This March I visited Dublin for the first time and had a brilliant experience! I’ve finally put together a little round-up of the trip, featuring the top few places I went to in Dublin. Unfortunately, I was only in the city for a couple of days, as I was there primarily to go to a concert at the 3Arena. I’d love to return one day and see even more of Dublin!
So these are the top places to visit in Dublin when you have a limited time to explore! I also visited as many bookshops as I could alongside these, which you can read here.
Trinity College
The first stop was Trinity College. I had recently read Normal People by Sally Rooney, and so was excited to visit the campus. It was even more stunning in real life. We took a tour and learnt many fascinating titbits about the University and its history.
The Book of Kells & The Long Room
Inside the Trinity College campus, is The Book of Kells exhibition. The Book of Kells is a ninth century manuscript of the four gospels. Before seeing the manuscript itself, there is a detailed exhibition, which includes all the history and meaning behind it, as well as the process by which it was made.
Beyond the Book of Kells, up the stairs, you can find the Old Library, known as The Long Room. It is 65 metres long and filled with 200,000 gorgeous antique books. This was honestly one of my favourite places we went to. I could have stayed here for hours, and took a ton of pictures!
O'Connell Street and the GPO Museum
Before going to Dublin, I had watched most of Netflix’s Rebellion which is a dramatisation of the 1916 Easter Rising. I didn’t know anything about Irish history before this – they should really teach it in schools! So in case you’re like me, you can find a quick summary of events here.
The GPO, or General Post Office, was where a lot of the rebellion took place on O’Connell Street. You can see a picture above of part of the building which is still a post office, but the main attraction is the ‘GPO Witness History’ exhibition. Inside there is a brilliant interactive ‘experience’, with lots of displays which take you back in time. It includes an immersive film about the Easter Rebellion, shown on a giant curved screen. Definitely worth a visit if you can!
National Library and the Dublin Writers Museum
We briefly stopped by the National Library, but there wasn’t much to see as you had to be a member to see the main rooms. There was an exhibition of Yeats, but we didn’t have time to look round it in detail.
The Dublin Writers Museum was a highlight of the trip. As a lover of literature it was fascinating to look at all the displays. The museum details the history of Irish literature, and I learnt a great deal, coming away with a long list of books to read. It was a gorgeous building inside too; the upstairs hall is particularly beautiful.
Evening on the streets
If you don’t have much time (or money) to visit the main attractions of Dublin, wandering around the streets was a lot of fun too. It was my first time in Ireland and I enjoyed the novel differences in the streets and buildings.
The Ha’penny Bridge is a well known landmark and was lovely to see as the sun set. The bridge was built in 1816, and the name comes from the toll charge paid by those crossing for over 100 years.
Overall I loved my time in Dublin, and would love the chance to return for longer one day soon. The city felt very welcoming, with easy to navigate public transport and a range of vegan options for me to eat. I hope you get a chance to visit Dublin too!
