Dublin has a reputation problem. It is known abroad for Temple Bar and Guinness, which is a bit like knowing Paris for the Eiffel Tower gift shop. The actual city is a compact Georgian capital with three of the best free museums in Europe, a literary history out of proportion to its size, and a pub culture that works properly about ten minutes’ walk from where most visitors look for it.
Two nights is enough for the core. Three if you want to breathe.
The quick answer
How long: two nights for the essentials, three to do it comfortably.
Book ahead: the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse. Kilmainham in particular sells out days in advance.
Free and excellent: the National Museum at Kildare Street, the National Gallery, the Chester Beatty Library and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Skip or reconsider: the Temple Bar pubs, the hop-on-hop-off bus in a city this walkable, and the Guinness Storehouse if you are not a brand-experience person.
Getting around: walk. The centre is about 25 minutes end to end. A Leap Visitor Card covers buses, Luas trams and the DART if you need them.
Daily budget: 130 to 180 euro per person mid-range.
Getting in from the airport
Dublin Airport is 10 kilometres north of the centre with no rail link, which surprises people.
The Airlink 747 and the private coaches Aircoach and Dublin Express all run to the city centre in 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic, at roughly 8 to 12 euro one way. A taxi is 30 to 40 euro and is not faster at rush hour.
If you are going straight to a hotel in the south of the city, check which coach stops nearest before buying, because they use different routes.
The things worth booking
Trinity College and the Book of Kells. A ninth-century illuminated gospel manuscript, displayed two pages at a time, followed by the Long Room library. The library has undergone a major conservation project and the presentation has changed considerably from older photographs, so check what is currently on display before you build expectations. Timed entry, and summer slots go.
Kilmainham Gaol. The single most important historical site in the city. Leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed in its yard, and the guided tour connects the building to the whole arc of Irish independence better than any museum could. Guided access only, tickets released in advance, and it genuinely sells out. Book the moment you have dates.
The Guinness Storehouse. Ireland’s most visited paid attraction. It is a seven-storey brand museum in a converted fermentation plant, ending at the Gravity Bar with a 360-degree view and a pint. It is well made and it is not a working brewery tour. Book online for the cheaper advance rate. If you would rather drink the product than learn its marketing history, the money is better spent elsewhere.
EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum. A modern interactive museum on the docks about the Irish diaspora, and much better than that description suggests. Worth it if you have Irish ancestry or two spare hours.
The free museums, which are the real find
National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology on Kildare Street holds the bog bodies, Iron Age men preserved in peat with their hair and fingernails intact, alongside the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch. It is free, it takes about ninety minutes, and it is the best museum in the country.
The Chester Beatty Library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle, holds an American mining magnate’s collection of Islamic, East Asian and biblical manuscripts. It is free, quiet, beautifully presented, and consistently the thing visitors say they wish they had known about.
The National Gallery of Ireland is free and holds a Caravaggio that was found hanging in a Jesuit dining room in Dublin in 1990, unrecognised for decades.
The National Museum, Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks covers the Rising and the Civil War with the actual objects, and pairs well with Kilmainham.
All are closed on Mondays or have reduced Monday hours. Check before planning a Monday around them.
Walking the city
Dublin divides at the Liffey, and the split matters less than the north-south rivalry suggests.
South of the river holds Trinity, Grafton Street, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin Castle, Christ Church and St Patrick’s Cathedral, and the Georgian squares around Merrion and Fitzwilliam with their painted doors. This is where most visitors spend most of their time.
North of the river has O’Connell Street, the General Post Office with its 1916 bullet marks still in the columns, the Hugh Lane gallery, and the increasingly good food scene around Capel Street, which is now one of the more interesting streets in the city.
The Liberties, west of the centre, is the old brewing and distilling quarter, home to the Guinness Storehouse, Teeling and Roe and Co distilleries, and St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Stoneybatter, north of the river, is the neighbourhood Dubliners send visitors to now: small terraced streets, good coffee, better pubs.
Pubs, properly
Temple Bar is a small area of about four streets that has become an entertainment district. The pubs there are not bad, they are simply the most expensive in Ireland and full of other visitors. A pint that costs 6 euro in most of the city can be 9 or 10 there.
Walk five to fifteen minutes and you get the real thing.
