A Guide to the Best of Dublin

The city is compact, and most attractions if not within walking distance of each other are at least within an easy bus or taxi ride.

One of the pleasures of Dublin is strolling the busy shopping areas and the gracious Georgian Squares, exploring the museums and galleries at leisure or taking time out to relax, perhaps with a picnic lunch in one of the many lovely city gardens.

The Halfpenny BridgeThere are so many things to see that unless you are spending a week or more here you need to pick the attractions that interest you most and stick to them.

The literary heritage of Dublin is well known, so you could spend a few days just digging into that, or you could concentrate on museums and art galleries or stick to the major historic buildings.

The Dublin Pass gives access to many of the major sights and attractions and may be good value - but do read through our infomation about it before you decide it is for you.

Dublin Nightlife

As Ireland's capital and city with well over 1.500.000 inhabitants, many of them under 25, there is as you would expect a huge choice of night time entertainment options. The first thing to buy on arrival is the latest issue of In Dublin magazine, which has extensive listings of everything that is on in the city.

For nights in the pub tourists automatically head for the Temple Bar area at night, and while it is lively it can also be very raucous and overcrowded, especially at weekends. If you like a more sedate night time experience, check out the pubs in the Grafton St area.

There is a very lively club scene, all sorts of live music and comedy events with something on every night and very good theatres. For resatuants in all price ranges print out and bring with you our guide to eating out in Dublin.

Avoid walking around O'Connell St and the areas around the Bus Station and Pearse St late at night, in fact in common with most large cities it is best to walk relatively little after dark other and stick to taxis or buses to get about.

Recommended Things to See & Do

National Aquatic Centre
If the kids are bored and its raining outside, this may just be the place to go. Not being blessed with an abundance of sun, opportunities for outdoor activities in Ireland have some limitations, so having Europe's largest...

National Gallery of Ireland
Situated in the heart of Dublin, the National Gallery of Ireland houses the national collection which includes sculpture, prints, drawings and objet d'art but with paintings by Irish and European artists very much to the fore....

The Hugh Lane Gallery
Now owned by Dublin Corportation, when the Hugh Lane Gallery was established in 1908 it was the first ever public gallery of Modern Art in the world. It's founder, after whom it is named, was a renowned collector of European...

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA)
Since its establishement in 1990, IMMA hasbecome one of the most popular visitor attractions in Ireland, and certainly the most visited art gallery, and deservedly so. Not only is the collection a must for anyone who has even...

Casino Marino
Widely acknowledged as the best neo-classical Georgian building in Ireland, this was built in the second part of the 18th century as a 'folly'. a garden pavilion for James Caulfield, the 1st Earl of Charlemont. It was designed...

Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle was built in the early 1200's by the Anglo-Normans on the site of a 9th century Viking fortress. From being in the hands first of Viking invaders and acting later as the centre of English rule in Ireland for over...

Kilmainham Gaol
Built in 1796, Kilmainham Gaol (or Kilmainham Jail) has an unique place in Irish History and was where for more than 100 years those who fought against the English occupation of Ireland were imprisoned and where many of them...

The Dillon Garden
Over 25 years this garden's owners, gardening writer and broadcaster Helen Dillon and her husband Val have transformed their suburban garden of just over half an acre into a wonderland for plant lovers. A striking feature is...

Imaginosity
Any child who thinks museums are boring will have that notion well and truly shattered following a visit to Imaginosity, a new museum in Dublin which is sure to enthral anyone aged between one and, well, ninety-one! Imaginosity...

Museum of Natural History
Known to generations of Dubliners as the "Dead Zoo", this is a perennial rainy day favourite with kids. Most of the collection dates from Victorian times, a period when killing and stuffing endangered wild animals,...

Museum of the Decorative Arts
Home to fascinating collections of artifacts reflecting Irish economic, social, industrial, political and military history over the last 300 years, including weaponry, furniture, silver, ceramics, glassware and clothing.  Of...

National Museum of Ireland (Archeology & History)
This is Ireland's largest museum and the national repository for all archaeological objects found in Ireland. Its collection runs to over two million artefacts ranging in date from 7000BC and the late medieval period. It is a...

National Print Museum
Located in a former Garrison Chapel on Haddington Rd in a very old part of Dublin known as Beggar's Bush, this museum's aim is to preserve machinery from the pre-computer era of printing when 'hot metal' printing was the norm....

Trinity College & The Book of Kells
Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, Trinity is Ireland's oldest university and one of the oldest in the world. It is impossible to walk in the main entrance, under the famous arch, without being aware of the many generations...

Dublin Zoo
Dublin Zoo has a very special place in the heart of most Dubliners and is consistently one of the most visited places in Ireland, though tourists make up a relatively small number of the up to 8000 people who visit daily. The...

