Dublin City Guide
Dublin is small, green and full of stories: the ancient library of Trinity College with the Book of Kells, Georgian brick terraces with colourful doors, the red pub quarter of Temple Bar, the black gold of Guinness and the river Liffey with its white Ha'penny Bridge. Ready-made routes for two days lead you from the historic centre to Guinness, Kilmainham and into the vast Phoenix Park - with no planning needed.
🗺️ Open Dublin interactively – map & navigationOur walks through Dublin
Two routes take you through Dublin on foot: from Trinity College with the Book of Kells through Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green to Dublin Castle, the cathedrals and the Temple Bar pub quarter (10 stops, approx. 3.5 km), and to the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol and the vast Phoenix Park (3 stops, approx. 3.5 km). The highlights:
Trinity & the Old Town
From historic Trinity College with the Book of Kells and the Long Room, along busy Grafton Street to green St Stephen's Green and the National Museum with its Celtic gold. On to Dublin Castle, the old Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral, through the red pub quarter of Temple Bar and over the white Ha'penny Bridge to the Spire on O'Connell Street.
- Trinity College & Book of Kells – The walk begins at Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university from 1592, whose cobbled courtyards form an island of calm in the middle of the city. In the old library lies the Book of Kells, a gospel manuscript illuminated around 800 with incredible artistry. Above it stretches the Long Room: 65 metres of bookshelves under a barrel vault, lined with marble busts - a library straight out of a film.
- Grafton Street – Grafton Street is Dublin's busiest shopping street, a pedestrian zone of department stores, cafés and boutiques where buskers play from morning to night - greats like Glen Hansard started out here. At the top end, the statue of Molly Malone recalls the song every Dubliner knows.
- St Stephen's Green – At the end of Grafton Street opens St Stephen's Green, an 1880 Victorian park to catch your breath: laid-out flower beds, a lake with ducks, shady avenues and monuments among old trees. Dubliners take to the lawns for a lunch break at every ray of sun - a green oasis in the middle of the city.
- National Museum (Archaeology) – The National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology branch, is a highlight and free too. In a splendid Victorian rotunda rest Ireland's Celtic gold treasures, filigree brooches like the Tara Brooch, the Ardagh Chalice - and in the half-dark the striking Iron Age bog bodies, preserved in the peat. A deep look into Ireland's distant past.
- Dublin Castle – Dublin Castle was for over 700 years the centre of English rule in Ireland, until it was handed to the new Irish state in 1922. From the Georgian courtyard, free to enter, the tour leads to the sumptuous State Apartments and the chapel. Below ground you can even see remains of the old Viking fortification that gave the site its name.
- Christ Church Cathedral – Christ Church Cathedral is the older of Dublin's two cathedrals, founded by the Vikings in the 11th century and rebuilt in stone in the 12th. Beneath the nave lies one of the largest medieval crypts in the British Isles: a forest of round pillars sheltering treasures, old statues and, as a curious mascot, a mummified cat and rat.
- St Patrick's Cathedral – St Patrick's Cathedral is Ireland's national cathedral and, at 91 metres long, the country's largest church, founded where St Patrick is said to have baptised believers. Inside, much recalls Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who was dean here and lies buried. A lovely park around it invites you to linger.
- Temple Bar – Temple Bar is Dublin's most famous quarter: a maze of cobbled lanes full of pubs with bright red fronts, live music booming out from midday on. The eponymous The Temple Bar pub, with its glowing red facade, is the city's most photographed subject. Lovely to look at and always lively - though a pint here is noticeably dearer than elsewhere.
- Ha'penny Bridge – The Ha'penny Bridge of 1816 is Dublin's most famous bridge: a dainty white cast-iron arch carrying pedestrians only across the Liffey. It takes its name from the half-penny toll once paid to cross. From the arch you look up and down the river to the Georgian terraces on both banks - a classic Dublin image.
