On this information, I’ll share my picks for the 29 finest issues to do in Dublin, Eire. Be warned although, when you’ve visited Dublin, chances are you’ll not need to go away!
There’s one thing undeniably charming about Eire. Previous stone castles and church buildings stand amidst rolling inexperienced hills. Spirited music makes you faucet your toes involuntarily. Pleasant, down-to-earth locals abound. All the pieces that makes the Emerald Isle so enchanting converges in Eire’s capital metropolis–Dublin.
Dublin is one in every of my favourite cities on the planet, so I will likely be very happy to share my picks for the perfect sights, actions, and hidden gems in Dublin.
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29 Greatest Issues to Do in Dublin
Temple Bar
Get to know the locals in Dublin’s most well-known neighborhood.
Few sights in Dublin are as iconic as Temple Bar. Don’t let the title confuse you, it’s a neighborhood within the Dublin metropolis middle that’s well-known because the capital of the capital metropolis’s nightlife. Some of the recognizable landmarks is the Temple Bar Pub with its crimson exterior. Apart from bars, Temple Bar options many different sights.
One of many native landmarks, the Molly Malone statue, depicts the tragic heroine of one in every of Eire’s well-known folks songs. One other well-known tune traces its origins to Temple Bar – Handel’s Messiah. Handel’s masterpiece had its first efficiency at a music corridor on Fishamble Avenue. As we speak, a plaque marks the spot of the efficiency.
O’ Donoghues
Faucet your toes and moist your whistle in one in every of Dublin’s finest pubs.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 660 7194 | Website | Hours: 10 am–12 am Mon – Thur, 10 am –1 am Fri & Sat, 11 am – 12 am Solar
Visiting this pub is one in every of my private favourite issues to do in Dublin! Followers of Irish music know that The Dubliners began out taking part in O’Donoghues. Their portraits (together with these of different notable Irish musicians) adorn the partitions of the pub.
The pub sits a stone’s throw east of St. Stephen’s Inexperienced (extra on that under). Regardless of its huge recognition, O’Donoghues retains that cozy feeling that makes Irish pubs well-known.
The Irish Music Scene
Dive deeper into the wealthy world of conventional Irish track and dance.
📍 Google Maps | Hours: Varies by location
Different institutions all through central Dublin are additionally value visiting for his or her brews and ballads. The long-lasting Templer Bar Pub options common performances. O’Neil’s Pub & Kitchen combines good eats, chilly drinks, and nightly dwell music.
One other private favourite of mine is Pipers Nook, north of Temple Bar. This effective institution typically options the uilleann pipes, the smaller (and quieter!) Irish variant of the bagpipes. You can too be taught extra about Irish dances, and even be taught a couple of strikes from some common excursions devoted to Irish dance.
The Guinness Storehouse
High off a tour right here with a pint and the perfect views of city.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 408 4800 | Website | Hours: 10 am – 5 pm Mon-Wed, 9 am – 7 pm Thurs – Sat, 9 am – 6 pm Solar | Entrance: varies by tour
However, what’s a session with no pint or two of “the black stuff?” The Guinness Storehouse tells guests in regards to the lengthy historical past of this well-known stout. Word that the brewery itself doesn’t open its doorways to the general public.
Some of the attention-grabbing artifacts on show is the 9000-year lease to the brewery web site! Excursions right here conclude with a go to to the Gravity Bar on the seventh flooring of the constructing. Right here you may pair panoramic views of Dublin and a frothy pint of Guinness.
The Jameson Distillery
Eire’s different well-known libation additionally affords excursions and tastings.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 807 2355 | Website | Hours: 10:30 am – 6 pm Mon – Thurs, 10:30 am – 7 pm Fri & Sat, 12 am – 6 pm Solar | Entrance: varies by tour
This well-known Irish whiskey firm started operations within the late 1700s. Although whiskey manufacturing later moved to County Cork, the outdated Jameson Distillery in Dublin preserves the story of this distinctive dram. Tour actions embody mixing your personal whiskey, whiskey cocktail-making courses, and extra.
