53.35° N · 6.26° W
The Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, Guinness and pubs with live music, in a small capital with a direct flight from Spain and the sea half an hour away.
Part of Irish pubsHistoric bookshops and libraries of Europe
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 90 min · from €25 · the 9th-century manuscript, the Old Library and the digital exhibition, at a fixed time
Self-guided visit · 90 min · from €26 · seven floors about stout and a pint with views over Dublin
Guided visit · 1 hour + museum · €8 · only with a ticket bought on its official website
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Getaways from Dublin
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to June and in September and October, with long days and fewer groups than in summer. In July and August everything fills up and timed tickets sell out. In winter it gets dark early, but the museums and pubs work just the same and in December there is a Christmas atmosphere.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Dublin has direct flights from many Spanish cities: Aer Lingus lists departures from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Bilbao, Alicante, Seville, Santiago, Asturias, Palma and the Canary Islands, and Ryanair, Iberia and Vueling cover several of those routes. From Madrid or Barcelona it takes about two and a half hours. The airport has no train, but the coaches drop you in the centre in about half an hour, and for day trips (Howth, Malahide, Kilkenny, Glendalough, Newgrange) you do not need a car.
Dublin is a city for walking: the centre fits within half an hour's walk from end to end, and what lies further out (Kilmainham, the zoo, the coast) can be reached by bus, Luas or DART with the Leap Visitor. Day trips leave from here without a car: train to Kilkenny, bus to Glendalough and organised coaches to Newgrange and the Cliffs of Moher.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Dublin works well for families because it is small and flat, the national museums are free and the countryside and the sea are half an hour away by train. Alternate an indoor visit with an outing in the fresh air each day: hardly any child can cope with more than two hours in a museum.
From 12 to 17, Dublin gives them room: it is safe, you can get around on foot and it has stories that grip, from prisoners and rebels to Vikings. What they like most is whatever has a story or fresh air; what they like least is queues and picture galleries.
Dublin is a city of pubs with live music, and that decides the evening; the day is taken care of by stout, a ninth-century manuscript and a cliff walk you reach on the DART. The good thing for a group is that everything is close to Temple Bar and the best day trip leaves from the city itself.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Hostel on Smithfield Square with en-suite dorms, private rooms and a family room for four, a bar with shuffleboard and a café for breakfast.
Why we like it: Four-star hotel on Pearse Street, next to Trinity College, with a courtyard restaurant and a bar. Within walking distance of the centre and Pearse DART station.
Why we like it: Five-star hotel from 1824 opposite St Stephen's Green, with afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor's Lounge and the No. 27 bar. Spa and pool closed for works.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the beef stew or the fish and chips with the house tartare sauce, and stay for the music.
What to order: the Irish Porterhouse steak or the skate with chips, and on the roof a coffee or a cocktail.
What to order: the lunch menu from Thursday to Saturday, the most affordable way to try the restaurant.
What to order: a few oysters and a plate of crab at the seafood bar, or grilled fish at the Sea Grill.
What to order: a pint of Guinness; if you arrive before 17:00, something from the pub kitchen
What to order: a pint of Guinness and, if you like whiskey, ask them to show you the pub's collection
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
53.45° N · 6.15° W
By planeCar-free
53.19° N · 6.17° W
By planeBy carCar-free
53.01° N · 6.33° W
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53.69° N · 6.46° W
By planeBy car
Tips
First thing there are fewer groups in the Long Room.
The National Museum of Archaeology costs nothing and is five minutes from Trinity.
At weekends the DART and the cliff path are full.
The National Museum opens at 13:00 and St Patrick's Cathedral closes between services.
The rain comes and goes; it rarely lasts all day.
Three days for the city and one or two more to get out. Central Dublin is small: from Trinity College to St Patrick's Cathedral is a twenty-minute walk, and almost everything important lies between the River Liffey, Grafton Street and St Stephen's Green. A good way to divide it is this:
With more days, get out of the city: Newgrange and the Boyne Valley to the north, Glendalough to the south, Kilkenny by train and, with one or two nights, Galway and the Cliffs of Moher.
Three visits are sold with a set time and are best bought before you travel:
On foot in the centre and with the Leap Visitor card for everything else: €8 for one day, €18 for three days, with unlimited bus, Luas tram and DART. From the airport, the Dublin Express or Aircoach coach drops you in the centre in about half an hour. Do not hire a car for the city: parking is expensive and difficult, and for day trips there are trains, buses and organised coaches.
Between Trinity College and the Liffey you have everything on foot and the airport coach at your door. North of the river, Smithfield is cheaper and has the Luas to Heuston station, a good idea if you are catching trains to Kilkenny or Galway. Temple Bar is lively but noisy at night.
Questions
On the Dublin Express or Aircoach coaches, which leave from the bus areas of both terminals and take about 30 minutes. TFI city buses, such as the 16 or the 41, are cheaper and slower.
Only at kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie. Some tickets go on sale 28 days ahead, at midnight Irish time; if there are none, try on the day from 9:15, when additional tickets and cancellations are released.
From €19 for the short visit with the Old Library and from €25 for the full one with the digital exhibition, at a fixed time.
Yes: the ticket includes a drink in the Gravity Bar, which can be a pint, Guinness 0.0 or a soft drink. Under-18s have a soft drink.
Yes, if you have half a day: in 30 minutes by DART you are in a fishing port with a two-hour cliff path and seafood on the quay.
The National Museum of Ireland, at all four of its sites, including the Archaeology one on Kildare Street.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/ireland/dublin
