Contents Plan Your Trip Welcome to Dublin Dublin’s Top 10 What’s New Need to Know Top Itineraries If You Like... Month by Month With Kids Like a Local For Free Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping Sports & Activities EXPLORE DUBLIN NEIGHBOURHOODS AT A GLANCE GRAFTON STREET & AROUND Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping MERRION SQUARE & AROUND Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife TEMPLE BAR Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping Sports & Activites KILMAINHAM & THE LIBERTIES Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping NORTH OF THE LIFFEY Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping DOCKLANDS & THE GRAND CANAL Sights Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Shopping Sports & Activities DAY TRIPS FROM DUBLIN SLEEPING UNDERSTAND DUBLIN Dublin Today History Literary Dublin Musical Dublin Architecture SURVIVAL GUIDE Transport Directory A–Z SPECIAL FEATURES Merrion Square & Around Kilmainham & the Liberties North of the Liffey Day Trips from Dublin Dublin Maps MAP INDEX Temple Bar Grafton Street & Around Grafton Street Merrion Square & Around Kilmainham & the Liberties North of the Liffey Docklands Grand Canal & Beyond Welcome to Dublin Dublin’s key ingredients: a thousand-year history, marinated until rich in heritage and sprinkled with hedonism. Visit and enjoy. A Handsome History Dublin has been making waves since the 9th century, and while you may have to dig deep to find traces of its Viking past, the city’s rich history since then is in evidence all around you, from its medieval castle and cathedrals to the splendour of the 18th century, when Dublin was the most handsome Georgian city in the Empire and its magnificent public and private buildings reflected the elevated status of its most privileged burghers. How power was wrested from their hands is another story, and one you’ll learn in its museums and walking tours. Personality Goes a Long Way Georgian elegance aside, Dublin mightn’t seem as sexy or as sultry as other European capitals, but Dubliners will tell you that pretty things are as easy to like as they are to forget. Their beloved capital, about which they can be brutally unsentimental, has personality, which is much more important and lasts far longer. Garrulous, amiable and witty, Dubliners at their ease are the greatest hosts of all, a charismatic bunch whose soul and sociability are so compelling and infectious that you mightn’t ever want to leave. Hold Your Hour & Have Another To experience Dubliners at their most comfortable and convivial, you’ll have to spend some time in a pub. Dublin’s relationship with alcohol is complex and conflicted, but at its very best, a night out in the pub remains the city’s favourite social lubricant and one of the most memorable experiences of a visit to Ireland. Everyone has their favourite pub: for some it’s a never-changing traditional