Irish Whiskey Museum
Study all in regards to the “water of life” at this museum.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 525 0970 | Website | Hours: Solar – Thurs 10 am – 7:30 pm, 10 am – 10 pm Fri & Sat | Entrance: varies by tour
Whereas Jameson made the spirit well-known, whiskey’s historical past goes a lot additional again than the 1700s. The Irish Whiskey Museum tells the story of the “water of life” (as its title means in Irish Gaelic )and affords tasting excursions as properly. Different tour choices embody whiskey mixing and meals pairings.
The bar right here affords a big selection of effective whiskeys. Guests should buy a bottle of their favourite on the reward retailer. The espresso store on the museum is a superb place for Eire’s most well-known cocktail–Irish Espresso
Trinity Faculty
Eire’s oldest college homes cultural treasures and awe-inspiring structure.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: + 353 1 896 2320 | Website | Hours: 9:30 am – 5 pm Mon – Fri, 8:30 am – 5 pm Sat, 12 am – 4:30 pm Sunday | Entrance: €18.50 Grownup, €10 Baby, €15 Pupil & Senior (65+)
There’s lots to imbibe in Eire in addition to beer and whiskey. The wealthy, refined ambiance of Trinity Faculty Dublin affords a heady brew of tradition to slake any mental thirst. The long-lasting Lengthy Room of the Previous Library, with its towering cabinets of tomes, has all of the hushed majesty of an outdated forest.
One in all Eire’s most priceless cultural treasures – The E book of Kells is on show within the Trinity Faculty Library. The fragile nature of the traditional tome makes all customer images forbidden. Luckily, the Trinity Faculty Library reward retailer sells souvenirs that includes the designs from the tome.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
See top-of-the-line examples of Gothic structure in Eire.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 453 9472 | Website | Hours: 9:30 am – 5 pm Mon – Fri, 9 am — 5 pm Sat, 9 am – 10:30 am, 1 pm – 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm – 6 pm Solar | Entrance: €9 Grownup, €3.50 Baby (6 – 12), €8 Pupil & Senior (60+)
Commissioned in 1191, Eire’s largest cathedral serves because the nationwide cathedral of Eire. Whereas a few of Eire’s. Within the late twelfth century, The Anglo-Norman conquers of Eire started constructing St. Patrick’s Cathedral within the Gothic type widespread in Continental Europe.
St. Patrick’ could also be smaller than the grand cathedrals on the continent however nonetheless holds its personal for awe-inspiring magnificence. The grave of Jonathan Swift, creator of Gulliver’s Travels lies beneath the southwest porch of the cathedral. Along with authorship, Swift additionally served because the rector of the church, lending his choir to Handel’s first efficiency of Messiah.
The Nationwide Museum of Eire
Lots of Eire’s cultural treasures await guests at this museum.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 677 7444| Website | Hours: 10 am – 5 pm, Tue – Sat, 1 pm – 5 pm Solar & Mon | Entrance: Free
The Nationwide Museum of Eire consists of a number of museums devoted to totally different fields. The Museum of Archaeology options artifacts from historical and medieval Irish historical past. Among the many most exceptional are the Ardagh Hoard, and a set of Bronze Age jewellery.
The Museum of Ornamental Arts and Historical past focuses on objects, reminiscent of forex, and family objects from current centuries. The Museum of Pure Historical past preserves skeletons of prehistoric creatures from Eire and elsewhere.
Christ Church Cathedral
Hearken to dwell medieval music within the lofty cathedral.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 677 8099 | Website | Hours: 10 am – 6 pm Mon/Wed/Fri, 10 am – 5:30 pm Tue & Thur, 10 am – 7 pm Sat, 12:30 am – 3 pm, 4:30 – 6 pm Solar | Entrance: €10.50 Grownup, €3.50 Baby (12 and beneath), €9 Pupil & Senior
Together with St. Patrick’s, Christ Church Cathedral serves as an administrative middle for the Anglican Church of Eire. Christ Church Cathedral predates St. Patrick’s, with its first constructing commissioned round 1028. Since then, the church went via expansions together with the well-known lined walkway.
The choir right here is known for its Evensong providers that includes classical and medieval melodies. The cathedral additionally serves as a live performance and occasion corridor for secular music that includes performances from The Dubliners and others.
