and open sea views. Malahide Beach is a roughly two-kilometre stretch of sand close to the village and DART station. (Trips)
This makes it a particularly good location for simple, uncluttered compositions.
Try photographing footprints disappearing into the distance, people walking along the shoreline or reflections in wet sand.
Photography tip: Turn your camera down as well as out. Wet sand can produce fantastic natural reflections.
10. The Boyne Valley
The wider Boyne Valley is another fantastic option for photographers willing to travel a little further from Dublin.
With historic monuments, rolling farmland, rivers, castles and ancient landscapes, the area provides a much broader range of subjects than you might expect from a day trip out of the capital.
Locations such as Trim, Tara and Slane can even be combined into a photography-focused road trip, giving you architecture, landscapes and heritage photography all in one day. Heritage Ireland lists Tara, Trim and Slane among the key heritage locations in the region. (Heritage Ireland)
What Makes Dublin’s Commuter Belt So Good for Photography?
One of the biggest advantages is variety.
Within a relatively short journey from Dublin, you can photograph a medieval castle in the morning, a colourful harbour at lunchtime and a dramatic Wicklow landscape at sunset.
It’s also a great reminder that photography isn’t necessarily about finding the most famous landmark. Some of the best photographs come from noticing small details, interesting light and unusual viewpoints.
A smartphone is more than enough to get started.
Try looking for leading lines, reflections, symmetry, textures, interesting shadows and negative space. The more you practise these techniques, the easier it becomes to find good photographs wherever you are.
Explore Ireland Through Photography
At PicTours, we believe photography is one of the best ways to explore a place.
Our smartphone photography tours encourage people to slow down, look at their surroundings differently and discover creative ways to photograph the places they’re visiting.
And while Dublin city centre has plenty of famous photography locations, the areas surrounding the capital offer just as much potential.
From Malahide Castle and Skerries Harbour to Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara and Powerscourt, Dublin’s commuter belt is full of places waiting to be photographed.
So the next time you’re looking for somewhere new to take photographs, don’t just head into the city.
Get out, explore and see where your camera takes you.
