Dublin

Temple Bar is so well-known that an entire neighborhood has been named after it! Weary travelers have been pulling up a stool here to relax after a long day since the fourteenth century.

Take a photo of Temple Bar’s famous red exterior before heading inside for an Irish Whiskey. Every night of the week, Temple Bar and the surrounding area are hopping, so you can easily make a night of it. But be cautious! Temple Bar, both the bar and the surrounding area, is one of Europe’s most expensive drinking establishments.

Trinity College is located in the heart of Dublin and is one of Ireland’s cultural centers. Bring a good book and lie in the lush gardens of the campus if you are fortunate enough to have some sunshine during your visit.

Trinity College, an architectural masterpiece, hosts regular events, a Zoological Museum, a theater, a science gallery, and the famous Book of Kells. This book contains four New Testament Gospels that are over a millennium old.

While many people just take pictures of the Book of Kells and leave, I recommend exploring everything Trinity College has to offer.

This is a great way to see the main sights of the city in a couple of hours. Book a walking tour with local guides and get an insight into the city’s history, culture, and architecture. They work for tips and offer some great insights into the attractions of the city.

You can’t visit Dublin without having a Guinness!

Even if you can’t stand the dark beer, give it another try in Dublin. The freshly brewed Irish variety tastes different from what you’ll have anywhere else in the world. You can take a tour of the storehouse and sample some of the beer while learning about how it’s made.

Read More: Visiting the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin

If walls could talk, imagine everything the 800-year old walls of Dublin Castle could tell us! The next best thing is taking the tour of the 11-acre property, where you can see the Chapel Royal, the Chester Beatty Library, the Garda Museum, and the Revenue Museum.

The Chester Beatty Library is a highlight – it houses world-class European and Chinese cultural artifacts and is easily one of Europe’s best small museums!

Grafton Street, Ireland’s premier shopping street and a path down to the beautiful St Stephen’s Green Park, is a must-see. Countless Irish musicians have made a name for themselves on this street, where they sing their hearts out for every passerby.

Bono, Hozier, The Script, and Damien Rice have all ventured down this well-known street, and Ed Sheeran even mentions it in his song, Galway Girl.

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin’s oldest structure, was founded in 1030 and houses the largest crypt in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The guided tour is ideal for learning about the Cathedral’s dynamic past, and there are regular events where you can experience a brief moment in its history firsthand.

If you happen to be in Dublin on a Sunday, you will be able to hear the bells from Christ Church Cathedral echoing as you walk along the riverbank.

The best part is that you can go inside the church and ring the bells yourself! You can sign up for the Friday practice session before the big event on Sunday.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral was built in 1191 and is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. The cathedral is famous for many things, including its fantastic historic architecture.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral is also known for its choir, which was first organized in the early 1400s, and still performs to this day. There’s another historic musical aspect to the cathedral: with over 4,000 pipes, the St. Patrick’s Cathedral organ is one of the largest in Ireland.

You can take guided tours of St. Patrick’s Cathedral that take place on most days, but you can opt to download the app and do a self-guided version.

The Little Museum of Dublin may be smaller than other institutions, but that doesn’t mean they’re lacking in fascinating artifacts and engaging stories of the city’s history. In fact, they have a collection of over 5,000 artifacts that help illustrate what daily life was like during various eras of Dublin’s 20th-century history.

The museum itself is located in a historic building — the Georgian townhouse that houses the Little Museum of Dublin dates back to the 18th century.

Traditional Irish music, also known as trad, is extremely popular in Ireland. At these sessions, local musicians keep the crowds dancing seven days a week. Because anyone can walk in and start playing with the band in many places, no two sessions are ever the same.

The best place to take it all in is the Hairy Lemon Pub. Come early for dinner to sample one of their classic cottage pies, Dublin coddle, or a hearty Irish stew!

For a look at the history and culture of Dublin and Ireland as a whole, check out the exhibits throughout the multiple buildings and locations that make up the National Museum of Ireland. Focusing on archaeology, country life, natural history, and art, these exhibits are actually free to visit!

There are several rotating and temporary exhibitions and plenty more that are on display throughout the year so even if you’ve visited before, it’s worth coming again and learning something new!

For a chance to enjoy the outdoors and relax in a pocket of greenery within Dublin’s city blocks, check out the historic St. Stephen’s Green Park! In addition to the green space, the park features a bust of James Joyce, a fountain representing the Three Fates, and the Fusilier’s Arch. There’s also a memorial garden for W. B. Yeats, who is one of the most famous poets in the English-speaking world and is particularly important to Ireland’s literary history.

Henrietta Street was developed and designed in the 1720s and was unique at the time for how wide it was compared to other streets. There are several Georgian-style red brick homes built along the street, one of which houses the 14 Henrietta Street Museum. You can step inside and learn about the lives of the people who lived in that very house over the years.