The Long Hall on South Great George’s Street, Victorian, red and gold, largely unchanged since 1881.
Kehoe’s off Grafton Street, small snug rooms and a proper crowd.
The Cobblestone in Smithfield, the best traditional music pub in the city, where the sessions are for the musicians rather than the audience and you are expected to listen rather than talk over them.
Grogan’s on South William Street for the toasted sandwich and the art on the walls.
Mulligan’s on Poolbeg Street for a pint poured by people who have been doing it a long time.
John Kavanagh’s, known as the Gravediggers, beside Glasnevin Cemetery, run by the same family since 1833.
A note on the pour: a proper pint of stout is poured in two stages with a rest in between, and takes a couple of minutes. If it arrives instantly, something has gone wrong.
Literary Dublin
Four Nobel laureates in literature came from this city, and the trail is genuinely worth following rather than being a tourist-board invention.
The Museum of Literature Ireland, MoLI, holds the first copy of Ulysses and is the best-designed museum in the city. Marsh’s Library beside St Patrick’s is a 1707 reading library still in its original bookcases, with cages where readers were once locked in with rare volumes. The Dublin Writers Museum and the James Joyce Centre round it out.
Bloomsday, 16 June, is the annual Ulysses celebration, with readings, costumes and a genuinely committed crowd. If you are in Dublin on that date, join in.
Day trips
Dublin sits close to more than most capitals. Howth is a fishing village at the end of the DART line with a cliff walk and seafood, 30 minutes away. Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains has a sixth-century monastic settlement beside two lakes. Newgrange at Bru na Boinne is a passage tomb older than Stonehenge and the pyramids. Our day trips guide covers all of them with timings and how to reach each without a car.
When to go and what it costs
May, June and September are the best months, with long daylight and prices below the July peak. Our month-by-month guide has the full picture.
Accommodation is the main expense. Dublin hotels run 180 to 300 euro in summer for mid-range, and the city has genuine capacity pressure, so book early. Our neighbourhood guide covers where to base yourself.
Food runs 15 to 20 euro for a pub lunch and 30 to 45 for a mid-range dinner. A pint is 6 to 8 euro across most of the city, and 9 to 10 in Temple Bar.
Big events that move prices sharply: St Patrick’s Day around 17 March, any All-Ireland final at Croke Park, Six Nations rugby weekends at the Aviva, and major concerts. Check the calendar before you fix dates.
The main Ireland guide covers how Dublin fits into a wider trip, which for most people means two nights here and then west. Our ten day itinerary sets out that route day by day, and the budget guide covers what it costs.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Dublin?
Two nights covers the essentials: Trinity and the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, one or two free museums and an evening in the pubs. A third night lets you add a day trip to Howth or Glendalough.
What should I book in advance in Dublin?
Kilmainham Gaol above all, because it is guided-access only and sells out days ahead. Also the Book of Kells and the Guinness Storehouse, both of which are timed entry and cheaper booked online.
Is the Guinness Storehouse worth it?
It is a well-made brand museum with a good rooftop view, not a working brewery tour. Worth it if that appeals. If you mainly want a good pint, the same money buys several in a proper pub.
Should I drink in Temple Bar?
Walk through it, drink elsewhere. It is the most expensive few streets in Ireland for a pint and is largely visitors. The Long Hall, Kehoe’s, Grogan’s, Mulligan’s and the Cobblestone are all within fifteen minutes and much better.
Which Dublin museums are free?
The National Museum of Ireland at Kildare Street and Collins Barracks, the National Gallery, the Chester Beatty Library and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Several close or reduce hours on Mondays.
How do I get from Dublin Airport to the city?
By coach. Airlink 747, Aircoach and Dublin Express take 30 to 45 minutes for roughly 8 to 12 euro. There is no rail link. A taxi costs 30 to 40 euro and is no faster in traffic.
Do I need a car in Dublin?
No, and it is a liability. The centre is walkable end to end in about 25 minutes, parking is expensive and limited, and the DART and Luas cover everything else. Hire a car only when you leave for the west.
Is Dublin expensive?
Yes. Budget 130 to 180 euro per person per day mid-range, with accommodation the largest single cost. Using the free national museums and drinking outside Temple Bar are the two easiest savings.
