Why Visit Dublin Ireland?

Other Things to Do: We enjoyed Dublin very much as we experienced the past and present city with these activities.

• A free walking tour which allowed us to learn about and photograph the

  • Temple Bar neighborhood and the pub itself.

  • The Dublin Castle ruins which served as the English and then British ruling seat from 1204-1922.

  • St. Patrick’s Cathedral which is only about 800 years old but had a well there that was supposedly used by St. Patrick to baptize people 1500 years ago.

  • Christ Church which was restored in the 1870’s for £230,000 ($40 million today’s dollar) by a Dublin whiskey distiller

• The Epic Museum to learn about Irish Emigration

• Date night at the Arlington Hotel where we had dinner and a show (Music and Riverdance)

• There are 10 free museums in Dublin which preserve their cultural and history. We went to

  • The National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street: A breathtaking Victorian Palladian style building with collections of archaeology, national treasures, and bog bodies.

  • The National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks: A beautiful neoclassic building with information about Irish Soldiering from the 1500’s to Present.

• Had dinner and a pint with a friend’s daughter

• Watched a spirited march down the street in honor of the weekend soccer game.

• Strolled through Saint Stephen’s Green Park: dedicated to the people of Dublin in 1635 and delightful in the fall.

• Shopped for winter gear: This was a great place to purchase some base layers, hats, gloves, sweaters and new shoes which we chose not to drag with us when we left in April 2025.

• We even did laundry at the cleanest laundromat we've ever seen.

Popular Things to do: There are some very popular activities that most tourists do in Dublin; but, to be honest, we don’t typically follow the popular crowd. Your visit may include having a drink inside the Temple Bar, touring the Guinness Storehouse, touring the Jameson Whiskey Distillery or seeing the Book of Kells at Trinity College.

Dublin seems to be one of those cities that people really enjoy or don’t really care for. We visited Ireland in 2022 by flying into Dublin and renting a car to spend two weeks on the Western coastline from Westport to Dingle. We LOVED the countryside and coast of Ireland with its farmland and Wild Atlantic Way route, but Dublin itself was just a through-way on that trip. So, when our path from Albania to Portugal was cheaper going through Dublin, we decided to layover in Dublin for a week. What was it like?

Accommodations: The Wynn’s Hotel was a delightful old building from 1845 with many original features and superb upkeep. The shower was the best we’ve had in our travel. Breakfast was included with a choice of buffet (toast, croissant, scones, ham, cheese, fruit, etc.) or you could choose from a selection of several menu items (full Irish breakfast, pancakes, eggs benedict, porridge, and a vegetarian option). The staff were kindly yet formal and made us feel like we were royalty. The only knock on this hotel was the wi-fi. In our room and other parts of the almost 200-year-old hotel we could not keep a consistent signal.

Food: And, of course, we ate the most traditional of Irish foods that fit the cool, damp autumn air of Dublin as well as a few other comfort foods. During our week stay in a hotel without kitchen facilities, we devoured Shephard’s Pie, Irish Beef Stew, Eggs benedict, Porridge, the Irish Breakfast, Fish and Chips and several micro-meals in between.