John C - All Things Ireland

2 Days in Dublin Dublin is one of the best city’s in Ireland, it has soooooooo much to see. The City is famous for Guinness, a warm welcome, plenty of humour in the pubs, and a Cead Mile Failte! Dublin is the perfect city to base yourself for a few days while you're visiting Ireland. When picking what kind of hotel or B&B you wanna go for, shop around online you might just get a bargain! The explosion of Air B&B has seen some amazing self-catering options come onto the market too, some are just unique and in some amazing locations. So my advice is to pick somewhere with a good location to base yourself keeping in mind your requirements, like public transport, sites close by and not to mention scenery!!! Services of course are important in hotels and most important is a craft beer supply of course! Make sure where your staying is within 5 minutes of an off licence, pub or distillery as we say in Ireland” don’t be without!!!” In this post, I have put together a good few days of wandering around Dublin taking in everything cool the city and county have to offer. So, let’s do this people! If this mini itinerary is too much to do in 2 days, stretch it out to the third day!! See my post here on FREE stuff to do in Dublin and my Ireland Travel Guide article here for everything you need to know when visiting Ireland!! Day 1 Head for the pub! No wait for the evening time and then head for the pub right, forget about the pub until at least after 5.00 pm!! Ok, so we’re off (of course you can be researching which pub you’re going to head for alter)! Pick up the car after a savage full Irish breakfast that would feed a small army!! Take a look around Phoenix Park! Phoenix Park is a short drive from the city centre. Phoenix Park is massive, it's a huge outdoor area. The park is one o0f the biggest public park in the whole of Europe. It has some wild deer to see, if you’re lucky you might see a few deer strolling around. The whole park covers 1,752 acres, it's bigger than the huge Hyde Park in London. Checking out Phoenix Park is one of the best things to do in Dublin without a doubt! There is loads of FREE parking in Phoenix Park. One of the really cool. Things to do in Phoenix Park is to take a tour of Aras an Uachtarain. Aras an Uachtarain is the President of Ireland's house. The huge white house has 95 rooms and it is known as “The Irish Whitehouse” The gardens at the Irish White house are amazing, full of cool Victorian features and some nice shrubs and trees. The FREE tours take place on Saturdays, the tour takes around one hour and 320 minutes. It's really an exciting FREE thing to do in Dublin! The park is a great way to work off a large Irish breakfast, it’s the perfect place for a mini-workout. Pop into Dublin Zoo for a peep! Dublin Zoo is a massively popular attraction in Dublin, everyone loves it, and it’s a great place to bring kids for a few hours. The Zoo was opened in 1830. Dublin Zoo is a hub for education, conversation and research. Dublin Zoo is part of Phoenix Park, so you won’t have to walk too far after taking a look around Aras an Uachtarain. Dublin Zoo is home to a large number of animals from all over the world, they have many different breeds it’s amazing. The zoo has over 700 different animals types. There are elephants, goats, sheep and lions to see. If you wanna see some Hippos you are in luck, the zoo houses some friendly hippos!! the zoo has s restaurant and all the modern facilities that you will need. You have to check it out while touring around Dublin! Pop into the Guinness Storehouse Last, by certainly not least the Guinness Storehouse is a cool attraction in the heart of Dublin, it’s a great way to pass away a few hours! I have left the storehouse last because as part of the entry fee you will be able to get a FREE pint of the black stuff! The Guinness Storehouse is Ireland's busiest attraction in terms of visitor numbers, the attraction has over 1.2 million visitors per year. Guinness is an iconic image of Ireland and Dublin and is one of the world's most famous drinks and brands. The storehouse has loads to see, there’s information about Guinness is made and the indigents used and its long history as an iconic brand. In the café, you can try some Guinness bread, it's really tasty!!! The Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse is something else, it’s a cool bar with huge glass windows overlooking Dublin’s skyline. The best part about the gravity bar is you will get a FREE pint of Guinness after your tour around the storehouse, this makes the storehouse of the best things to do in Dublin! Temple Bar Finish off the night in the temple bar area, this hotspot is full of nice Irish pubs and clubs. Temple bar is full of pedestrian cobblestoned streets and lanes, full of crowds of people having the craic means (having fun). The pubs are alive withal kinds of music, from traditional Irish tunes to DJ sets. There are some nice clothes boutiques in the area with some fashion items from Dublin designers. The area has a number of cool art studies displaying modern contemporary art as well as more traditional style art pieces. I going to mention two bars in this post, Bad Bobs on Essex street Temple bar and The Temple Bar (pub). These two pubs are savage and are well worth popping into for a few pints after a nice day sightseeing. Bad