Things to do in Bray
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Bray
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The quiet, bracing low. Empty promenades, cheapest rooms, Mermaid programmes and pub fires.
The shoulders open. Gardens come into spring best and the Head walk is at its freshest.
Bray Jazz Festival month. The town at capacity on the May bank holiday weekend.
Summer seafront peak. Swimming, saunas, Killruddery events and peak prices, queues and car parks.
The connoisseur month. Warmest sea, falling crowds and prices, and golden light over Bray Bay.
Dark, local and good value. Autumn storms, the Mermaid and pubs carry the evenings.
What's on
- Bray Jazz Festival May bank holiday weekend, first weekend of May
Ireland leading smaller jazz festival, with headline acts at the Mermaid and gigs across pubs and the bandstand.
- Hell & Back Typically June, with a winter edition in February
Ireland toughest obstacle challenge, run over the Killruddery estate in Bray.
- St Patrick's Festival Bray 17 March weekend
The town parade and the first full seafront crowd of the year.
Best things to do in Bray
Bray Promenade
A mile of flat Victorian promenade between the harbour and Bray Head, the walk every Bray day starts with.
Bray Head
A short steep climb to a summit cross with views over Bray Bay, Killiney, the Sugar Loaf and sometimes Wales.
Marine Life Bray
The reopened seafront aquarium in the old Sea Life building, with sharks, rays, reptiles and a butterfly garden.
Killruddery House and Gardens
An 800 acre estate home since 1618, with Ireland oldest surviving 17th century gardens and a great house tour.
Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre
Wicklow arts centre with a 242 seat auditorium for theatre, film and music, and the headline stage of Bray Jazz Festival.
Bray Bowl Family Entertainment Centre
Bowling, laser tag and arcades by the DART station, a local leisure centre that owns rainy days and BYOB nights.
Bray Harbour
A small harbour at the north end of the promenade, known for its resident mute swans, boats and boardwalk calm.
The Strand Hotel, the former residence of Oscar Wilde
A Victorian seafront hotel in the former Wilde family residence, the centrepiece of Bray grand Strand Road terraces.
Where to stay in Bray
Strand Road and the Seafront
first trip, all round base
The beach, Bray Head and the best seafront restaurants on the doorstep, with the DART station a short walk behind.
Main Street and the Station Quarter
value and transport
Lower prices, the Mermaid and town cafes, and the fastest DART escape to Dublin or Greystones.
Enniskerry and Powerscourt
luxury, gardens and mountains
A pretty estate village base for Powerscourt and the Sally Gap drive, with the area one true luxury hotel.
Southern Cross and Dublin Road corridors
drivers on a budget
Modern rooms, parking and lower rates, but no promenade outside the door and a drive to almost everything.
Think twice about
- Far inland housing estates without a car
Ordinary residential Bray with no visitor infrastructure and few walkable evening food options. A taxi ride to everything.
- Enniskerry or Powerscourt without a car
Lovely at breakfast, marooned by dinner. No seafront, no DART, and a taxi for almost every trip.
- Central Strand Road front rooms on weekend nights
The Martello and nightclub axis is loud until the small hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Ask for a back or upper floor room.
Best restaurants in Bray
Butler & Barry
The seafront gastrobar flagship, with seafood, wood fired pizza and the broadest sea view of any Bray dining room.
Daata Bray
Bray best known Indian and Pakistani kitchen on the seafront, famous for its thali sharing grill and Afghani chicken.
Pink Salt Indian Restaurant
The highest rated mid range restaurant in Bray listings, the other half of the town strong Indian one two.
Dockyard No. 8
The harbour end brunch institution, a high volume cafe restaurant that anchors a harbour and promenade morning.
Campo de' Fiori
Bray long standing Italian flagship, a small serious restaurant for homemade pasta, risottos and occasion dinners.
Platform Pizza Bar
Hand rolled seafront pizzas since 2013, a family default with strong gluten free and vegan options.
Nine
A bright cafe restaurant behind the seafront doing brunch with care, praised for service as much as food.
Best bars in Bray
The Harbour Bar
Bray most famous pub, a warren of snugs and fires by the harbour with live music and a world travelled reputation.
Best coffee in Bray
Catalyst Coffee
The seafront speciality coffee stop, open from 7am, dog friendly, with sea views and a praised oat flat white.
