1. Start your trip to Dublin by getting your hands on a Dublin Bus pass. Not only will it let you access hop-on/hop-off tour buses so you can travel easily around the city and see the sights, it will also give you free or reduced entry into over 30 top Dublin attractions, as well as special offers and discounts at restaurants, bars and gift shops. If you buy it online and get it before you go (by post or on your mobile phone) you can also use it to travel for free on the bus from the airport to the city centre. The pass comes with a mini guidebook packed full of information and there’s also an app where you can access more. It’s available for 1, 2, 3 or 5 consecutive days and prices start from €59 for an adult ticket, €29 for a child.
(And of course, this being Dublin, not only do you get a full tour of the city on the big red buses that run every 15 minutes all day, from 9am to 6pm and then on the half hour until 7pm, you also get the bus driver banter. The stories, the insider info – such as the best place to find a pint of Guinness – and the passenger chats. If you want to be really ‘looked after’ in Dublin, take the tour!)
2. Ireland’s National Museum is a great place to start your Irish visit, exploring the history of this ancient land from prehistoric times through early Celtic, Viking and medieval periods. Current exhibitions include preserved bog bodies from the Iron Age, as well as insights into some of the world’s oldest passage grave monuments at the ancient Irish seat of kings, the Hill of Tara. The museum is located in Kildare street and close to the National Library, National Gallery, Government Buildings and St Stephen’s Green, right in the heart of the city. Free
3. Directly opposite is the National Library, where – among other things – you can explore your Irish ancestry. WB Yeats lovers will be delighted to find an ongoing exhibition devoted to the great writer’s life and works. (Being one, I certainly was). Free
4. Completing the triad of historical art and culture, and located nearby, is Ireland’s National Gallery, showcasing a collection of European paintings with a strong emphasis on Irish artists including Jack B Yeats, Paul Henry, Sir John Lavery and Walter Osbourne. You’ll also find one of the most recent Caravaggio’s to be discovered, The Taking of Christ, found lurking in the dining room of the Dublin Jesuits’ order home in 1990, and on loan to the gallery since. Coming up in July and running until the end of the year is an exhibition devoted to the, often previously hidden, works of Irish women artists. Free
5. Even more so than its artists, Ireland is particularly well known for its writers and, as the Dublin Writers’ Museum on the north-side of the city explains, “though geographically outside the spread of Western culture, Ireland has an undue proportion of the world’s greatest writers”. And this small but perfectly formed museum showcases all of the greats, including Ireland’s four Nobel Literature Prize winners, WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Here you’ll also find James Joyce, Bram Stoker – the author of Dracula – Brendan Behan and Oscar Wilde. It’s also a great chance to see inside a Dublin Georgian mansion, with its grand sweeping staircase, ornate ceilings and painted wall decorations. Admission €7
6. Close to the Writers’ Museum is the James Joyce Centre, a museum dedicated to one of Ireland’s great writers, the infamous, formerly-banned, terribly complex James Joyce, author of what is widely believed to be the 20th century’s greatest – and most impenetrable – works of fiction, Ulysses. Housed in yet another grand though faded Georgian mansion at 35 North Great George’s St, this former townhouse of the Earl of Kenmare was turned into a dancing academy by Prof Denis Maginni, who features several times in Ulysses, a very colourful character by all accounts.
The house owes its continued existence to Joycean scholar Senator David Norris, a neighbour on the street who saved it from demolition in the 1980s. And one of the key dates on its calendar of events is Bloomsday – that famous date in literary history, June 16 1904 – the day depicted in Ulysess when the hero Leopold Bloom takes his stroll around the city of Dublin, from 8am through to the early hours of the next day. Celebrations include dressing up in the fashion of the period and visiting all of Bloom’s stops on his journey, as well as readings, performances and the legendary Bloomsday Breakfast, including liver and kidneys alongside the traditional fry. Admission €5
7. Staying with legendary writers, in an exhibition – and cultural space – new to the city of Dubin, the Seamus Heaney Listen Now Again showcase draws on the National Library’s extensive archive of Heaney documents and features the poet’s original manuscripts, letters, unpublished works, diary entries, photographs, note books and multi-media recordings. This will be the first exhibition to be housed in the new Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre in central Dublin.
