Tourist attractions in Dublin
If you want to seek out the ‘old’ face of Dublin while you’re visiting, there’s plenty of history to be found. First stop is the cobbled area of Temple Bar, with its horse-drawn carts, the odd busking fiddler playing Irish folk music, and traditional pubs serving Guinness. 
Soak up the atmosphere there, and then visit some of Dublin’s greatest landmarks: Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest university, with its many gardens, old cobbled squares and majestic buildings; the Norman city walls and Dublin Castle; and the early medieval Christchurch Cathedral.
Around Dublin
Last time we visited Ireland we featured St Patrick’s festival and suggested that those keen to see more of Ireland should consider taking driving trips out of Dublin to the nearby countryside. We found that hiring a car enabled visitors to the city to quickly get out and about and in less than an hour’s drive you can find yourself deep in the Irish lush green countryside.
Here we concentrate on Dublin city centre and the many attractions it has to offer visitors.
At the National Museum of Ireland you can see a wealth of Irish artefacts dating from 7000BC through to the present day, while the National Gallery of Ireland holds some 2,500 art works including drawings, paintings and sculpture. For lovers of literature, the Dublin Writers Museum showcases a fascinating collection of letters, first editions and other memorabilia from famous Irish writers such as Beckett, Joyce, Shaw, Sheridan, Swift, Wilde and Yeats.
Dublin also has one of the youngest populations in Europe, however, and in the past decade or so there has been a proliferation of chic bars, modern nightclubs and boutique shops. After dark, some of the best nightlife can be found in the Temple Bar area, with establishments roughly falling into two categories: traditional drinking dens versus chic designer bars.
Practicalities
Dublin’s international airport is located about 6 miles north of Dublin city centre. The airport has frequent connections with many European airports including many scheduled flights from UK airports. You can catch a bus from the airport to the city centre; there are several bus routes, some of which are express and others simply regular local services – or you can take a taxi
