Three Days in Dublin: A Guide
Dawson Street, Dublin 2
We spent three highly enjoyable days in Dublin over Veteran’s Day weekend, and I fell in love. Here’s my guide to planning three days in Dublin, a UNESCO City of Literature. Featuring elegant Georgian architecture and charming storefronts, even the more industrial areas felt appealing to me, or maybe just because it was such a stark change from Naples. No honking, actual traffic lights, clean streets, no dog poop…Ryanair, sponsor me!
Things to Do
Book of Kells and Long Library at Trinity College
The Book of Kells and stirring Long Library at Trinity College are mandatory for any literature and/or history fans, or really anyone with a pulse. Take the time to read everything at the Book of Kells exhibit and to download the “Visit Trinity” app for the audio guide to both the Book of Kells and the Long Library. The Long Library is a sacred space that smells like vanilla, chocolate, old leather, and heaven, where even the dust motes filtering through the shafts of sunlight float in silence, respectful of the 200,000 works of literature quietly reposing on the elegant shelves. Okay, I’m getting carried away, but it’s truly an emotional experience for any book lover. If you are a fan of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, you’ll also get a thrill out of being on the Trinity campus. (In the meantime I recommend this video featuring all the real-life locations used in the show.)
The Long Library at Trinity College. Swoon.
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland is a manageable and highly enjoyable free museum featuring both Irish and European art, with an emphasis on works from homeland artists. My favorites of their permanent collection were the pieces by Jack B. Yeats, brother of poet W.B. Yeats, and the museum also has a larger paid exhibit of his works on at the moment. The museum’s European art collection includes lesser pieces by the greats — Picasso, Monet, etc. The placards are accessible and descriptive, and seeing works by less-known Irish artists is a treat.
St. Stephen’s Green and Iveagh Gardens
Maybe I am nature-deprived in Naples, but I was absolutely enchanted with St. Stephen’s Green and Iveagh Gardens, verdant and lush public parks in the Dublin 2 and Dublin 8 areas respectively. Dotted around St. Stephen’s Green are signs describing significant events of the Easter Rising of 1916 that took place in the park. There are swans, herons, and ducks in the pond at St. Stephen’s (as well as very aggressive pigeons and seagulls, so be careful with your food). Don’t just cross through the parks, linger and breathe deeply.
A walking path in St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin Literary Pub Crawl
I thought I would be vaguely mortified by this pub crawl, which is advertised as led by trained actors, giving the impression that the guides are in character the whole time. In fact the guide was not in character, he was himself, and he turned out to be an excellent and evocative storyteller. He recited several passages throughout the tour from major Irish authors; when he recited from Ulysses, even though the pub was stiflingly hot at the time, I got goosebumps. The tour visits three different pubs and Trinity College, and even though we couldn’t get drinks at two of the three pubs because they were too jammed (Ireland had won a rugby game that evening and every single person in Dublin was out celebrating), I loved it.
Shopping area around Grafton Street
The shopping area around Grafton Street has been mainly closed to traffic, which makes strolling through this area extremely pleasurable even when it’s crowded. In mid-November the Christmas lights were already up which gave the area a festive air, and some of the best buskers in Dublin play here. We shopped at Aran Sweater Market (catty-corner to Trinity College) for an Aran sweater for me and a Trinity-style cap for J.
Shopping on Grafton Street
Art Afternoon Tea at The Merrion
Afternoon tea is one of my favorite activities and I will not apologize for this, although I acknowledge the irony of enjoying a deeply English custom in Ireland. We went to the decadent art afternoon tea at The Merrion. The food was ample and delicious. Their patisserie selection, which was delightful to look at and almost too sweet to eat, is inspired by art pieces on display at the hotel.
