Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is a city that punches considerably above its size in terms of things worth doing, but most first-time visitors spend their time in a triangle between Trinity College, Temple Bar, and St. Stephen’s Green and miss most of what makes the place interesting. The pubs do live up to their reputation. The Georgian streetscapes are as good as anything in Britain. The literary history is genuinely dense. But the version of Dublin worth visiting in 2025 and 2026 extends well beyond the obvious postcard stops.
Trinity College and the Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is one of the most extraordinary objects you can see in Europe: an illuminated gospel manuscript produced around 800 AD, its interlace patterns and figurative illustrations dense enough to reward close attention. The exhibition surrounding it gives decent context, and the Long Room library upstairs is architecturally stunning, with barrel-vaulted ceiling and the marble busts of scholars lining the shelves.
Tickets cost €25.50 for adults, €20 for students and over-60s, €19 for teenagers (13-17), and €13.50 for children aged 6-12 under 6 are free. A family ticket (two adults, two children) runs €66. Entry is timed, so book online at visittrinity.ie. Summer slots sell out days in advance, sometimes over a week ahead, so pre-booking is not optional if you want a specific time. The first slot of the day tends to be the least crowded. The whole experience takes around 90 minutes at a sensible pace. A free audio guide is available via QR code at the entrance; bring your own earbuds.
Guinness Storehouse
Yes, it is a tourist attraction purpose-built to sell you a product. It is also genuinely well done: the self-guided tour through seven floors of brewing history is informative, the Gravity Bar rooftop panorama over the city is excellent, and a freshly poured Guinness in its home city does taste better. Pre-book online to avoid long queues; weekday mornings between 09:30 and noon are the quietest windows.
Kilmainham Gaol
The jail where the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed by British firing squads is one of the more emotionally affecting museums in Ireland. The executed leaders were buried in quicklime in the prison yard with no coffins, a decision so deliberately humiliating that it turned public opinion against British rule more decisively than the Rising itself had. The guided tour is the only way to see the interior and these are timed, so book ahead at kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie.
The neighbourhoods worth your time
Temple Bar gets the most attention from visitors and, frankly, deserves less of it. The cobbled streets look good in photographs but the pubs are expensive, oriented towards tourists, and often charge covers for live music. For genuinely good pubs and food, Portobello (Dublin 8) is the better option. It sits just south of the city centre along the Grand Canal, and has accumulated several standout restaurants in recent years. Bastible on Leonard’s Corner holds a Michelin star and is one of the best restaurants in the country by any honest measure. Richmond on Richmond Street has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and is somewhat easier to get into without weeks of advance planning.
Phibsborough (Dublin 7), north of the city centre, is another neighbourhood that rewards visitors willing to go slightly off-script: independent bookshops, strong coffee, proper local pubs, and no one trying to sell you a leprechaun hat.
Day trip: Howth
Howth is a fishing village on a headland 13 km north of the city centre, reachable in about 25 minutes on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) commuter train from Connolly or Pearse stations. A single DART ticket costs around €4-5 with a Leap Card (the rechargeable transit card available from Leap-vending machines at any station, which saves around 30 percent versus cash fares). The cliff walk around the headland offers serious sea views and takes 1.5 to 2 hours at a walking pace. Howth’s harbour has several seafood restaurants and a small weekend market that are worth timing your trip around.
Getting around Dublin
The Luas tram network covers the city centre and connects the Red and Green lines via a cross-city link. The bus network is extensive but can be slow. The DART runs along the coast. For a one-to-three-day visit, a Leap Card loaded with credit covers all modes and is the most practical option. Taxis use meters and the app Free Now (formerly MyTaxi) works well and avoids negotiating fares.
Dublin Airport is 12 km north of the city. The Airlink express bus (747 and 757) runs to the city centre for around €7 single. A taxi costs €25-35 depending on traffic.
Where to eat
Beyond Portobello’s Michelin options, a few places worth noting:
The Boxty House in Temple Bar is one of the few restaurants in Dublin that actually focuses on traditional Irish food rather than serving a generic European menu with some soda bread on the side. Boxty (potato pancake) is genuinely satisfying and the setting is cosy without being cloying.
Klaw, also in Temple Bar, does excellent fresh seafood in a small, informal setting. Arrive early or expect to queue.
For breakfast or lunch, Dollard and Co on Wellington Quay is a food market-style space in a converted printworks with several good vendors under one roof.
Where to stay
The Merrion Hotel on Merrion Street is the best address in the city: a Georgian townhouse conversion with a serious art collection on the walls and a spa that does not feel like a corporate afterthought. Rooms start from around €300-400 per night.
For mid-range options, the area around Smithfield (Dublin 7) offers newer hotels with reasonable pricing and easy Luas access to the centre. Expect €100-180 per night for a double.
Generator Hostel Dublin on Smithfield Square is the best budget option: well-managed, social without being chaotic, with both dorms and private rooms. Dorm beds run from around €25-35 per night in peak season.
Practical notes
The OPW Heritage Card (€40 for adults, €30 concessions) covers entry to Kilmainham Gaol, the National Museum sites, Newgrange, and around 90 other sites across Ireland for a full year. If you are visiting more than two or three attractions over a multi-day stay, it pays for itself quickly.
Dublin’s weather earns its reputation. Rain is a near-certainty at some point during any visit, and the wind off the Irish Sea makes it feel colder than the temperature suggests. A waterproof outer layer is not optional; pack it regardless of what the forecast says before you fly.
The best traditional music sessions are not in Temple Bar. Kehoe’s on South Anne Street, Hughes’s in Chancery Street, and the Cobblestone in Smithfield are consistently good without the tourist pricing. Sessions typically start around 21:30 and run late, so schedule accordingly. The Cobblestone in particular became a cause célèbre in 2021 when plans to build a hotel over its courtyard prompted street protests; it remains defiantly local in character.