Expect a warm welcome in the world’s most intimate capital city. Beyond the cobblestone streets and cosy pubs there’s a world of culture to discover.
Dublin has grown dramatically in the last few decades but still retains its village feel, with a friendly, relaxed vibe that draws visitors from around the world.
You’ll soon feel at home, with fine art, spectacular heritage and a blooming contemporary foodie scene among the many enticing things to experience in this vibrant city.
Dublin’s culture is rich in wit and wordplay, with a literary heritage that includes many famous poets, playwrights and novelists, among them four Nobel Prize winners: WB Yeats, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw and Seamus Heaney. In 2010, Dublin was titled the fourth UNESCO City of Literature.
Discover its literary heart in the magnificent Trinity College, founded in 1592, attended by Oscar Wilde and Jonathan Swift, and home to over four million books. A stroll around its green quads and superb Georgian buildings is one of the best things to do in Dublin for an oasis of calm in the buzzing city centre.
Be sure to visit the spectacular Long Room of the Old Library, home to the Book of Kells, the world’s most famous medieval manuscript. The exhibition on this unique 9th century Celtic collection of the gospels is open seven days a week and counts as one of the most worthwhile things to see in Dublin during your stay.
There is plenty of things to see in Dublin for art lovers too, including a visit to the nearby National Gallery of Ireland, home to the nation’s largest collection of Irish and European art, including works by Picasso, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. The Irish Museum of Modern Art, housed in a beautifully restored 18th century hospital, is one of the best things to do in Dublin for a dive into the contemporary local art scene, with more than 3,500 works from the 1940s to today.