Museum of Literature (for the die-hard James Joyce fans)
“Museum of Literature” is a grand name for what was essentially an exhibit on James Joyce. The museum is housed at University College Dublin’s Newman House and is where James Joyce studied and graduated. The museum has one of the first-ever copies of Ulysses ever published; if the admission were cheaper I’d recommend it unreservedly, but 10 euro per person felt steep. Nevertheless, if you are a huge Joyce fan, you have to go for the garden alone, where you can take a picture under the same elm that Joyce was photographed under as a university graduate.
The museum’s overhead display of “Ulysses” first draft replicas
Independent Bookstores
Dublin has a host of wonderful independent bookstores. We didn’t visit them all, and I’d recommend two in particular: The Winding Stair just across the Ha’penny Bridge, named for a Yeats poem, is cozy and has a restaurant on its top floors (use the door next to the bookshop door to access the restaurant which is up an actual winding staircase!). Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street dates from the 18th century, and in addition to its extensive selection, has cultivated a strong emphasis on Irish authors and history.
Guinness Storehouse
The Guinness Storehouse is located next to the actual brewery where the beer is made. When we went, tours of the brewery were still closed to the public, so you can only visit the Storehouse on a self-guided tour. It’s a flashy and immersive experience describing how Guinness beer is brewed. The best part was the room on their techniques for roasting barley, which smelled chocolately and mmm. I would have liked more history on the development of beer, but this isn’t a museum. Definitely book an admission to the Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse. The staff are friendly and the views over Dublin, all the way to its smudgy green hills, are great.
View from the Guinness Storehouse’s Gravity Bar toward the Dublin hills
Pubs
There are 850 pubs in Dublin, which sounds like a lot until you learn that at one point there were 4,000 pubs in Dublin. Some serve food all day. Many have historic significance (Davy Byrne’s, O’Neil’s, The Brazen Head) and are worth visiting just for that. No matter where you are in Dublin, you’ll find at least one pub. The warm beery atmosphere and wood paneling are evocative and very Irish.
The exterior of O’Neill’s at a quiet time of day
Food
The fragrant smells wafting out of this pocket-sized cafe just off St. Stephen’s Green caught our attention as we strolled past on our first day in Dublin and we returned the next morning for breakfast. The menu is Middle Eastern/North Africa-inspired (chummus, dukkah, and shakshukah feature), and the food is a delicious melange of seasonings, not too spicy, but with distinct flavor profiles. We had the mushrooms on toast, and I don’t even like mushrooms, but it was that good. They also serve coffee — espresso-based drinks only — and pastries.
At Tang for breakfast on our second day in Dublin
The Fumbally is a hipster’s fever dream, a cafe slash grocery slash curated market for local Irish makers. The menu is very vegetarian/vegan friendly, and many dishes feature their house-made selection of fermented foods. The space is industrial yet cozy, with high ceilings and large picture windows fronting New Street, and small wooden tables (some are sharing tables) and schoolhouse chairs clustered together. The items for sale in the grocery and market are carefully sourced from local Irish dairy and meat producers and creatives.
The art wall at The Fumbally
This cafe didn’t have as many vegetarian-friendly items on its menu as Tang or The Fumbally, but we still found some simple and tasty food for a quick lunch. The cafe is located in the Powerscourt Centre (which dates back to the 18th century), with seating along the mezzanine level overlooking the inner atrium. The menu is based around the Pepper Pot’s in-house bakery, and my pear and cheddar sandwich was served on delicious soft and crusty country bread.
Sophie’s is an (almost) all-day restaurant serving contemporary cafe fare in a hip and modern space with 360 views over Dublin. The restaurant features swish half-moon leather booths, diner-style booths with tufted plaid benches, and a stylish large central bar. We breakfasted there twice — Sophie’s is located on the top floor of the Dean Hotel, where we stayed — and the poached eggs on toasted buttered muffins were consistently very good. Unlike the other cafes on this list, Sophie’s takes bookings, and I’d recommend making a reservation, especially for the evenings, when the restaurant gets very popular with locals.