DUBLIN, IRELAND-This coastal capital city has it all: historic neighbourhoods, award-winning restaurants and, thanks largely to the presence of 90,000 college students, a fantastic nightlife. Here’s how to spend 48 hours in Dublin.
9 a.m.:
Get your bearings with a wander along Grafton St. Dublin’s main shopping artery has everything from souvenir shops overflowing with leprechaun-adorned briefs to the upmarket Brown Thomas department store.
When energy levels dip, head to Butlers Chocolate Café, a Dublin institution owned by an Irish family since the 1950s. Afterwards, discover how wealthy Dubliners once splashed their cash in nearby boutique-filled George’s Street Arcade, which became Ireland’s first purpose-built shopping mall when it opened in 1881.
Grafton St. is a short walk away from Trinity College Dublin, which can be explored on tours led by students. Don’t forget to admire the ninth-century Book of Kells — the world’s most famous medieval manuscript is displayed in the university’s Old Library.
11 a.m.:
You’d need several days to explore the National Museum of Ireland’s various outposts, but the ones in the city centre focus on archaeology and natural history.
At the archaeology museum on Kildare St., artifacts include a first-century BC horn recovered from a Northern Irish swamp. At the nearby Natural History Museum, you can learn about Ireland’s mammals, with the help of eerily lifelike displays created by Dublin taxidermists Williams & Sons.
1 p.m.:
Time for a foray west. The Liberties is one of Dublin’s oldest neighbourhoods. Get there by bus or on foot — it’s a scenic 30-minute walk along the River Liffey from Dublin’s centre.
The biggest attraction in the area is the Guinness Storehouse: a seven-storey tribute to Ireland’s favourite tipple. Learn how to pour the perfect pint at the Guinness Academy and snap selfies with Guinness’s famous cycling fish at the recently unveiled advertising exhibition, before enjoying a pint of the black stuff at the rooftop bar.
The Liberties also has several fantastic restaurants. Soak up the alcohol at hip new hangout The Riddler, which specializes in Irish cuisine — the Guinness bread is delicious. For dessert, try The Dublin Cookie Company for the mouth-watering cookies baked by Jenny Synnott and Elaine Cohalan.
3 p.m.:
Kilmainham Gaol is two kilometres west of The Liberties. This Victorian building welcomed its first inmate in 1796 before closing in 1924. It housed Ireland’s most notorious prisoners, including many associated with the 1916 Easter Rebellion.
During guided tours you’ll see former inmates’ tiny cells and the windblown courtyard where many were executed. The beautiful building, one of the world’s best-preserved Victorian jails, has featured in several films, including In the Name of the Father, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
6 p.m.:
Time to sample Dublin’s nightlife. The riverside Temple Bar area has the highest density of bars, but locals advise sticking to the perimeter. “The best bits are on Temple Bar’s outskirts,” explains Brian Walsh, manager at The Winding Stair, a bookshop-restaurant hybrid on Ormond Quay Lower. “The Ha’penny Bridge Inn is a brilliant local boozer with great Guinness. Piglet Wine Bar has a stellar wine list.”
Our advice? Prepare for the night ahead by lining your stomach at The Yarn, where the house special is the oxtail pizza. Another popular local eatery is The Woollen Mills Eating House, where delicious sandwiches are made with huge slabs of Irish bread. It’s just across the river from the beating heart of Temple Bar, although travel between Dublin’s two halves will soon be even easier — the separate tram networks on the north and south of the Liffey should be connected by the end of 2017.
Day 2:
10 a.m.:
Start the day with a wander north: this time, to Stoneybatter, an up-and-coming hipster neighbourhood filled with exciting independent businesses. “My favourite places are Lilliput Stores for charcuterie and Love Supreme for coffee,” reveals Nicky Higgins, Stoneybatter local and manager of Liffey Street Lower’s The Yarn restaurant.
The neighbourhood borders Glasnevin, where you’ll find the historic Glasnevin Cemetery. There are daily tours of the site, which opened in 1832 and serves as the resting place of more people than are currently alive in the city. The watch towers are a reminder that body snatchers were active in 19th-century Dublin. The graveyard’s residents include many casualties of the Easter Rebellion. Learn more at the cemetery’s 1916 Rising Centenary Exhibition, which runs until July 2017.
1 p.m.:
Getting around Ireland’s capital is easy. Enjoy cheap travel on buses, trams and local trains with a LEAP card, which can be topped up with amounts from €5 ($7.09 Canadian) and saves 20 per cent on standard fares. A short train ride from the city centre takes you to the pretty seaside town of Dun Laoghaire, home to the National Maritime Museum. Walk its two piers and then meander along the coast to the upmarket Dalkey neighbourhood for some celebrity spotting — U2 frontman Bono lives nearby and once treated U.S. President Barack Obama to lunch at Finnegan’s of Dalkey, a popular Dalkey pub.
4 p.m.:
Back in Dublin, work off those pints of Guinness with a wander over to Ranelagh, a 20-minute walk south of Dublin city centre. In this urban village, the action revolves around a bustling high street lined with independent boutiques.
Enjoy a caffeine fix at Nick’s Coffee Company, where the outside seating area is brightened by a mural of artist Frida Kahlo and her quote “I paint flowers so they will not die.” The high street’s gems include vintage boutique Deja Vu, where signage describes clothing as “gently worn.” Enjoy some time out in Ranelagh Gardens, which date back to the 18th century and were modelled on traditional London pleasure gardens. Ireland’s first hot air balloon flight also took off from this spot.
6 p.m.:
Finally, raise a toast to Dublin with a cocktail at Fade Street Social, named after the city-centre street it’s located on. This stylish bar and restaurant is famous for its generously adorned flatbreads (try the pumpkin and chestnut) and cosy-but-cool décor: a huge open kitchen, communal dining tables and exposed brick walls that echo a New York loft.
Cheers, Dublin.
Tamara Hinson is a U.K-based writer. Her trip was sponsored by Tourism Ireland, which didn’t review or approve this story.
Tamara Hinson is a U.K-based writer. Her trip was sponsored by Tourism Ireland, which didn’t review or approve this story.
When you go
Get there:Air Canada (aircanada.com) has direct flights from Toronto to Dublin.
Stay: I stayed at the Conrad Dublin (conradhotels3.hilton.com).
Do your research:tourismireland.com
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