Dublin Destination Guide

Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland. It is the city where most visitors begin and end their trips to Ireland. We used Dublin as a hub for exploring as much of Ireland as possible during a long weekend trip. Although we had limited time, we squeezed in A LOT while exploring Dublin. Check out our Destination Guide below to find out our tips for exploring this cultural city.

Things to Do and See:

EPIC Museum – Every Person Is Connected: The Irish Emigration Museum is an informative, interactive museum to learn everything you need to know about the history of the Irish. Plan to spend at least 2-hours here.

Irish Whiskey Museum – Popularity of Irish Whiskey is increasing and if you are a whiskey fan, then a stop at the Irish Whiskey Museum is right for you. Follow a quirky and passionate tour guide as they walk you through the history of whiskey in Ireland and provide you with way more knowledge about whiskey than you ever needed to know. If you are feeling adventurous, go for the upgrade and try four whiskeys at the end of the tour with a souvenir glass to take home. The guide keeps you right on time and you’re in and out in an hour.Trinity College/Book of Kells – The Book of Kells is listed as a must-see on most Dublin itineraries. We had about 1-hour to spare before our flight home so we decided to check it out. Chris was less than enthusiastic about seeing an illuminated, old Gospel book, but I thought the visit was worth it to see the magnificent old library. The architecture is striking and the smell of old books is quite potent. Take our advice and book your tickets online to save you about 3 euro/ticket. If you are traveling during high season and the line is long, it probably isn’t worth the trip inside – check out the grounds of Trinity College instead!Molly Malone Statue – A statue to represent a fictional character in a popular Irish song. Many people wait in line to take a photo just like the one Chris took below. Another advantage of traveling during the off-season is no lines to take ridiculous photos like this one!St. Patrick’s Cathedral – Named after the most famous saint in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is worth a visit when in Dublin. We were not able to go inside as a service was about to start, but if you would like to attend a service, you should have no issues. We didn’t have the time because we were stopping here on our walk to the Guinness Storehouse, but the grounds were nice to explore.Guinness Storehouse – Oh, the Guinness Storehouse. Probably a destination that every tourist in Dublin visits. And rightfully so. We received tickets to the Connoisseur Tour for Christmas, so we had a very different experience from most visitors. After walking through the self-guided tour, we arrived at the Connoisseur Lounge. We were ushered into a private bar with the most comfortable barstools and four empty glasses in front of us. An excellent guide walked us through the history of Guinness as we tasted four different beers. We learned fun facts, drank a lot, and learned how to pour the perfect pint. After the tour, we went up to the Gravity Bar and enjoyed a final pint with a great view of Dublin. Well, Chris may have had more than one pint there as many tourists claim their free Guinness voucher only to pose for a photo and leave the beer untouched on a table. Shocking to believe, but it does happen!

Where to Stay:

The River Liffey divides Dublin in two. We stayed in an AirBnB that was a minute away from the Ha’Penny Bridge. While we wouldn’t recommend staying in our exact AirBnB (it didn’t have a working shower), we do recommend staying in this area. It was in the heart of the city and all of the main attractions are in walking distance. We recommend searching for an AirBnB as they are slightly more affordable than hotels in the area. Even with traveling in the off-season, accommodation was our biggest expense of the trip!

Where to Eat and Drink:

While Temple Bar is a main attraction for tourists, the bars overprice their drinks and locals avoid this area at all costs. Here are a few pub recommendations that we tried during our short time in Dublin.Bankers – We went out in search of fish and chips and wanted to try out Lion’s Head. Unfortunately, they stopped serving food at 6pm so we got a recommendation to try out Bankers. It did not disappoint, great service and delicious food.O’Neils – On Sunday, Dublin does not wake up before noon. Unfortunately, we had limited time to explore Dublin so we couldn’t wait for Dublin to wake up to find a hearty breakfast. Thankfully, there is O’Neils. We were their first customers at 8am and started our day with a delicious breakfast. Chris had corn beef hash that was flavorful and hearty enough to takeaway half of the dish for breakfast the next day.

Grogans – A very local spot that was hopping on a Saturday night. There was standing room only when we arrived. We enjoyed a pint and some people watching as the Irish were certainly enjoying their Saturday night!

Other Tips:

The most affordable way to get to/from the airport is by public bus (3€). Though we found out that it is well worth it and faster to take the direct bus service to the airport. Tickets cost more than double (7€), but you can save one euro by booking online.

We learned a lot about Irish history during our visit and if we had more time we would have liked to visit Kilmainham Gaol. A former prison that is important to the turbulent history of Ireland. We had to keep something on the list for our next visit!

Traveling to the United States from Dublin? We have both traveled a lot, but this was the first time that we experienced US Preclearance prior to boarding our flight to Boston. Completing preclearance in Dublin allowed our flight to be treated as a domestic flight once we landed in the US. Since we traveled with only our backpacks this allowed us to walk right out of the airport with no delay. Super neat!