The Irish Museum of Fashionable Artwork
Browse Eire’s extra modern choices to the world of artwork.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 612 9900 | Website | Hours: 10 am – 5:30 pm Tue, Thu – Sat, 11:30 am – 5 pm Wed, 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm Solar, Closed Mon | Entrance: Free
Eire’s most well-known artworks could come from ages gone, however it additionally has a spot on the modern artwork scene. The outside of the constructing belies the up-to-date displays inside. Constructed within the seventeenth century, the constructing started as a hospital. The museum lies quarter-hour on foot away from the Guinness Storehouse, making it simple to see each in a single afternoon.
Phoenix Park
Take a stroll via Dublin’s largest metropolis park.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 820 5800 | Website | Hours: open 24 hours
Phoenix Park is a superb place to take a stroll amidst the verdure of the Emerald Isle. The park encompasses 2.73 sq. miles of territory, making it bigger than New York’s Central Park! A herd of untamed fallow deer lives throughout the territory of the park. Tempting as it could be, even when others are feeding them, Dublin metropolis legal guidelines prohibit it.
The park’s title doesn’t come from the fabled hen of Greek mythology. As an alternative, it derives from an outdated Irish Gaelic phrase which means “nonetheless or clear water.” The park started as a royal looking park in 1662 however opened to the general public in 1745.
The Dublin Zoo
Go to creatures from all around the world at Dublin’s zoo.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 474 8900 | Website | Hours: 9:30 am – 6 pm on a regular basis | Entrance: €22.50 Grownup, €17 Baby (3 – 15), €17.50 Pupil & Senior
Situated on the jap finish of Phoenix Park, the Dublin Zoo options creatures from as distant as Antarctica! The zoo additionally contributes to conservation efforts, sheltering a number of endangered species. The Dublin Zoo is a should for household holidays in Eire or for anybody who loves animals.
Grafton Avenue
Store for souvenirs and take heed to road musicians alongside this historic road.
If you wish to purchase souvenirs as you go to Dublin, top-of-the-line locations to buy is Grafton Avenue. Retailers of all types line Grafton Avenue. Right here you should buy all the pieces from conventional wool sweaters and caps to on a regular basis conveniences. Many eating places lie alongside or near Grafton Avenue as properly.
It’s additionally top-of-the-line locations in Dublin to listen to dwell music. The native buskers (road musicians) play each conventional Irish music and extra fashionable songs. In the event you’re a musician your self, it could appear tempting to strive your hand at busking. You’ll must obtain a permit from the Dublin Metropolis Council first, although. Even locals must register, so don’t let it discourage you!
St. Stephen’s Inexperienced
Meander via a park filled with memorials of a few of Eire’s finest.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 475 7816 | Website | Hours: 7:30 am – nightfall Mon – Sat, 9:30 am – nightfall Solar
This park has a number of monuments honoring essential individuals and occasions in Eire’s wealthy historical past. Eire’s most well-known authors, reminiscent of James Joyce and W.B. Yeats have memorials at St. Stephen’s Inexperienced.
One other particular person remembered right here in stone is Theobald Wolfe Tone, chief of an rebellion in opposition to British Rule in 1798. Standing round his monument are the pillars of the Famine Memorial. These markers commemorate the notorious Nice Famine of the mid-1800s. Many different memorials stand scattered throughout the grounds of the Inexperienced as properly.
Abbey Theatre
Absorb a play at this well-known Irish theater.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 887 2200 | Website | Hours: varies by present | Entrance: € 13 – 40
This theater served as a gathering place for a lot of early Irish writers and playwrights. The present Abbey Theatre is the second constructing to bear the title. The unique suffered extreme hearth injury in 1951 and the brand new theater opened its doorways in 1966.
As we speak, it’s an excellent place to catch a play. Each fashionable performs and classics run right here. The Abbey Theatre’s location within the metropolis middle places it inside strolling distance of pubs (reminiscent of Pipers Nook) and different common vacationer sights.
Irish Meals
Dublin affords nice tastes of conventional Irish meals and fashionable dishes as properly!
Strolling throughout Dublin builds an urge for food. There’s no higher method to refuel than with some hearty Irish favorites! Many pubs and eating places supply such standbys as Irish stew and beef and Guinness pie. There are additionally stylish institutions providing fashionable twists on conventional dishes. A good way to pattern Dublin’s various culinary scene is by reserving this extremely rated meals tour.