Phoenix Park
Dublin's Phoenix Park is a treasure, more than 1700 acres of walled parkland just 3km from the centre of the city. There are vast expanses of grass, knots of woodland, a herd of wild deer, playing fields for football, cricket...

What's on in Dublin

BT Young Scientist Exhibition
Type: Exhibitions | Date: Jan 6th - 10th
Running since 1965 this annual exhibition of science projects has become and important fixture in the calendar for secondry school (high school) students from all over Ireland,...

Temple Bar Trad
Type: Music: Traditional | Date: January 2009
2009 will be the fourth year of Temple Bar Trad, a celebration of traditional music and culture which takes place in pubs and theatres and on the street in the Temple Bar area...

Pantomime: Jack & the Beanstalk
Type: Theatre | Date: Dec 22nd-Jan 6th
June Rodgers is always a big draw and is back for a second yeat at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin with Jack and the Beanstalk. Not a lot of other information is available about...

Pantomime: Sleeping Beauty
Type: Theatre | Date: December 2008
Note: Snow White was the 2007 Christmas pantomime, details of what show will be staged in 2008 are not yet available.Billing itself as a 'not-so-traditional pantomime',...

Pantomime: Beauty & the Beast
Type: Theatre | Date: December 2008
Note: Beauty & the Beast was the 2007 Christmas pantomime, details of what show will be staged in 2008 are not yet available.The Christmas Pantomime is a much loved Irish...

New Year: Christ Church Bells
Type: Miscellaneous | Date: Dec 31st-Jan 1st
The traditional gathering place in Dublin for seeing in the New Year is at Christ Church Cathedral, where the famous old bells have been pealing out a welcome to the coming year...

Turner Watercolour Exhibition
Type: Visual Arts | Date: January 1st - 31st
In the early 1900's Henry Vaughan bequethed 31 watercolours by William Turner to the Natioanl Gallery of Ireland with the requirement that they could only be exhibited in...

The RTE Living Music Festival 2009
Type: Music: Classical | Date: February 2009
No details are available yet for 2009. The 2008 festival honoured Arvo Pärt, an Estonian born composer now living in Berlin who is identified with a minimalist style of music,...

12 Points Jazz Festival
Type: Music: Jazz & Blues | Date: March 2009
In its second year, this is now Dublin's only Jazz festival and definitely one with a difference. The details below refer to 2008. No information yet about when or if this...

St Patrick's Festival 2009
Type: Festival | Date: March 12th - 17th
This is easily the biggest St Patrick's Day festival in Ireland, if not the most traditional. It's a massive event, a huge party taking place mostly on the streets of...

Hard Rain Exhibition
Type: Visual Arts | Date: May 1st - Aug 31st
This extraordinary exhibition, which marries the words of Bob Dylan's song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" with photograhic images, mostly by photographer Mark...

Darklight Festival
Type: Film | Date: June 20th - 29th
This festival for filmmakers, animators and artists explores the convergence of art, film and technology, focusing on cutting edge film, animation, art and technology. Held at...

Pipeworks Festival
Type: Music: Classical | Date: June 20th - 29th
This triennial celebration of the Organ comprises 10 days of concerts, competitions, masterclasses and so much more, primarily taking place in the heart of Dublin city.  ...

Dublin Writers Festival
Type: Literary Events | Date: June 2009
Over the course of this four day festival over 40 Irish and internationalwriters and poets, journalists, political commentators, and evenlawyers will gather in Dublin for a series...

Blooomsday Festival 2009
Type: Literary Events | Date: June 2009
Although called "Bloomsday", this celebration of the life and work of James Joyce, and in particular of his novel Ulysses, actually lasts for a whole week. It's...

Docklands Maritime Festival 2009
Type: Festival | Date: June 2009
Taking place in the redeveloped docklands area in the centre of the city, this festival made its debut last year to enormous crowds and this year is likely to be even bigger and...

Bloom Garden Show
Type: Gardening | Date: June 2009
In 2007 Dublin had, for the first time, a garden festival to rival those at Chelsea and Hamton Court when Bloom '07 arrived at the Phoenix Park. There were some logistical...

Taste of Dublin Festival 2009
Type: Festival | Date: June 2009
For 4 days in June 2008 Dublin was truly a foodie paradise, with 22 of the city's top restraunteurs and many speciality and artisan food producers, presenting their wares...

Dublin James Joyce Summer School
Type: Summer School | Date: July 6th-12th
This school is a joint effort by UCD, Boston College, The James Joyce Centre and the National Library of Ireland, as as such a distinguished list would suggest it is one aimed...

Dublin Circus Week
Type: Festival | Date: July 13th-20th
This festival of the circus is a first in Dublin and a hige number of performers are promised, with circus events taking place on the streets and in the various performance spaces...

