Here’s how my friends and I spent 3 days in Dublin, the first stop of my Euro Summer!
WHEN TO GO TO DUBLIN
I went to Dublin during peak summer tourist season in July. This is when you’re likely to get the best weather, but also the most expensive flight prices. It was in the low 70s, and we didn’t really get any rain, which was great, so if that matters to you, then definitely go in the summer.
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU STAY IN DUBLIN?
Dublin is pretty small compared to London or Paris. I think 3 days was perfect for us, but we didn’t hit any museums, so if you’re into that, I’d add a fourth day.
WHERE TO STAY IN DUBLIN
Looking at a map, you’ll probably want to stay in the city center for the most walkability. We stayed closer to the Guinness Factory, which was kind of far from the rest of town, but it felt quieter and more residential, which was a nice way to start my European trip.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN DUBLIN
Similar to London, there are a ton of double-decker buses, but in Dublin, they’re yellow and green. We bought physical Leap cards at a grocery store and downloaded an app to top them up with more funds when we needed to. We also took the tram a few times, which also takes the Leap card.
DAY 1: FRIDAY, 7/04
I took an afternoon flight from LAX on July 3 and arrived in Dublin around 2:30pm the next day. My roommate Jordan had been in London for Wimbledon, and we met up at baggage claim and took the Dublin Express Bus together to the city center. Kyra had gotten in a few hours earlier, so she had checked into the Airbnb already, so we met up with her there.
Then we took the bus into town and got dinner at a pub called The Porterhouse. It was supposed to have live music, and we saw where the band would play, but there wasn’t any at that time. I got fish and chips and bought my first and last (foreshadowing) beer of the trip! After dinner, we went back to the Airbnb and watched Love Island USA.
DAY 2: SATURDAY, 7/05
I woke up super early and felt ill, but we had a full day planned and were on the bus to get our first pastry of the trip by 9am. Fable Bakery shared a space with a salad shop and had a cute little display of a variety of sweet and savory buns. I just grabbed a cinnamon bun to-go for later.
Then, we were on to our first ticketed event of the trip, the Book of Kells Experience. The exhibit was on Trinity College’s campus, which is the oldest university in Ireland.
The Book of Kells is a medieval illuminated manuscript from the Middle Ages (circa 800 AD) containing the four gospels and beautiful Celtic illustrations. One of the coolest sights of our whole trip was Gaia, a giant illuminated sphere of NASA’s imagery of Earth, which hangs from the ceiling of the Long Room of the Old Library. It was created by a British artist, Luke Jerram. The Book of Kells website indicates that this is not a permanent installation, but it’s been there since 2023, and I hope anyone reading this gets to see it!
The oldest harp in Ireland, the Brian Boru harp, is also in the Long Room. It’s made of oak and willow and serves as the model for the emblem of Ireland. While the Long Room was pretty barren, as most of the 200,000 books had been removed from the shelves to be restored, it was still a really amazing hall.
There is a part 2 of the Book of Kells Experience in the Red Pavilion (the building is red), which was more digitized and immersive. It featured elaborate wallscapes and a 360-degree theater that told the history of the book, which was way more exciting than all of the panels of writing in the first place we went to.
Then we walked around and saw the Molly Malone statue and explored different shops until it was time for lunch at a burger place called Bunsen. There are a few different locations, but we went to the one on Dame St. We learned these are not smashburgers when Jordan ordered a double and got a huge burger. He is basically a burger expert, and he said it was the best burger he’s had . I’m so bummed I had to sit this one out, my stomach simply couldn’t handle greasy food, and I guess I have to go back to Ireland just for this.
After lunch, we went to Dublin Castle. It was constructed in the 13th century and was pretty unassuming from the outside, but the inside was still ornate.
I was finally kind of hungry and got a delicious kale Caesar salad from Sprout & Co that I am still thinking about. It must be an Irish thing because at every restaurant, Caesar salads had bacon, and I was a fan. So we all had stellar lunches!
