The sun rising over Ballybrannigan Beach in Co. Cork. Shutterstock

Two of the world's 10 most popular places to watch the sun rise are in Ireland. 

And where are these stunning sunrise views to be found? Cork and Dublin, it turns out. 

Curious about where the world's most popular and picturesque sunrises and sunsets could be found, travel company On The Go Tours took to Instagram and sorted through the photo-sharing social network's 700 million users to figure out where the most photographed starts and ends to the day are. They then ranked them by most photographed to compile this list. 

And Ireland is blessed to be home to two of the 10 most popular sunrise locales. 

Among the world's 10 most popular sunrises, Cork ranked fifth, behind New York, Berlin, Chicago, and Munich, and Dublin ranked eighth, behind Amsterdam and Denpasar in Indonesia. It came in on top of Paris and Singapore, which rounded out the top 10. 

Ireland did not rank in the top 10 sunsets, though three other locales were lucky to make both lists – New York, Denpasar, and Singapore. 

To support this Instagram data, we took the liberty of finding photographic evidence of the beauty of the sunrise in Cork and Dublin. They are indeed worth getting up early for! Also check out the handy widget at the end to see the full list. 

Sunrise in Cork

Sunrise at Long Strand Beach in West Cork. Photo: Shutterstock

Cork City sunrise. Photo: iStock

Sunrise at Kilcoe Castle (owned by Jeremy Irons). Photo: Shutterstock

Sunrise in Dublin

The sun just peeping up from Bull Island in Dublin. Photo: Giuseppe Milo on Flickr/Creative Commons

Poolbeg sunrise. Photo: Giuseppe Milo on Flickr/Creative Commons

The sun fully emerged from the horizon. Photo: Giuseppe Milo on Flickr/Creative Commons

Sunrise at Baily Lighthouse, Howth. Photo: Guiseppe Milo on Flickr/Creative Commons

The full ranking:

Where is the most beautiful sunrise you've ever seen? Tell us in the comment section. 

Travel facebook

Traveling to Ireland

Are you planning a vacation in Ireland? Looking for advice or want to share some great memories? Join our Irish travel Facebook group.