Bray punches above its weight for a town of 32,000 people. The headland walk to Greystones is the obvious draw, and rightly so — it is one of the best coastal walks in the Dublin area, with sea cliffs dropping sharply and views that stretch back to the city on a clear day. The Victorian promenade gives the town a pleasantly old-fashioned seaside feel, with all the arcades and chip shops you could want.
Beyond the seafront, there is more to explore than most visitors realise. Killruddery House has the oldest formal gardens in Ireland, and Ardmore Studios has been making films and attracting Hollywood productions for over sixty years. The town has a small but worthwhile medieval ruin tucked near the base of the head. You can do the obvious things — walk, eat chips, take the DART home — and be perfectly satisfied, or you can stay longer and find there is quite a bit more here.
The cliff walk is the single best reason to come, but the combination of accessible coast, film history, and a genuine town rather than a tourist set makes Bray worth more than a quick day trip.