We did some more shopping and had some luck finding souvenirs at George’s Street Arcade, an indoor market hall with a ton of vendors. Kyra got a great deal on a claddagh ring. We were seeing them in other stores for over 60 pounds, but this one was around 40. These can get very expensive depending on the metal used, and they’re sold in a lot of stores, so up to you on how much you want to pay. Kyra and I also had the time of our lives in Søstrene Grene, which was a delightful home store, think if Anthropologie and Ikea had a baby. I could’ve spent an hour looking at all the girly cute little homewares at low prices. They had kitchen and bath items, craft materials, and accessories. I ended up getting a mini whisk, as well as a pin cushion for my embroidery needles. Not the typical European souvenirs, but I’m not mad about it.
Our final tour of the day was the Guinness Storehouse. This was an immersive 6-story building that explained how the beer was made from a culinary perspective, but also a labor perspective, and even early Guinness marketing involving a toucan. This really went into everything about beer and Guinness. There were a few bars and eateries inside with live music, and you can conclude the tour by going up to the top floor to the Gravity Bar, where you exchange your drink ticket for a Guinness Stout or pale ale. It was super crowded here and we had to be like vultures and circled for a while before getting a seat. It’s an indoor bar, so you’re looking at the view through windows, but it is a 360 degree view.
For dinner, we didn’t want to go back into town, so we just found a nearby Italian restaurant called Proof Urban Italian. The tiramisu must’ve had some strong coffee because both Jordan and I couldn’t fall asleep that night. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery store and grabbed a bunch of waters and juices.
DAY 3: SUNDAY, 7/06
The next morning, we took the bus into town to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Because it was 9am on a Sunday, it wasn’t very busy inside, and we basically had the place to ourselves. The tile floor was gorgeous. There was a self-guided audio tour which taught me that the Irish writer Jonathan Swift was buried inside. We walked around the park outside, where a market was setting up for the day, before heading to breakfast at Brew Lab. The pastries there were absolutely delicious and had some unique flavor combinations. I got a passion fruit black sesame cake and took a mixed berry pistachio croissant for the road.
We walked to the city center and found the famous Temple Bar Pub and the river, which I was wondering about the day before, since all European cities are located around one. We crossed the Halfpenny Bridge to the other side of town and saw the Spire of Dublin, which is made of stainless steel and towers above the city at 390 feet tall (so 85 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty). It looks like a huge sewing needle, and it was completed in 2002.
Then, we took an hour-long bus to Malahide Castle, which felt more like your traditional Irish stone castle that you imagine. It was originally built in the 12th century, and the grounds cover over 250 acres of land. We were there early and they seemed strict about tour times, so we killed time by walking through the garden, the store, and the cafeteria. The guided tour was led by this old Irish man with rosy cheeks. It was cool to hear the history and about the people who had lived there.
Afterwards, Kyra and Jordan got ice cream, and then we walked the rest of the grounds, via the Fairy Trail, which was meant for kids and was very cute. It was actually a large area, and we didn’t see everything. We walked to the town of Malahide, which is on the water, but it started to rain, so we ducked into a grocery store called Devoted to Food and Jordan and I got sandwiches from the deli right before it closed.
It stopped raining shortly after, and we took the bus back to Dublin along with 60 Italian middle schoolers. It was so chaotic! I have no idea how they fit so many of them on this bus, but it was a massive group.
We made it back to the Airbnb to rest for a bit, and then we mustered up the energy to go back into town to get dinner at Elephant & Castle. It’s a casual British pub located in the touristy Temple Bar part of the city. Apparently, they’re known for their chicken wings, and we can confirm they were crispy and delicious!
DAY 4: MONDAY, 7/07
We woke up and walked to breakfast at Sophie’s, a rooftop restaurant located in The Dean, a boutique hotel. Basically no one was there on a Monday at 9am, and we got all the views to ourselves. The food was kind of expensive, like all hotel restaurants are, but it was actually one of the best breakfasts I had on the trip.
It was a beautiful day out, and we walked through St. Stephen’s Green Park and grabbed pastries to-go at Dolce Sicily. We took the bus back to the Airbnb to pack our suitcases and take the train to Belfast.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Sophie’s Rooftop for breakfast
- Go to Brew Lab
- Malahide Castle & Gardens
- Book of Kells Experience
- Guinness Storehouse
WHAT I WOULD’VE CHANGED:
- Picked an Airbnb/hotel in a more central location
- Add an extra day to do a day trip to Howth
