Sligo is linked in the minds of many first and foremost with one of Ireland's most famous sons, W B Yeats. Yeats, winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature is one of the most important and most popular Irish poets ever to break onto the international stage.
The rugged beauty and untamed landscape of Sligo is a recurring theme of his work and it was his love for the county that led him to instruct he be buried there. The Yeats Summer School provides tours of the parts of Sligo that feature in Yeats' poetry.
Today, the beauty that inspired Yeats is still there to inspire a whole new generation of visitors. Despite its small size Sligo has a wide variety of scenery from the Atlantic battered coastline to the Ox Mountains towering over the county in the west. Along the coast the seaside resort of Rosses Point is highly recommended and there's plenty for the visitor to do. Golf, angling, cruises and hill walking are all popular elements of any holiday in the area.
Sligo Town itself is an important administrative centre to the county. Dating from the 13th century the town is now lively seaside town with good restaurants and pubs to cater to every taste. The narrow sloping streets of the town provide it with a character and charm not to be found in the big cities of the east and provide a gentle, cosy atmosphere unique to the northwest.
Sligo also has some of the more unusual attractions to offer. The Kilcullen Seaweed Baths at Enniscrone have been used since 1912. The visitor is immersed in an enormous bath, luxuriating in expensive bath oils and while relaxing will experience weightlessness. To create this unique experience silky oils extracted from seaweed are added to seawater, pumped in from unpolluted waters of the Atlantic. Good for many ailments the baths are increasingly popular in a more health conscious Ireland.
With one of the highest concentrations of megalithic monuments in the country Sligo also offers plenty to entice the most historically minded visitor. Sligo is as inspiring today as it was all those decades ago when Yeats made it his adopted home. A vibrant coastal community surrounded by some marvellous scenery is attractive by itself but with the heritage and culture Sligo boasts it makes a visit to Sligo a truly magical experience.