Dublin Bay, with its great sweep of coast from the rocky brow of Howth in the north to the headland of Dalkey in the south, is a fitting introduction to one of Europe's finest capitals. The city is spread over the broad valley of the River Liffey, with the Wicklow Hills sheltering it on the south. In addition to its splendid public buildings, Dublin is particularly rich in domestic architecture of the 18th century. Fine Georgian mansions, many of them with historical association, lends elegance to the city's wide streets and spacious squares.

The Dublin Region consists of the City of Dublin and the area which was formerly known as County Dublin, and covers an area of 922 sq km and contains over a million inhabitants. In 1994 County Dublin (the area excluding the city) was sub-divided into three, each new area with county-level status and its own administration, namely: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown; Fingal; and South County Dublin; Administration of the Dublin Region as a whole is now co-ordinated by the Dublin Regional Authority.

Note: We have divided the city centre into North City and South City. We have also used the boundaries of the Grand and Royal Canals as the boundaries of the city centre.