Traveladvice Dublin, 3 day vacation

Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland, with a population of almost 500,000 people. The city is located on the eastern coast of Ireland, where the River Liffey runs into the Irish Sea.  Originally a Viking settlement, Dublin had periods when it was the second largest city in the British Empire.

Dublin is also the cultural and historical centre of Ireland, with plenty of landmarks and attractions to make for a pleasant travel destination. Among the highlights of the city are the centuries old monuments, like the Dublin Castle, as well as many other churches and museums.

DAY 1

• Start your first day in Dublin with its most important landmark, the Dublin Castle. In continuous occupation since its establishment in 1204 AD, Dublin Castle has played a prominent role in Ireland’s history. Today, this prestigious city centre site is host to state-of-the-art conference and dining facilities. The State Apartments are among the most prestigious State rooms in the country and are open for guided tours. Since its foundation in 1204 Dublin Castle has been at the heart of the history and evolution of the city.  Today, spanning an area of over 44,000 square meters (11 acres), the site contains 2 museums, 2 cafés, an international conference centre, 2 gardens, Government Buildings and the State Apartments which are the most important state rooms in the country. The grounds of the site are free to explore, as is the Chapel Royal, the Chester Beatty Library, the Garda Museum and the Revenue Museum.  Access to the State Apartments is by guided tour only and tickets may be purchased from the Apartments in the Upper Castle Yard. The State Apartmentsdominate the south range of the Great Courtyard. They were built as the residential and public quarters of the Viceregal Court and were the seat of the executive and focus of fashionable and extravagant social life.
• Continue the tour with the Christ Church Cathedral. Christ Church Cathedral (founded c.1028) is the spiritual heart of the city, and one of the top visitor attractions inDublin. Step inside and you can enjoy the cathedral’s beautiful interior and fascinating medieval crypt. Follow the steps that bring you beneath the cathedral and explore the medieval crypt, one of the largest in Britain & Ireland, and the earliest surviving structure in the city. The crypt houses fascinating memorials, the cat and the rat, The Treasury, an audio visual presentation, the cathedral shop and the Cathedral Café. Christ Church Cathedral was a major pilgrimage site in the medieval period, with an important collection of relics ranging from a miraculous speaking cross to a piece from the crib of Jesus. Today, it is still possible to see one of these relics, the heart of Laurence O’Toole, patron saint of Dublin
• Visit the City Hall of Dublin, an outstanding example of the Georgian architecture for which Dublin is world-renowned. It was built between 1769 and 1779 to the designs of architect Thomas Cooley and is a notable example of 18th-century architecture in the city. Located at the top of Parliament Street on the city’s southern side, it stands next to Dublin Castle, the centre of British government in Ireland until 1922. The street had been built in 1753, providing a continuation of Capel Street on the north bank of the Liffey, across the newly widened Essex Bridge, and so the exchange ended (and still ends) a long streetscape. The large size and fine fittings of the Royal exchange, with carved capitals by Simon Vierpyl, and plasterwork by the leading stuccodore Charles Thorpe, reflect the standing and prestige of Dublin in the 18th Century. The neo-classical building contains a central entrance hall or Rotunda, with a large dome supported by twelve columns which is surrounded by an ambulatory where the merchants strolled and discussed business meetings.
• After lunch, visit the Patrick Cathedral. Built in honour of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous well where tradition has it Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin. The parish church of Saint Patrick on this site was granted collegiate status in 1191, and raised to cathedral status in 1224. The present building dates from 1220. The Cathedral is today the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (a church of the Anglican communion) and also serves as a popular tourist attraction in Ireland. Today the Cathedral isopen to all people as an architectural and historical site, but principally as a place of worship. Charges are made for those visiting for sightseeing and these contributions directly support the future of this holy and historic building.
• Next, visit the National Museum of Ireland and its Natural History branch. Just two years before Charles Darwin published his famous work, ‘The Origin of Species’, the Natural History Museum in Merrion Street was opened to the public for the first time in 1857. Now, as then, it educates and inspires, leaving us feeling small and humbled amidst the vast and wondrous diversity of life on display. This museum of museums is famous for its Victorian cabinet style, which houses one of the world’s finest and fullest collections’ still to be seen today. Two million species, of which roughly half are insects, live side by side with, appropriately for a natural history museum, decorated and sculptured panels depicting mythological figures.
• Last visit of your first day can be made at the National Library of Ireland. With over eight million items in its collection, the National Library of Ireland in Dublin City is home to the most comprehensive compilation of Irish documentary material in the world. From music, periodicals and photographs to maps, manuscripts and genealogical material, the library offers and provides free access to an invaluable representation of Irish heritage. Explore the poetry and legacy of Ireland’s greatest poet in the award-winning exhibition “Yeats: the Life and Works of William Butler Yeats”. The “Discover Your National Library” exhibition showcases some of the wonderful items from the collection, including rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs and ephemeral items.