Movies on the Square
Type: Film | Date: July 5th - August 30th
It's a bit weather dependent this one, but when it works and nature plays along it can be a glorious way to spend an evening in Dublin. Movies are shown outdoors, on a huge...

Festival of World Cultures
Type: Festival | Date: 22nd - 24th August
The 2008 Festival will once again celebrate an incresingly multicultural Ireland, and given that one in every ten people living in Ireland now was not born here, it is certainly...

Dublin Horse Show
Type: Shows & Fairs | Date: August 6th -10th
Photo by decscrambleThe annual gathering of the horsey set in Dublin is not just Ireland's premier showjumping event of the year, but a fixture in the social...

Gaze: the Dublin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Type: Film | Date: July 31st - Aug 4th
This year the Dublin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has a new image, a new website and a new name: Gaze. It's been taking place annually for 15 years, but is essentially being...

Dublin Culture Night 2008
Type: Miscellaneous | Date: September 14th
Visitors who find themselves in Dublin on September 14th 2008 will quickly realise they picked the best night of the year to be there - the 3rd annual Dublin Culture Night. Until...

Dublin Theatre Festival
Type: Theatre | Date: Sept 25th - Oct 12th
Now in its 51st year, the annual Dublin Theatre Festival is one of Europes premier theatre events and enjoys a wonderful reputation worldwide. The invariably huge attendences...

Dublin Fringe Festival
Type: Theatre | Date: 6th - 21st September
The Fringe Festival, which runs just prior to the Dublin Theatre Festival is the fastest growing cultural event in Ireland and serves up a huge programme of events at venues throughout...

Rude Health
Type: Exhibitions | Date: 6th & 7th Sept
Organised by the Association of Irish Health Stores, Rude Health is a packed weekend of seminars, workshops, informative events and stands with more than 200 exhibitots related...

Sculpture in Context 2008
Type: Visual Arts | Date: Sept 4th - Oct 17th
Pollen Hotspot by Michelle MaherThis annual exhibition is now in its 22nd year and since moving to a new venue in Dublin's Botanic Gardens 6 years ago it has grown to become...

Ideal Homes Exhibition
Type: Exhibitions | Date: 23rd - 27th October
The Ideal Homes Exhibition has been a fixture at the RDS in Ballsbridge for many years, but over the last decade the housing boom in Ireland has seen to grow to become a massive...

Toys for Big Boys
Type: Exhibitions | Date: Nov 6th - 9th
This annoyingly named event is a basically a techno trade fair presenting Ireland's celtic tiger cubs with a feast of entertainment, gadgets, cars and technology. ...

Art Ireland
Type: Visual Arts | Date: Nov 14th - 16th
A major art fair with exhibitions from over one hundred and seventy five galleries and independent artists which takes place in the RDS in Ballsbridge, Art Ireland is a must-visit...

Christmas at Farmleigh
Type: Miscellaneous | Date: December 2008
Farmleigh is an estate and house in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, which belongs to the government and is used to accommodate visiting dignitaries and guests of the nation, for high...

Leopardstown Christmas Racing Festival
Type: Sport | Date: Dec 26th - 29th
This is where horse racing fans from Dublin and much of the rest of the country gather to work off the Christmas excess with a feast of excellent racing and most of all a great...

Dublin Handel Festival
Type: Music: Classical | Date: April 2009
This annual festival celebrates the music of Handel and his connections to Dublin, where his famous oratorio "The Messiah" was first performed.  The opening event...

Puppet Pantomime: Aladdin
Type: Theatre | Date: December 2008
The Lambert family are legendry in Ireland for their beautiful puppets and fantastic shows, where this most tradtional of theatrical forms keeps even the most jaded digitally obsessed...

Getting There & Getting Around

By Road

For detailed road directions from anywhere else in Ireland to Dublin please use the AA Ireland Route Planner.

By Air & Sea

Dublin Airport has regular flights from the US, Canada and most European destinations. Ferries from Holyhead to Dublin, Liverpool to Dublin and Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire operate all year round. 

By Train & Bus

There are regular Irish Rail trains from Dublin to all cities and many towns. Regular Bus Eireann buses link Dublin with all major towns and cities and many rural destinations.

Getting Around

Dublin is a great city to explore by foot and many of the main city centre attractions are within an easy and pleasant walk of each other. A great option for those touring the city are the excellent City Tour buses, which travel in a circle around the major sights allowing passangers to hop-on and hop-off at will. You do not need to book these in advance - just look out for the open top buses and pay when you first catch one.

There are also extensive Bus, Local Rail (Dart) and Tram (Luas) services in and around Dublin and you can buy daily or weekly tickets for these, though unfortunately not yet an integrated ticket that works on them all.