Athlone

The mighty Shannon flows majestically through the heart of Athlone, yet for years it seemed as if the town was happy to turn its back on one of Europe's great waterways. That trend has now been well and truly reversed and with it has come a real buzz of regeneration. The area around Athlone Castle has transformed into a veritable "Left Bank," and on both sides of the Shannon, new restaurants and stylishly modern architecture have sprung up along streets lined with 200-year-old buildings. Once upon a time, tourists were few and far between in what was cuttingly termed the "dead center" of Ireland—but the renaissance has made Athlone an increasingly attractive destination.