Dublin Day 1 -
Tour Trinity College, the Museum of Archeology
9:00am Recommended pastry cafe: Il Fornaio, an easy-to-miss storefront bakery along College Green. Half a dozen locals will be served their morning cappuccino before you can decide which goodies to order. (Our favorite: pistachio cannoli lightly dusted with powdered sugar.) Everything you order is wrapped with periwinkle-colored paper, so it feels like a present.
10:00am Trinity College tour and Book of Kells Experience. This immersive experience takes in all of Trinity’s visitor highlights and spans 2 hours in total.
Start in Trinity’s iconic Front Square where you will meet your guide and embark on a 45 minute walking tour of Trinity’s historic campus.
As we pass through leafy walkways and cobblestone squares, our guide will take us through the ages of Trinity’s 400 year history. Discover hidden gems, learn about famous past students and get exclusive access to the Museum Building, which boasts one of the most stunning interiors in Dublin. Not only will we get to peek inside a few buildings, we'll get a mix of historical facts and juicy campus gossip.
The most impressive part of Trinity College is the Book of Kells, a 9th-century illuminated manuscript that's the country's cultural treasure. Only a few pages will be on display at any given time, but whatever pages you see will be breathtaking. Included in this tour is the Old Library, which looks like a set from one of the Harry Potter movies. The shelves are mostly empty these days—the centuries-old books were moved to a climate-controlled space—but it's still worth a look for the 14th-century Brian Boru Harp—which you might recognize from the Guinness logo.
12:30: Lunch Ask the tour guide for his/her favorite place. If we forget: Suggestion: Davy Byrne's, a pretty pub that also gets high marks in reviews. You couldn't really call what they serve "pub grub," since one table might be chowing down on lamb stew and some pints, while the next is indulging in oysters of the half shell and martinis, but the atmosphere feels spot on.
2:00: A short walk away is St. Stephan's Green, a beautiful city park. We walk right through there for about 15 minutes to arrive at the Museum of Irish Literature. Witness priceless artifacts like Copy No. 1 of James Joyce's Ulysses up close. Step into the enchanging world of Mary Murphy's beloved children's story What I like Most. Immerse yourself in a kaleidoscopic retrospective of Irish arts journal "Holy Show".
3:30 - 5:00 National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology Free
A block east is a cluster of some of the city's best museums. A favorite is the National Museum of Ireland—Archaeology, with a massive collection dating back to the earliest human habitation of the island. You literally come face to face with some of the remarkably well-preserved "bog men," including the 4,000-year-old Cashel Man. Plan to spend 1-2 hours here.
EVENING: Street performers and maybe an underground speakeasy?
As the afternoon starts to wind down, we will take a stroll north along pedestrian-only Grafton Street. There's one street performer after another, many of them good enough to gather big crowds. If you came here for the shopping, you'll be disappointed by all the chain stores. It’s recommended to explore the side streets, where you'll find gems like Sheridans, run by two brothers who specialize in farmhouse cheeses.
There are plenty of impressive restaurants nearby, including the award-winning Glovers Alley. The focus is on local ingredients, so your tasting menu might include prawns from Dublin Bay or John Dory from the western coast of Cork. Not a meat eater? The mirrored ceiling in the main dining room is a stunner, but the smaller side rooms are quieter and more romantic.
For a nightcap, we can head to the underground Blind Pig. Like every speakeasy worthy of the name, it has an unmarked entrance. We can book ahead and they'll give us directions. The atmosphere is sophisticated, the service seamless, and the bartenders can whip up a custom-made cocktail on the spot. They have a second, even more hidden space in the same general area called Little Pig.
A block east is a cluster of some of the city's best museums. A favorite is the National Museum of Ireland—Archaeology, with a massive collection dating back to the earliest human habitation of the island. You literally come face to face with some of the remarkably well-preserved "bog men," including the 4,000-year-old Cashel Man. Plan to spend 1-2 hours here.
EVENING: Street performers and maybe an underground speakeasy?
As the afternoon starts to wind down, we will take a stroll north along pedestrian-only Grafton Street. There's one street performer after another, many of them good enough to gather big crowds. If you came here for the shopping, you'll be disappointed by all the chain stores. It’s recommended to explore the side streets, where you'll find gems like Sheridans, run by two brothers who specialize in farmhouse cheeses.
There are plenty of impressive restaurants nearby, including the award-winning Glovers Alley. The focus is on local ingredients, so your tasting menu might include prawns from Dublin Bay or John Dory from the western coast of Cork. Not a meat eater? The mirrored ceiling in the main dining room is a stunner, but the smaller side rooms are quieter and more romantic.
For a nightcap, we can head to the underground Blind Pig. Like every speakeasy worthy of the name, it has an unmarked entrance. We can book ahead and they'll give us directions. The atmosphere is sophisticated, the service seamless, and the bartenders can whip up a custom-made cocktail on the spot. They have a second, even more hidden space in the same general area called Little Pig.