We would recommend anyone looking for things to do in Dublin to first and foremost pay a visit to Dublinia, to learn all about the city’s Viking and Medieval history, it makes a great day out for the whole family. If you are going to be in Dublin City for the day, what other activities and places to visit are out there?
At Dublinia, we the staff would have regularly gone out on day trips to explore our city, we felt it gave us a better understanding of the overall story of Dublin and Ireland and not just the Viking and Medieval ones that we tell in Dublinia.
We want to share with you now some of our favourite places and things to do in Dublin, so you can decide for yourself, what should be on your ultimate bucket list when visiting Dublin City.
Our guide of things to do in Dublin:
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Let’s start with what is just down the road from Dublinia, the magnificent St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
It is an 800-year-old building constructed on the site of an ancient well that was thought to have been used by Saint Patrick himself.
Ever wondered where the phrase ‘to chance your arm’ comes from?
Well, it originated in the Cathedral itself, at what is now called the Door of reconciliation and involved the settlement of a dispute between two warring Irish families, who risked putting their arms through this door in order to make peace, when it could have been cut off!!
It is also the resting place of the famous Gulliver’s Travels author, Johnathan Swift, who was once Dean of the Cathedral.
Kilmainham Gaol
A must see on a visit to Dublin is Kilmainham Gaol, It has such a long and important history to the island of Ireland.
Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the famous 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison for their roles in the rebellion.
But its history goes back even further than that with leaders of the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, and 1867 detained and in some cases executed here too.
The tour guides here really know their stuff and the stories that they tell are very heartfelt.
St. Michan’s Church
Everyone should visit St. Michan’s Church. Here you can shake hands with an 800 year old mummy, the mummies are buried in a vault underneath the church that you can visit.
Why are they preserved, well some say it is because the vault contains limestone, making the area particularly dry and therefore good for mummification.
Another is that the church was built on former swampland, and that methane gas is behaving like a preservative of the bodies, but who knows?
If you want a break from all that heavy history of mummified bodies and rebellions, then just across the river every visitor to Dublin should take a stroll through Phoenix Park.
An enormous walled park right near the city centre, with so much history and wildlife. It is also home to Dublin Zoo, open since 1830!
Dublin Bay Cruises
For more light relief when looking for things to do in Dublin, and one of our favourite trips, head outside the city centre and to Howth, or Dun Laoghaire, depends on where you want to start, and climb abroad Dublin Bay Cruises.
We went from Dun Laoghaire to Dalkey Island and passed by lots of special landmarks across the bay including, James Joyce Martello Tower, the famous Forty Foot, Bullock harbour, Dalkey Island itself and Collimore Harbour.
These are just some of our favourite things to do in Dublin, but there is so much more to do and explore, just make sure and visit us at Dublinia first!
Image Credit:
- St Patricks Cathedral Twitter @stpatrickscath
- The Irish Times
- https://hurdygurdyradiomuseum.wordpress.com/history/martello-towers/
- timeout.com
