By air
Dublin (DUB), ~10 km
Europe · Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Pubs, literature and Georgian squares
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to September — the mildest months
Don't miss
Trinity College
Dublin Castle
St Patrick's Cathedral
Kilmainham Gaol
Things to do
The Book of Kells at Trinity College
The Guinness Storehouse
The pubs of Temple Bar
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
A rain jacket
A quieter corner
Howth's cliff walk, by DART
Questions travellers ask
When is Dublin at its best?
May to September, the mildest months — though a rain jacket still belongs in your bag.
What are the must-sees in Dublin?
The Book of Kells at Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St Patrick's Cathedral and Kilmainham Gaol. Leave room for the Guinness Storehouse and an evening in the pubs of Temple Bar, with Irish stew or seafood chowder along the way.
Is there an easy escape from the city?
Take the DART out to Howth and do its cliff walk — the quieter side of a Dublin trip.
Where do I fly into for Dublin?
Dublin (DUB), about 10 km from the city.
About Dublin
- Coastal
- Riverside
Where it is
Dublin is the capital of Ireland, on the east coast in the province of Leinster, where the River Liffey flows into Dublin Bay, with the Dublin Mountains rising to the south.
History
The Vikings established a fortified base here in 841, beside a dark pool, dubh linn in Irish, that gave the city its name. It became the centre of English and later British rule in Ireland, and in the 18th century Georgian Dublin was briefly the second-largest city of the British Empire; in 1922 it became the capital of the Irish Free State, today's Republic of Ireland.
People
Dubliners speak English, and Irish, the country's first official language, is taught in schools and seen on street signs. Pub culture, traditional music sessions and a strong literary tradition, from Swift to Joyce and Beckett, are part of city life, and St Patrick's Day brings a great festival each March.
Known for
- The Book of Kells at Trinity College
- The Guinness Storehouse
- Georgian squares and doorways
- Pubs and traditional music
- James Joyce's Ulysses and Bloomsday
Did you know?
Dublin was the birthplace of three winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature, W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett, and it was named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.