The Midlands Travel Guide

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Photo: Marco Regalia/Shutterstock

Irish schoolchildren were once taught to think of their country as a saucer, with mountains edging the rim and a dip in the middle. The dip is the Midlands—or the Lakelands, as it's sometimes called—and this often-overlooked region comprises nine counties: Cavan, Laois (pronounced leash), Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Roscommon, Monaghan, Leitrim, and Tipperary.

Hotels

The Midlands Hotels

The Irish bed-and-breakfast offers great value in the Midlands—farmhouses and homes geared to paying guests provide direct contact with local families...read more

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Restaurants

The Midlands Restaurants

The Midlands town of Birr may be known as the "bellybutton of Ireland" because of its central location, not because this region is regarded as one of the...read more

Fodor's Choice

Things To Do

Things To Do in The Midlands

Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.

Travel Deals in The Midlands

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Hotels

The Midlands Experiences

  • Top Reasons to Go to the Midlands

    Stately Clonmacnoise: Atmospheric and still spirit-warm, this great early Christian monastery survived Viking, Norman, and English invaders over... Read more

  • Cruising on the Shannon

    Whether you opt for a one-hour or one-week journey—and choose between a guided boat tour or private boat hire—cruising on the River... Read more

  • Walk the Slieve Bloom Mountains

    Crystal clear freshwater streams, gushing waterfalls, lush forests, and no fewer than 27 glens are all part of the Slieve Bloom Mountain experience... Read more

  • Goldsmith Country

    All that glitters may not be Goldsmith, but that hasn't prevented the Irish tourist board from promoting the Northern Lakelands to the burgeoning... Read more

  • The Boglands

    Like the Eskimos with their 100 different words for snow, the natives of the Midlands retain a historic attachment to their vast boglands and... Read more

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