Howth is a fishing village and rocky headland about 15 kilometres northeast of Dublin city centre, sitting at the northern arm of Dublin Bay. It is one of the easiest escapes from the capital — half an hour on the DART train drops you right at the harbour, and you can be walking a clifftop in the time it would take to cross town. The village grew up around its working harbour, and trawlers still land their catch here, which is why the seafood is as good as it is.
The cliff walk is the main reason to come. A loop around the headland takes you past heather-covered slopes and rocky outcrops, with the path hugging the edge above the Irish Sea. On a clear day you can see south across the bay to the Wicklow Mountains, and the Baily Lighthouse sits at the headland's southeastern tip. There are several waymarked routes of varying length, so you can tailor the walk to how much time and energy you have.
Back at the harbour, the waterfront is lined with fish-and-chip shops and seafood restaurants — Beshoff Bros and the Brass Monkey are both reliable. Buy a bag of chips and eat them on the pier while the resident seals loll about in the water below, hoping for scraps. Literary visitors will recognise Howth from the closing pages of Ulysses, where Molly Bloom remembers Leopold's proposal of marriage on the hill above the village.
Howth makes an easy half-day or full-day trip: walk the head, eat seafood at the harbour, and take the DART back into the city. It is unhurried, salty, and genuinely scenic — one of the best short outings Dublin has to offer.