Main Tourist Attractions in Dublin

My fiance and I spent the most amount of time of our Ireland trip in Dublin due to a couple of logistical factors.  We all had to arrive in Dublin with enough time to visit the Guinness Storehouse and Trinity College before my fiance's brother and his fiancee flew back to the U.S. as well as allow us enough time to explore the city ourselves and mentally regroup to do a one-day trip to Northern Ireland.

First, and obviously the most important place to visit in Dublin, we stopped in at the Guinness Storehouse.  I honestly wasn't sure what to expect out of this except that I'd heard good reviews about the factory.

It's open 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 7 pm and is located on St. James's Gate, which is very close to St. James's Hospital.

Visiting the storehouse was liking visiting Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but with beer and for adults! I loved it! The interior of the building is shaped like a Guinness pint glass over seven stories, with their infamous Gravity Bar on the top level that highlights a bird's eye view of Dublin.

Inside you can learn about the history of Guinness, a story that began over 250 years ago.  In 1759 Arthur Guinness started brewing ales at St. James's Gate Brewery.  Later that year he signed a 9,000-year lease for the brewery and ten years later he exported his first beer to Great Britain.  Technically the lease is no longer valid as the company eventually purchased the site of the brewery out right, but it's certainly a fun fact to bring up.

The entire history of Guinness is basically within these walls from how the beer is made, how the barrels were constructed, old advertising schemes, and even learning how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness.

And speaking of perfectly poured pints of Guinness, here are ours!  There's no additional fee for this as it's included with your ticket.  It was pretty awesome to pour our own beers from a tap and then admire the panoramic views of Dublin while sipping on our brews.

Yes, it was a cloudy day in the city when we were there, but it didn't detract too much from the view, which pretty much stands up for itself!

We also took a quick self-guided tour at Trinity College and wound up in their library, which is the largest research library in the country.  It felt just like being in Hogwarts's school library, though with a lot more people!  I haven't yet found authoritative proof that any of the movies were filmed in this library, but Rick Steves lists a bunch of other sites whose libraries were used in the films.

Snapshot while walking around Dublin,

All in all we spent 2 nights and 1.5 days there, which doesn't seem like a lot of time, but was definitely enough time for me. To be perfectly honest, Dublin wasn't my favorite part of our trip. I had a great time at the Guinness Storehouse, but after enjoying the Irish countryside and its stunning views, I just wasn't ready to be bombarded with such a raucous city.  I suppose it didn't help that we stayed at Oliver St. John Gogarty hostel, which is right in the middle of Temple Bar, an area famous for its night life scene.  I was just appalled to see black out drunks lying in the street at 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening.  Call me old fashioned (or old), but that just isn't my scene.  I'll also admit I was surprised that so many restaurants closed by 8 or 9, which made it difficult to find dinner.

That said, I know many others who enjoyed their time in Dublin, and our experience also likely reflects that we had a limited amount of time to explore the city.  I did enjoy the restaurants at which we had dinner.  Almost two years later, I wish I could remember what they were called.  One was a farm-to-table restaurant and both had great food.

Speaking of food, I will say I was pleasantly surprised by the cuisine in Ireland.  I was expecting a more stereotypical experience with bland food, but almost all of the meals we ate were great!  I had the best Irish stew in Killarney, delicious seafood chowder, and the fish and chips are always amazing.

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