8. Another writer who features heavily in Dublin’s history, though he wasn’t always delighted to be a part of it, is Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels and Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. It is believed to be built on the site of a former church established by St Patrick himself, the much-loved patron saint of Ireland. Today’s beautiful building was re-established by a grandson of Arthur Guinness, Benjamin Lee Guinness. Admission €7
9. Which brings us neatly to one of Dublin’s most famous attractions, the Guinness Storehouse, where, it is said, you will be served the finest glass of the black stuff in the world. Arthur established his brewing premises in 1759 at the St James’s Gate Brewery, signing a 9,000-year lease at £45 per year, making it one of the best-value investment in Dublin’s history. The brewery produces 3 million pints of Guinness every day and also offers 360° views of the city. Our tour bus driver treated us to a rendition of ‘You’re drunk, you’re drunk you silly old fool’ as we drove past. Advance admission from €19.50
10. Also in this area, which was heavily colonised by the Vikings and Normans in medieval times, is Christchurch Cathedral, once a major pilgrimage site which housed relics including a miraculous speaking cross and a piece of the Baby Jesus’ crib. Founded almost 1000 years ago, the building was in ruins by the 17th century when it was rescued and revived by another purveyor of alcoholic beverages – Henry Roe, whiskey distiller. A mummified cat and rat in the crypt are referenced in James Joyce’s other famous – and even more complex – work, Finnegans Wake. Admission €7
11. Henry Roe’s distillery closed down in the 1926, despite producing 2 million gallons of whiskey a year in its heyday, probably the highest output of any distillery in the world at the time, and twice as much as the Jameson Distillery was producing. Jameson’s is still going however and you can visit its Bow St premises in Dublin’s Smithfield where you will be given three shots of whiskey to try – American, Scotch and Irish. No prizes for guessing which you are supposed to favour. Admission from €17
12. Catch traditional Irish music seven days a week at a local Smithfield pub. The Cobblestone in North King St is legendary but there are plenty to choose from, all located easy wandering distance from each other so take it handy and have the craic. (The craic for the uninitiated is a particular blend of fun, enjoyment, conversation and entertainment much loved by the Irish on a night out). Free
13. History buffs will find much to engage them at Kilmainham Jail, scene of imprisonments and executions during the famous Irish rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848,1867 and 1916, as well as the holding pen for convicts on route to Australia. Closed as a prison in 1924, it’s now a museum offering guided tours through the evocative building and several generations of Irish history. Nearby, the War Memorial Gardens commemorate the 50,000 Irish men who died in the First World War. 120,000 fought for the British Army, while back in Dublin, their countrymen were fighting against the British for control of their own country. The modern monument opposite the gardens, 15 blindfolded statues, represents the 15 leaders of the Easter Rising shot by British in May 1916. All were shot standing except one, James Connolly, who was too injured to stand and was strapped to a chair for his execution. Advance admission from €8
14. For a very contemporary take on Irish history, The Vaults is a new 60-minute actor-led journey through 800 years of Ireland’s past, blending live performance with special effects and lots of audience participation. It is opening soon in the newly-renovated old Augustinian St John’s National School, just off Thomas Street.
15. Shop for Irish gifts and souvenirs in the city centre; fashionable Grafton St on the south side, with the nearby Kilkenny Shop, Powerscourt Centre and Avoca perfect spots to browse the best of Irish design, crafts and gourmet food. Over on the north side, Henry St has lots of traditional high street boutiques and shopping centres, as well as the famous Moore St market.
16. Take coffee and cake in Bewley’s Café on Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s most iconic and celebrated landmarks, which has recently undergone a multi-million- euro refurbishment. Check out Bewley’s Café Gourmand, the Coffee Opera Cake and, an original favourite, the Bewley’s Mary Cake.
