The great harbour built by John Rennie between 1817 and 1860 with its two massive East and West piers - 1.3km and 1.5km long respectively - became the principal terminus for mail packet services from England and Wales. It is now the arrival point for car ferries from Britain, and a major yachting centre.
This busy port town was named Kingstown after George IV visited Ireland in 1821. The town enjoyed a further boost in 1834 when the Dublin-Kingston Railway opened and soon established a reputation as a fashionable residential area. The town's old name was restored in 1922.
A series of seven guided walks makes up the Dun Laoghaire Way, stretching from Blackrock through Dun Laoghaire to Dalkey, Killiney and Loughlinstown. There are also special interest trails including a literary walk and two archaeological trails.
Alongside the railway is a footpath known as 'The Metals' which runs as far as Dalkey on the route of a small funicular railway which carried stone from Dalkey quarry for the building of the harbour. From 1844 to 1854 the route was used by an Atmospheric railway which worked on a compressed air system.