O’Connell Avenue
The proper place to start a strolling tour of Dublin.
This road operating via Dublin’s metropolis middle is filled with historic websites and Dublin landmarks. In the event you go it by yourself right here, although, chances are you’ll not be capable to absolutely respect their significance. Top-of-the-line methods to keep away from lacking out is to ebook a strolling tour. Native guides will unfold the wealthy historical past of the road and the occasions that transpired on it.
The road bears the title of Daniel O’Connell, one of many main leaders of the Irish independence motion. A few of the most essential occasions in Eire’s historical past transpired right here. Some of the well-known was the Easter Rebellion in 1916. Throughout the battle, the native publish workplace constructing served as headquarters for the rebels.
O’Connell Avenue can also be an excellent place to catch a bus tour, with a number of firms beginning their routes right here.
Dublin Fort
Think about your self as royalty within the lofty, elegant halls of this citadel.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 645 8800 | Website | Hours: 9:45 am – 5:15 pm on a regular basis | Entrance (Self-Guided Tour): €8 Grownup, €4 Baby (12 – 17), €6 Pupil & Senior (60+)
A major theme in Irish historical past is the nation’s tenuous relationship with Nice Britain. Dublin Fort performed a serious function on this relationship. It served because the seat of the British administration for over 700 years.
A lot of the present infrastructure dates from the 1800s. Since 1938, Dublin Fort has served as the situation for the inauguration of the Presidents of Eire. The citadel is nearly at all times open to the general public, aside from throughout essential state features.
The Chester Beatty Library
Pore over manuscripts from around the globe at this museum.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 407 0750 | Website | Hours: 9:45 am – 5:30 pm Mon & Tue, Thu – Sat, 9:30 am – 8 pm Wed, 12:30 am – 5:30 pm Solar | Entrance: Free
One in all a number of sights on the Dublin Fort grounds, this museum homes a motherlode of manuscripts. Apart from Trinity Faculty Library’ E book of Kells exhibit, that is the perfect place in Dublin for bibliophiles.
Collections right here embody illuminated manuscripts from Africa, Europe, and all throughout Asia. The Chester Beatty additionally conducts analysis on the assorted texts in its assortment in addition to the cultures that produce them.
Glasnevin Cemetery
Witness the solemn dignity of Eire’s nationwide cemetery.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone:+353 1 882 6500 | Website | Hours: 9 am – 5 pm on a regular basis | Entrance: Free
The Glasnevin Cemetery serves as the ultimate resting place for a lot of well-known figures in Irish historical past. A few of the most well-known embody Daniel O’Connell and different pioneers of Irish independence. Intricate Celtic crosses mark lots of the graves. The ornate inside of O’Connell’s crypt-tomb bears silent witness to the legacy of the “Liberator of Eire”
The Glasnevin Cemetery Museum affords data on the interred for these wishing to hint their Irish roots to Dublin. Trademark Irish humor lengthy referred to the cemetery grounds because the “lifeless middle” of Dublin. Even when the thought of visiting a graveyard appears, at first, a bit odd, this place is properly value seeing.
The Nationwide Botanic Gardens
“Purple is the rose that in yonder backyard grows.…”
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1804 0300 | Website | Hours: 10 am – 4:30 pm on a regular basis | Entrance: Free
One in all Eire’s most well-known folks songs revolves round roses and top-of-the-line locations to see them is on the Nationwide Botanic Gardens. The gardens are proper subsequent to the Glasnevin Cemetery and make an excellent subsequent cease after the graveyard.
The glasshouses right here shelter a wide range of vegetation from a number of totally different climates and this might be the one place in Eire with cacti! The Backyard Tearoom affords refreshments together with views of the verdant grounds.
The Wicklow Mountains
These low-lying mountains make for an ideal day journey vacation spot.
📍 Google Maps | Website
If you wish to enterprise outdoors the Dublin metropolis limits throughout your Eire itinerary, the Wicklow Mountains supply the right place to flee for a day journey! The rolling hills right here abound with mountaineering trails and scenic vistas. One of many highlights is Glendalough, an outdated monastery web site on the shores of a tranquil lake.
