Malahide Castle & Gardens was such a sweet little escape and a lovely way to spend an afternoon in Ireland with my mom. A friend of mine kindly sent a list of top things to do in the Dublin area and along with the Howth Cliffs, Malahide Castle & Gardens topped the list. Which after spending an afternoon around the grounds and garden, I definitely see why. The castle and its beautiful gardens surrounding it are rich with so much history, beauty, and charm.

Built in the late 12th Century Malahide Castle is one of the oldest castles in Ireland and was home to the Talbot family for 800 years. I tried wrapping my mind around the thought of my family and over 10 generations living in the same home, (in this case a castle) crazy, right?!

We arrived shortly after lunch time and all of the tours were booked, but we were able to grab a pamphlet with information on the castle and take a personal tour. To be honest, I preferred walking the grounds at my own leisure and taking it all in without being rushed. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Ireland and Malahide Castle looked so grand sitting on the 100 acres of land with all of the flowers and trees blooming around it.

Although there were many of tourist walking the grounds and taking tours, there was also a handful of locals taking their dogs on walks, strolling along with friends, and just enjoying the nice weather. It seemed like the perfect spot to meet a friend and enjoy the beauty of the gardens and castle.

Malahide Castle is also home to an amazing botanical garden on the property that guest are able to visit for $13/person or $7/student in addition to a guided tour of the castle. I highly recommend taking the time to explore the gardens, which are home to over 100+ plant species and a couple of Indian Peafowls roaming the area (I had a photo opt with one that you can see below).

Avoca Malahide

After exploring the grounds we had worked up quite an appetite and decided to have lunch at Avoca Malahide. It's conveniently located next to the botanical gardens and the outside patio looks over a small part of the garden. Perfect spot to enjoy the weather and grab a bite to eat. The food was "cafeteria style", but with a fancy twist. We enjoyed a salmon and crab cake salad, but if I wasn't saving room for an Irish dinner later in the day, I would have definitely tried one of their desserts.

You could definitely spend a full day exploring the gardens and castle, but we were able to see everything and more in 4 hours, which I thought was perfect. With it only being 25 minutes outside of Dublin, Malahide Castle is a perfect place to spend a sunny afternoon!

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