3D Design Bureau

Forget about getting your Valentines cheap chocolates and near-stale flowers. That won’t make a lasting impression. What will, however, is showing you love them by planning a road trip to some of Ireland’s most beautiful and romantic buildings.

That’s going to take some time to find the top locations, right? Don’t worry, 3D Design Bureau has got you covered.

Titanic Building – Belfast, Northern Ireland

Could we really have a top 5 list of romantic buildings without mentioning Belfast’s link to one of history’s greatest love stories?

Moving aside the story of Jack and Rose and the birth of the world’s most famous ship, “Titanic Belfast” was unveiled in March 2012 just in time for the centenary.

The striking building was translated into detailed plans and implemented by Harcourt Developments and designed by CivicArts with Todd Architects.

The massive 14,000 sq.m.(150,700 sq.ft.) structure accommodates nine galleries of interactive exhibition space, including a dark ride, underwater exploration theatre and recreations of the ship’s cabins.

The National University of Ireland – Galway

Forget about tinder – you’re more likely to find your lasting love in University. A Facebook Data Sciences study released last week found that about 28% of married graduates attended the same college as their spouse… and that’s enough for us to place the historic National College of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) on our list.

The College opened its doors to its first intake of 68 students in October 1849. At the time, the College comprised three faculties, Arts (including Literary and Science divisions), Law and Medicine, as well as a School of Engineering & Agriculture.

Flash forward to today, NUIG has over 100,000 alumni and is among the top 1% of Universities in the world.

Carton House – Maynooth, Ireland

We’re going to put aside the eight centuries of history that surrounds the magnificent Carton House and discuss more about the daintiest, wee boathouse that is an iconic staple of the estate.

Sitting on the edge of the River Rye on the approach, the Boat House is thought to have been built for one of Queen Victoria’s visits to Carton House. The Fitzgeralds Family who owned the estate, were informed that the Queen had a dream that she was rowing on the lake at Carton House so it is said they built the Boat House and commissioned a special boat for her visit.

Adare Manor – Limerick, Ireland

Adare Manor Hotel is an early 19th century manor house set on 840 acres of estate in Limerick. The plans for the Manor House as it exists today were begun in 1832. It was built by the 2nd Earl of Dunraven and his wife, Lady Caroline Wyndham

The estate that surrounds the Manor House consists of sweeping parklands, cultivated gardens, formal French gardens, magnificent mature trees, and the Maigue, one of Ireland’s best trout rivers.

Lady Caroline expressed her love for the magnificent building when, in 1856, she wrote in her book Memorials of Adare Manor:

“This charming spot was my home of unclouded happiness for forty years: may Heaven’s choicest blessings be poured with equal abundance on its present and future possessors!”

If you’re not the romantic type – don’t worry, Adare Manor has one of Ireland’s greatest 18-hole golf courses that is the scene for the 2026 Ryder Cup.

Mussenden Temple – Derry, Ireland.

With those views, do we really have to explain why Mussenden Temple made our top 5 list of romantic buildings?

While one could argue that the building itself isn’t all that romantic, Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in Derry, high above the Atlantic Ocean.

The temple was built in 1785 and forms part of the Downhill Demesne. Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 The National Trust carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building.

Here’s hoping the temple doesn’t take a leap off the edge.