Movie buffs will respect the irony that scenes from Braveheart had been shot within the Wicklow Mountains and a neighborhood studio close to Dublin. Eire’s favorable tax legal guidelines made it simpler on the price range to movie right here.
The River Liffey
Take a stroll or a kayaking tour down this well-known river.
The river dividing the northern and southern areas of Dublin metropolis is an attraction in its personal proper. The River Liffey performed an essential function in Dublin’s historical past, connecting it to commerce and different interactions with the surface world. A number of of the bridges that span the river are additionally common vacationer sights.
One of many extra surprising issues to do in Dublin is to take a kayak tour of the River Liffey.
This common 2 hour Liffey River kayak tour takes guests previous Dublin’s well-known bridges and a number of other different noteworthy websites.
The Docklands
See the economic aspect of Dublin on this seaside neighborhood.
Dublin’s Docklands neighborhood homes the extra industrial aspect of the town however continues to be properly value a go to. Probably the most iconic landmark right here is the Samuel Beckett Bridge, constructed within the form of a harp.
The Docklands can also be an excellent place to see ferries (pun meant)! Ferry traces right here join Dublin to different components of Eire. Worldwide ferries journey to France and websites all through the United Kingdom.
Dublin Bay
Take within the views of Dublin’s scenic shoreline.
Dublin Bay is a superb place to see the great thing about the Irish shoreline. The Dublin Coastal Path affords hikes and beautiful views and is only a brief journey away from the town middle. The coastal city of Dalkey has loads of cozy pubs and eating places to refuel at. One may enterprise out into the ocean with kayak excursions of Dublin Bay.
Georgian Doorways
Go on an easter egg hunt for these brightly-colored doorways.
Together with castles and cathedrals, Dublin’s assortment of historic buildings options one thing a bit extra home-like. The intense colours of home doorways all through the town stand in dramatic distinction to the earth tones of brick, stone, and concrete. The very best place to see these distinctive doorways is in Merrion Sq..
The Little Museum of Dublin
Find out about on a regular basis life at this charming museum.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 661 1000 | Website | Hours: 9 am – 5 pm on a regular basis | Entrance: €15 Grownup, € Baby/Pupil & Senior
Castles, church buildings, and libraries attest to the previous centuries of the town’s historical past. This museum affords guests a glimpse again on the newer many years of Dublin’s historical past. Began in 2011, the museum’s assortment consists of over 5,000 objects donated by locals.
Right here you may study on a regular basis life within the metropolis in previous many years. The Little Museum of Dublin additionally operates excursions outdoors its partitions, reminiscent of a strolling tour of city devoted to Irish soccer (i.e. American soccer).
Croke Park
Watch a match of one in every of Eire’s conventional sports activities at this stadium.
📍 Google Maps | Telephone: +353 1 819 2300 | Website | Hours: varies by occasion | Entrance: varies by occasion/seat
Talking of Irish sports activities, there are some uniquely Celtic sports activities to see whenever you go to Dublin. Gaelic soccer resembles rugby however disallows tackling (amongst different, subtler variations). Gaelic handball could also be extra acquainted to some merely as handball. Hurling is tough to match with non-Celtic sports activities however is perhaps finest described as an elaborate variant of discipline hockey.
Croke Park serves as the first discipline for these video games. The Gaelic Athletic Affiliation website affords data on the video games, groups, and far more.
FAQ About What to Do in Dublin, Eire
What’s the #1 Attraction in Dublin, Eire?
The Guinness Storehouse is the most well-liked attraction in Dublin. The mixture of fascinating data, nostalgic ambiance, and a pint of Guinness to prime all of it off is irresistible for a lot of vacationers.
How Many Days Do You Want in Dublin?
Three days in Dublin is an effective period of time. It affords you adequate time to see Dublin’s sights, stroll Temple Bar, discover Dublin Fort, and soak within the highlights of the town. When you’ve got extra time, after all, there are numerous extra issues to do in Dublin.
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I hope you’ve gotten a good suggestion of the perfect issues to do in Dublin! In the event you’re planning on visiting Dublin, I’m positive you’ll discover much more nice issues to do and see.
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