17. Stay at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, overlooking St Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city, which is a peaceful place for a relaxing early morning stroll. With top floor balconies overlooking the beautiful gardens, contemporary interiors that still have space for a cosy fire in the foyer and a very stylish afternoon tea option in the fashionable Inn on the Green bar, it’s a great city centre location to base yourself for your trip. Rooms from €289, afternoon tea from €39
18. If you want to splash out on some old-world glamour, head across the Green to the Shelbourne Hotel, where the guest register includes names like Greta Garbo, Laurel and Hardy, Rock Hudson, Princess Grace of Monaco and the Kennedy’s. The hotel’s 265 rooms have undergone a complete refurbishment in the last 18 months and its spa’s ‘drawing room’ relaxation area is one of the most sumptuous you will ever see. Or you could just pop in for a drink to the famous horse-shoe bar, where media stars and local characters rub shoulders. Traditional afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor’s room overlooking the Green €49; rooms from €300, suites from €1800
19. Dublin has another connection with legendary film stars – did you know that the famous MGM lion who roars at the start of each film is from Dublin Zoo? The Zoo is located in the Phoenix Park, the biggest enclosed public park in any capital city in Europe, just a mile and a half from the city centre. It’s a pleasant stroll out there along the River Liffey, which flows through the centre of the city and divides Dublin into north and south sides. Or, if you take the Dublin tour bus, the Zoo is one of the scheduled stops. Admission €17.50
20. And, staying with film stars and cinema, check out the beautifully restored Stella Theatre, an iconic cinema in buzzy Rathmines, a throwback to the glamour and glitz of the 1920’s and just short distance from the centre.
21. For more traditional theatrics, there’s the world-famous Abbey, Gate and Gaiety Theatres with programmes of Irish and international new works and classics. And this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival runs from the end of September to mid-October.
22. Private art donations provide some of the most inspiring collections in the city, including the Hugh Lane Gallery, an impressive array of modern works in the beautiful north-side gallery with its imposing architecture. Here you can also visit the studio of Francis Bacon, painstakingly re-created exactly as the artist left it on his death, namely, in complete chaos. Bacon claimed the mess was like his mind: ‘My life is like that, I needed to create in chaos – chaos suggests images to me’. Free
23. The other private collection bequeathed to the State is the Chester Beatty Library, located in Dublin Castle and a short distance walk from Trinity College and Grafton St. (If you’re in Trinity College, don’t forget to see the Book of Kells, the illuminated gospels dating from around 800). Described by the Lonely Planet as not just the best museum in Dublin, but one of the best in Europe, with exotic artefacts from across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. At any one time only one percent of the collection is on display so even with regular changes, it is would not be possible to see all of the collection in a lifetime; quite amazing to think of breath and scope of it. Free
24. Dublin Castle, for many years the base of British rule in Ireland, is itself open to visitors and its current exhibitions include Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger. This shows 50 acclaimed artworks from the world’s largest collection of famine-related art at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum in the US, the first time they have been seen in Ireland. Admission from €6.50
25. For the latest finds on the food scene, try Berlin-d2, newly re-opened in Dame Lane, Boeuf in South William Street and Opium in Wexford St.
26. Those of a sporty nature will love the newly re-opened 132-year-old Clontarf Seawater Baths, with an open seawater swimming pool, bar and restaurants, all with panoramic views of Dublin Bay. Clontarf is a coastal suburb, not far from the city centre, most famous for the 1014 Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, defeated the Vikings and ended the long-running Viking wars.
27. More for adrenaline junkies: there’s wakeboarding at Dublin docklands, from €25; white water rafting on the River Liffey, from €59; zip-lining at Tibradden, close to the city, from €15 and mountain bike trails at Ticknock, from €35. Meanwhile armchair enthusiasts can catch the GAA football and hurling season throughout the summer, with matches played most weekends.
28. Enjoy green living within the city. The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland are located just 3km from the city centre in Glasnevin. The garden is free to visit or you can take a guided tour for a small fee, enjoying the wonderful plants in gardens and glasshouses, including 300 endangered species and six that are already extinct. Afterwards pay a trip to the nearby Glasnevin Cemetery, which dates from the 19th century and is the final resting places of Irish notables including Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Eamon de Valera, Maude Gonne, Constance Markievicz, Kevin Barry and Brendan Behan. One of the most visited graves in the cemetery is that of Michael Collins, the nationalist leader who signed the Anglo-Irish treaty with the British government to create the Irish Free State and was later assassinated for his ‘betrayal’ in the Irish Civil War.
29. Get some sea air. Dublin’s coastal location makes it a great city break with a seaside option, and buses and the local DART train service run regularly to a wide range of beaches and clifftop walks. Check out Howth Head, Skerries, Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Sandymouth Strand or Killiney Beach for starters.
For more information on visiting Dublin and Ireland, go to www.VisitDublin.com and www.Ireland.com. Aer Lingus operates daily flights from London Gatwick and Heathrow to Dublin with fares from £32.99 one-way including taxes and charges. For more information or to book visit aerlingus.com