How to spend a long weekend in Dublin’s fair city
“When I die, penned the Irish novelist James Joyce, “Dublin will be written in my heart.” From Viking settlement to an embattled warzone, a literary mecca and now a major tech hub for start-ups and innovators, the city of Dublin has and continues to etch its way into the hearts and minds of travellers on a hunt for a good craic.
My sister sagely recommended I arrive in the eclectic capital in the hangover of St Patrick’s Day to avoid great swathes of inebriated revellers. As a student at the historic Trinity Dublin, she is fortunate enough to have the city as her playground. Luckily, she had just about recovered from the shamrock-themed festivities to dutifully take on the role of being a one-woman hop-on, hop-off tour guide.
Over the course of three days, I was taken for an obligatory pint of Guinness at the rowdy Temple Bar, bopped to Irish “trad” music at the atmospheric Cobblestone pub, visited the Hugh Lane Gallery to see the painterly pandemonium of Francis Bacon’s studio, gawped at the sheer majesty of Trinity College Library, took a quick train ride to the charming seaside town of Dún Laoghaire, and even mustered the courage to go for a hike in the glacial valley of Glendalough — nothing says hangover cure like a treacherous mountainous incline.
The city, inside and out, is replete with things to do and see. So come all ye merry revellers for these, with the help of my tour guide, are the best things to do and see in Dublin’s fair city:
What to do
Dublin Literary Pub Crawl
While James Joyce, author of Ulysses, may hold the crown for Dublin’s literary heavyweight, the city was also the stomping ground for the likes of Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde. Since 1988, the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl has brought the stories of these writers to life through professional actors who whisk you to four of the city’s best pubs, all while quoting works from Joyce, Wilde, Yeats, Heaney and many more. The tour takes two hours and 20 minutes, and it includes a private visit to Trinity College so you can kill two leprechauns with one pot.
See Trinity College Library & The Book of Kells
Marvel at the 9th-century manuscript, the Book of Kells, which intertwines Latin text with ornate illustrations. The exhibition reveals how the world’s most famous manuscript was constructed and teaches you about the symbolism behind it. A ticket also gains you access to the Long Room, one of the world’s most beautiful libraries and home to 250,000 of Trinity College’s most ancient books, Ireland’s oldest surviving harp and the seminal text of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Visit the Hugh Lane Gallery to see the Impressionists & Francis Bacon’s Studio
Located on Parnell Square North, the Hugh Lane Gallery is home to some of Ireland’s best collections of modern and contemporary Irish and international art. See Impressionist paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas and Pissarro and visit Francis Bacon’s fossilised studio. The removal of the studio involved a team of conservators, archaeologists and curators who approached the studio as an archaeological dig, and mapped and catalogued over 7,000 items from his paint-splattered doors and slashed canvases to his collection of newspapers. It is a wondrously chaotic, and gives you an insight into the whirlwind mind of one of the most important and celebrated painters of the last century.
Take a drive to Glendalough for a hike
Head for an hour outside Dublin and to Glendalough (Irish for “valley of two lakes”) in the Wicklow Mountains Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are nine way-marked walking trails in the valley of Glendalough, all of differing intensities. If you’re feeling like a challenge, take the Spinic and Glenealo Valley (White Route) trail, which takes you steeply up to a waterfall before a zig-zag path that leads you to a vantage point overlooking the Upper Lake. A boardwalk then skirts the top of the cliffs, and you walk through the towering forests and onto the heather-clad moorland. The trail boasts some of the most jaw-dropping scenery, and it is well worth the sweat.
Where to eat & drink
Etto
Etto is an award-winning restaurant hidden just off Stephen’s Green on Merrion Row. The intimate restaurant and wine bar offers a daily menu that serves Irish and European seasonal dishes and an eclectic wine list focusing on the Mediterranean. Comprised of nibbles, starters, smaller plates and mains, the menu offers; mussels with nduja, sweetcorn, samphire, hake and chorizo croquettes with lemon aioli, Sika deer venison with parsnip, black pudding and pickled elderberry sauce and date pudding with blood orange and crème fraiche.
Chapter One
The Michelin-star restaurant based on Parnell Square offers diners an edible voyage through Ireland’s landscape, craftspeople and artists. The Cork-born owner and head chef Ross Lewis sources his produce locally, and his passion for provenance and seasonality is reflected in the Chapter One tasting menu. For the hefty price of €120 (not including the €80 matching wines) guests can try BBQ limousin veal sweetbread with violon courgette and sorrel sauce, red mullet with black olive seed, watercress and razor clams, foie gras “Maison Lafitte” with thornhill duck neck jelly and citrus and amedei chocolate with miso caramel and salted milk sorbet.
Vintage Cocktail Club
A hidden gem in the city’s heart, the Vintage Cocktail Club, is the perfect place for a nightcap away from the hustle-and-bustle of Temple Bar. Tucked away behind a discreet doorway, ring the doorbell and be time-warped back into the golden age of speakeasies, aviators, and silent movie starlets alike. The 1920’s-style clandestine bar offers an extensive menu of spirits and specially crafted, award-winning cocktails.
Where to stay
The Merrion Hotel
The Merrion is the capital’s most luxurious five-star hotel but it is also a gallery, boasting the most extensive private collection of 19th and 20th century art in all of Ireland where works by Jack B Yeats, Sir John Lavery, Louis Le Brocquy and several by William Scott flank the walls. Located in Georgian Dublin, the palatial 142-bedroom and suite hotel is a restoration of four Georgian townhouses, and the rooms are decorated with Irish fabrics and 18th century-style furniture, from crown canopies to gilded sconces.
The Merrion Spa and Health Club offers guests an 18m pool, steam room, fully equipped gym and treatment rooms. The food here is also award-winning; the hotel is home to Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, the only two-Michelin-starred spot in Ireland as well as the Garden Room restaurant. Head for a night-cap at either their Cellar Bar or their intimate No.23 Cocktail Bar. It is a timelessly elegant hotel for travellers looking to splash the cash on a stay with five-star hospitality.
Trinity Townhouse
For those with lighter pockets, Trinity Townhouse is ideally situated for business and short-stay travellers wanting to be a stone’s throw away from the city’s centre. Originally built as private residences in the 1730s, the refurbished Townhouse maintains tradition while offering modern-day comfort. It is also in an enviable location and within walking distance of Trinity College Dublin, the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street, the new Museum of Literature on St. Stephen’s Green and the National Gallery on Merrion Square.