Dorp · Co. Donegal
Ardara is a small south-west Donegal town on the N56, named by The Irish Times in 2012 as the best village in which to live in Ireland. It serves as a practical base for the Bluestack Mountains and the west coast.
Ardara, County Donegal — photo by kevers50
Ardara sits on the N56 and R261, roughly twenty-five kilometres north-west of Donegal town. The 2022 census counted 785 people living there, up from 731 in 2011. That jump represents about a thirty per cent increase since 2006, which is significant for a place this size. In 2012, The Irish Times named it the best village in which to live in Ireland. The label has stuck. It is an easy town to read. Shops, fuel, the pub, and the school all fall within a ten-minute walk of the centre.
The Bluestack Mountains rise directly behind the town. This range is the other reason Ardara exists. Day walks into the peaks are short enough to complete in one go, yet wild enough to justify the drive. The west coast offers the other half of the day. Bays, headlands, and small settlements dot the shoreline. Because the N56 runs straight through the middle, Ardara is on the way rather than out of the way. That distinction changes a stop into a base.
The census figures and the 2012 title point to the same fact: residents move here and remain. The town is quiet enough to rest but large enough for daily needs. The landscape around it, with the Bluestacks to the east and the coast to the west, requires little alteration. It stands as the practical choice for anyone touring south-west Donegal.
Allow a full day. Spend the morning in the town. Take a Bluestack walk or drive the coast in the afternoon. Pair Ardara with Inver to the north for a complete touring day.
Waar logeren
Stay in the town and the Bluestacks and the coast are both inside the day.
Bekijk de actuele beschikbaarheid voor je data. Beschikbaarheid en prijzen komen van de aanbieder, niet van ons.
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