Bobs is a large bar with live music, nice décor, a nightclub and a funky roof terrace. They serve nice cool creamery pints of the black stuff! The Temple Bar is a hive of activity, it's an old pub going back to the 1840s. There is a really nice beer garden and a huge selection of whiskeys to choose from, over 400 if I remember correctly! Popping into one of these pubs while in the Temple Bar area is one of the best things to do in Dublin in the evening time!! Day 2 Day 2 covers some cool attractions in Dublin city centre and finishes up in the hot temple bar area. It has some historic buildings and plenty of interesting stuff to see. I have added a FREE walking tour which is always a great way to learn some history and facts about Dublin! Visit the GPO museum on O Connell Street The GPO post office building is an important building in Irish history and the time of the 1916 rising. The GPO museum is an interesting, engaging museum full of information about the 1916 rising. The story of the rising is part of the Irish Freedom story of becoming a republic and stopping British rule in Ireland. The museum only opened in recent years, it's one of the top attractions in Dublin. The museum has many won awards, I have visited it myself and it's really good. The GPO building is very interesting, the design of it. It was designed by Francis Johnston in the year 1814. The building is still used as a post office today. During the 1916 rising, the building was used as a base for the uprising leaders, iconic names like Patrick Pearce Thomas James Clarke and James Connolly all were in the GPO during the rising. The museum goes through the history of everything that happened, and there are some cool items on display in the museum. You have to check it out! Do a Free Walking Tour There are a few companies doing walking tours in Dublin, I’m recommending the new Europe tours in this post. This 3-hour walking tour covers loads of stuff, it is one of the best things to do in Dublin in my opinion! The tour kicks off at Barnardo Square next to the city hall in Dublin. The walking tours cover the war for independence that was fought hard on the streets of Dublin and around Ireland. It covers the 485 people killed during the rising. This tour covers the history of some of Ireland's greatest writers. Writers like James Joyce and his work. The tour is full of interesting facts and information that you will enjoy, and some funny bites too! You will learn about the Viking settlement that used to be in Dublin and you will visit the old medieval Christ Church and Dublin Castle. Another part of this tour takes you to the Chester Beatty Library where you will see some very old rare manuscripts and books. All in all, it’s a cracker of a FREE walking tour that you will learn a lot and enjoy! See the Magical Book of Kells and Trinity College! While visiting Dublin, a must-see is the amazing Book of Kells. This is one of the oldest books in the world known to mankind, it’s an amazing piece of history and an iconic piece of Irish history!! The book is on display in the Trinity College Library, this library is no ordinary library its unbelievable. You will know what I mean when you go inside the library it’s a stunning room full of thousands of books, stacked high with heaps of knowledge laid on the shelves. The Book of Kell’s is an amazing piece of work, the colours and the designs are stunning. Seeing the book up close you will be amazed at the craftsmanship that went into the book. The beautifully illuminated pages of the Books of Kell’s have amazed people for years. In 2018 over one million people visited the library to check out the old book. The book of Kell’s dates back to 800 AD. The famous book was made by monks from the Saint Columba’s order in Iona Scotland, the exact location of where it was made is hugely disputed by experts. It is believed the book some of the books were created in Scotland and later on in Kells in Ireland. It is believed that the famous book was kept in Kell’s to protect it from Viking raids. It’s an amazing sight to see, definitely one of the best things to see in Dublin! Check out the Leprechaun Museum The National Leprechaun Museum is located on Jervis Street in Dublin. This Irish folklore museum is full of interesting stories, mythology and oral traditions going back years and years. Leprechauns are a famous symbol of Ireland. The museum is the first of its kind in the world completely dedicated to the Irish myth and story of the little people. The museum covers a fairy-tale-like display for kids and adults full of the wonderful world of folklore and storytelling that we love so much in Ireland. There are some interactive informational displays that give a taste of the deep cultural image of Ireland that is connected to the famous Leprechauns! On Friday and Saturdays from April to September, there is a like haunted tour with some scary stuff(for adults only over 18’s) the tour experience is funny and engaging, it’s a great tour experience. The rooms of the museum present different stories and the movie Darby O Gill is covered and large furniture gives a cool feel! The museum has a nice little gift shop and toilets, it’s a fun museum to visit! I hope you found this post useful, I welcome any questions or suggestions by email to info@allthings-ireland.com Thanks John C All Things Ireland