Dublin tourist guide 2022
City Center
- Start on Trinity University and if you have time go in and see the Old Library and Books of Keels
- Walk Grafton Street and enjoy the vibe and music (on weekends)
- Have a walk on St Stephen’s Green park
- This park was the place where there was a major fight against english invaders in 1916. You can find a ton of history there, as this is considered the beginning of Irish independence
- If you are hungry grab a Perfect Combo and a coffee on the Beanhive Cafe
- Walk until the George’s Arcade and enjoy the tons of pubs all around and the old Georgian building
- Walk by the Temple Bar and take some pictures. You can go in and have a pint, Music and ambiance are amazing but the price is quite high.
- Finish with a walk on the Liffey river
- See the Ha’penny bridge where it used to cost 1 penny to cross
- You can see the famine memorial in honor of the millions of Irish who died of several famines (including the great genocide of 1880)
- See the Dublin Spire
If you have extra time you can:
- Go to the Phoenix Park to see the deers
- You need to find them, so prepare for a walk. You can rent bikes in the beginning of the park
- Go to St Patrick’s Cathedral
- Near it there’s a cozy little library that is beautiful and was a nice spot of Bram Stroker (writer of Dracula)
- Go to the Guiness House
Coastal Villages
Near Dublin you will find a lot of small coastal towns that are super nice. All of the villages I recommend have access by the Dart (local train). I would recommend doing only 1 of them per day, 2 if they are super close (like maybe Bray and Greystones).
On Sundays the dart has less trains than usual and villages like Greystones and Malahide have the least frequent lines.
You have some options:
- Dun Laoghaire (it’s pronounced Dun-Liry) is a nice little village on the south. There are a couple of restaurant, a pier and a nice coastal area.
- You can walk until Forty foot, a nice swimming spot (for those who like cold waters)
- You can see the a Napolean tower that is a museum for James Joyce
- Nice restaurants:
- Belli Dentro - cozy Italian place
- La Dolce Italia - cozy Italian place
- Shoe lane - great coffee!
- Bibi’s - I love their turkish eggs
- Nunki - great chinese
- If you have time you can go to Dalkey and have some beers under a 13th century tower or enjoy one of the many restaurants in the cozy little village. It’s one of the richiest places in Dublin
- Bray is a costal village. There’s a ton of restaurants and is very busy on weekends.
- If the weather is good go to the walk by the cliffs from Bray to Greystones (~10km). In this walk, you will follow the train line and there’s several spots for photos
- You can either go around the Cliffs or up to the Bray Head where you can see some amazing views
- If you go to Bray, we love Dockyard no 8 for brunches!
- Malahide is a nice little village in the opposite direction of Bray.
- It has an amazing 13th castle fully preserved and nice gardens
- If you go west there’s a lovely walking path between Malahide and Pormarnock beach that is worth the walk!
- Nice restaurants:
- I looove the greek restaurant
- Gino’s has an amazing ice-cream, my favourite
- Howth is another coastal village with a great Irish vibe. There is a beautiful view, some ruins of castles and tons of restaurants.
- If you are up for the challenge there is a 10km walk on the cliffs around it!
- The sunset is amazing from the pier
- If the weather is good you can take a boat and go to a small island that has a beach
Where to go
If you only have a day…
Visit the city centre, as it will give you more options and a bigger-city vibe
If you have 2 days…
Take 1 day for the city centre and one day in a costal village. I would recommend Dun Laoghaire if it’s on a weekend day as I love the music and vibe (I lived there for 3 years)
If you have 3 days…
Consider also going to either Malahide or Howth! Go to Howth if you have energy for some cliff walk.
If you have more than 3 days…
Think about going to the countryside. There is a ton of beautiful landscapes like the Cliffs of Moher that you can go on a single day trip. I looove the Irish countryside.
Some tips
- Butler’s chocolate is delicious! I particularly like the ones with Gin or Irish cream
- There isn’t Uber, so you can use either Bolt or Free Now apps for taxis
- All National Museums are free of charge, so if you like Viking history I recommend going to the Archaeology museum