Copper + Straw
Main Street speciality coffee with top rated flat whites, bakes and sandwiches in a dog friendly room.
Caffe Letterario GattaNera
A literary cat themed Italian cafe for coffee, finocchiona panini and a chapter of a book on Albert Walk.
Outdoor things to do in Bray
Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk
The famous 7 km cliff path, closed since 2021 rockfalls with reopening potentially years away. Check before travelling.
Bray Head Loop
The working alternative to the closed cliff walk, a rough loop over Bray Head with the coast opening both ways.
Bray Strand
The town shingle swimming shore along the promenade, cold in every month, with sheltered water by the harbour.
Bray Golf Club
A scenic USGA standard parkland course from 2003 between Bray Head and the Sugar Loaf, with Killiney Bay views.
Old Conna Golf Club
An Eddie Hackett mature parkland test through woodland, with fast sloping greens and views of Bray Head and the sea.
Squirrel's Scramble
A tree top adventure park in Killruddery woods, with six levels, over 50 challenges and more than 20 zip lines.
Powerscourt House & Gardens
Forty seven acres of world ranked formal gardens, a terrace vista to the Sugar Loaf and a Japanese Garden.
Powerscourt Waterfall
Ireland highest waterfall at 121 metres, in a wooded Dargle valley of picnic lawns, walks and a playground.
Best hotels in Bray
Powerscourt Hotel, Autograph Collection
A five star estate hotel in Enniskerry, not Bray, with an ESPA spa, crystal lit pool and Sugar Loaf views.
The Martello
The seafront social centre, a hotel above Bray busiest bar and live music room, directly across from the beach.
The Strand Hotel
A Victorian seafront hotel in the former Wilde residence, at the quiet harbour end of the promenade.
Wilton Hotel Bray
A modern corridor hotel with spa, restaurant and parking, a practical drivers base at inland prices.
Summerhill House Hotel
A well loved village hotel near Powerscourt gates, the highest rated stay at serious volume.
Firefly Bray
Design led self check in rooms on Main Street near the station, clean and good value with no hotel fuss.
Is Bray expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €320 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Marine Life Bray: a few days ahead
- Killruddery House and Gardens: a few days ahead
- Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Centre: weeks ahead
- Bray Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Old Conna Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Squirrel's Scramble: a few days ahead
- Powerscourt House & Gardens: a few days ahead
- Powerscourt Waterfall: a few days ahead
- For Jazz Festival weekend in early May, book rooms and Mermaid headline tickets together, weeks to months ahead.
- Book Butler and Barry and Daata on Fridays and Saturdays, and Campo de Fiori for any occasion night.
- Killruddery house tours and Squirrel Scramble slots book out in school holidays. Reserve both.
- Glendalough car parks fill by late morning on fine weekends. The Bray base early start is a tactic.
Is Bray safe?
- Never swim in the harbour or off the Strand after drinking at night. Swim at recognised spots, in company, in daylight.
- The closed cliff walk is closed because the cliffs are unstable. The fences are the safety information.
- Bray Head paths are steep, eroded and slippery after rain. Go properly shod and turn back in cloud and wind.
- The dark ends of the promenade are unlit in places and empty late. Enjoy them at dusk, leave them after midnight.
Bray travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Guides that still promise the cliff walk and Sea Life. The walk has been closed since 2021 and Sea Life closed in December 2023.
- Expecting a sandy beach. Bray beach is shingle, fine for swimming and walking and poor for sandcastles.
- Powerscourt Waterfall at Sunday lunchtime in summer expecting tranquillity. Go early, on a weekday, or after rain.
- One night Bray in winter. Winter needs two nights and a plan built on the Mermaid, Killruddery and pubs.
Getting around Bray: public transport and more
- The DART is the superpower. Bray Daly to Dublin centre takes about 40 to 50 minutes for a few euro, sitting on the seaward side.
- Walk the town. Harbour to Bray Head is the whole of Bray, and the cliff path to Greystones is closed.
- A Leap card discounts and caps DART and bus fares and is worth having for any stay over two days.
- Seafront and station parking fills early on sunny weekends. Arrive by DART if you possibly can.
Who Bray suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Bray your trip
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