- The Spire (O'Connell Street) – On the north bank of the Liffey, on broad O'Connell Street, the Spire pierces the sky: a 120-metre, needle-thin stainless steel spike from 2003 that tapers upward and gleams silver in the sun. It stands where Nelson's Pillar once was blown up and is now the northside's central meeting point - a good finish to day one.
Guinness, Kilmainham & Phoenix Park
Day two heads into the west of the city: seven floors of beer culture in the Guinness Storehouse with a free pint in the Gravity Bar high above Dublin, on to the grimly impressive Kilmainham Gaol, a key site of Irish independence, and to finish into the vast Phoenix Park with its fallow deer, papal cross and the president's residence.
- Guinness Storehouse – Day two starts at the Guinness Storehouse in the historic St James's Gate brewery, where the black stuff has been brewed since 1759. Seven floors shaped like a giant pint glass lead through the story of malt, hops and advertising, show the perfect pour and end at the very top in the glass Gravity Bar - with a free pint and a 360-degree view over all of Dublin.
- Kilmainham Gaol – Kilmainham Gaol is one of Ireland's most powerful monuments: a former prison of 1796 that held political prisoners across generations. After the 1916 Easter Rising its leaders were executed here, which truly ignited the Irish independence movement. The tour through the cold cells and the light-flooded Victorian east wing is deeply moving - tickets are often sold out weeks ahead.
- Phoenix Park – To finish, the Phoenix Park, at over 700 hectares one of Europe's largest city parks, more than twice the size of Central Park. A free-roaming herd of fallow deer wanders the broad meadows, and the giant papal cross rises in the middle. The Irish president's residence and the zoo are here too. Best explored by rental bike - a green, spacious close to the two days.
Getting there & around
Dublin is very walkable; for the outlying sights the Luas tram (green and red lines), buses and the DART coastal train run. You are most flexible with a Leap Card, valid on all transport and cheaper than single tickets. Note: they drive on the left, so look right first when crossing. Payment is in euros. And most important: a good pint of Guinness takes its time to pour, so drink it in a real pub, ideally with live music.
Going out & nightlife
Rooftop bars
- Sophie's at The Dean – On the roof of the Dean Hotel on Harcourt Street sits Sophie's, a glass-walled rooftop bar and restaurant with one of the finest views over Dublin's rooftops - especially atmospheric when the lights come on at night.
Nightlife quarters
- Temple Bar – The cobbled Temple Bar on the south bank of the Liffey is Dublin's best-known going-out quarter: red pub fronts, live music on every corner and packed lanes until late. Charming but touristy - pints here are noticeably pricier, a few streets on you pay less.
- Camden & Wexford Street – A little further south, along Camden and Wexford Street, is where Dubliners themselves go out: a run of traditional pubs, live-music bars and clubs, younger, more genuine and cheaper than Temple Bar - this is where the city drinks, not the tour bus.
Food & restaurants
- The Brazen Head – The Brazen Head near Christ Church is reckoned Ireland's oldest pub, founded in 1198. Under low beams it serves hearty Irish classics like Irish stew and beef in Guinness, with traditional live music in the courtyard most evenings - snug, warm and genuine.
- The Winding Stair – Right by the Ha'penny Bridge, above an old bookshop, The Winding Stair serves modern Irish cuisine from regional produce: fish, game and farmhouse cheese, with a view through tall windows onto the Liffey. Small, warm and popular - booking advised.
Bars & clubs
- Whelan's – Whelan's on Wexford Street is a Dublin legend: since the 1980s the stage for rising and established singer-songwriters, rock and folk bands, with club nights in the back room. If you're after Dublin's true live-music soul, this is the place - deep into the night.
Stage & concerts
- Bord Gáis Energy Theatre – On Grand Canal Dock stands Dublin's grand musical and show theatre, a glittering Daniel Libeskind building: international musicals, ballet, opera and concerts on Ireland's largest stage, with the modern docklands backdrop all around.