This Martello tower at Sandycove, built by the British in 1804 to guard against Napoleonic invasion, is immortalised as the opening setting of Ulysses — "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead." Joyce stayed here for six days in September 1904, as the guest of Oliver St. John Gogarty, and the experience fed directly into the novel's first episode.
The museum inside houses Joyce's guitar, cigar case, waistcoat, and a number of rare first editions and letters. The rooftop platform, where Mulligan shaves in the novel's famous opening scene, offers sweeping views over Dublin Bay and is well worth the climb. The tower is about 12 km south of the city centre — take the DART to Sandycove & Glasthule station.