DAY 2

• After breakfast, visit one of the most popular attractions of Dublin, the Guiness Storehouse. This historical building is central to Dublin’s and Ireland’s heritage, and has been continually updated to create a blend of fascinating industrial tradition with a contemporary edge. The seven floors bring to life the rich heritage of Guiness telling the story from its origins here at St. James’s Gate in Dublin to its growth as a global brand, known all around the world. Your experience starts by standing at the bottom of the world’s largest pint glass, which rises up through the centre of the seven storey building. If full, the giant pint glass atrium would hold 14.3 million pints of Guiness. At the bottom of the glass atrium you will see the 9000 year lease that our founder Arthur Guinness signed on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin – the lease marks the beginning of the Guiness story and also the beginning of your journey through the world of Guiness.
• Your next visit of the day will be the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Art and History. Collins Barracks could be said to be the National Museum of Ireland’s largest artefact, having had a unique history all of its own in another life. It now completes the picture for the National Museum in Dublin and joins the two already famous buildings in the possession of the Museum. Collins Barracks has been completely renovated and restored to become the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History – charting Ireland’s economic, social, political and military progress through the ages. Artefacts on display range from silver, ceramic and glassware pieces to weaponry, furniture, examples of folk life and costume.
• After lunch, visit the National Museum of Modern Art. The Irish Museum of Modern Art is Ireland’s leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. The Museum presents a wide variety of art in a dynamic programme of exhibitions, which regularly includes bodies of work from its own Collection and its award winning Education and Community Department. The Museum is housed in the magnificent, 17th century Royal Hospital building, whose grounds include a formal garden, meadow and medieval burial grounds.
• In the western part of the city, a large green area is represente by the Phoenix Park, one of the largest and most magnificent city parks in Europe at 707 hectares. It is an historic landscape of international importance and one of the largest designed landscapes in any European city. About 30% of the Phoenix Park is covered by trees, which are mainly broadleaf parkland species such as oak, ash, lime, beech, sycamore and horsechestnut. A more ornamental selection of trees is grown in the various enclosures. A herd of Fallow Deer has lived in the Park since the 1660’s when they were introduced by the Duke of Ormond. The Phoenix Park is a sanctuary for many mammals and birds and a wide range of wildlife habitats are to be found in the park. One such area is the Furry Glen, which is managed as a conservation area.
• Located in the Phoenix Park in the heart of Dublin city, Dublin Zoo is Ireland’s most popular family attraction, and welcomed over one million visitors last year. As one of the world’s oldest, yet popular zoos, the 28 hectare park in the heart of Dublin is home to some 400 animals in safe environment where education and conservation combine for an exciting and unforgettable experience! Opened in 1831, Dublin Zoo is one of the world’s oldest and most popular zoos. It has been transformed in recent decades into a 28 hectare park of gardens, lakes and wonderful natural habitats for over 400 animals. .

DAY 3

• Start your last day in Dublin with a visit to Malahide Castle, found a few kilometres north of the city. Visitors can expect an enhanced visitor experience on entering the castle, including a new Talbot Family Exhibition and interpretation area on the ground floor of the castle, friendly & experienced guides -offering guided tours in different languages. In the old castle courtyard visitors can expect a brand new visitor centre where tickets can be bought for guided & audio tours of the castle & gardens. The stunning walled gardens will also be opened to the public for the first time- allowing visitors to ramble around at their own pace! Malahide Castle, set on 250 acres of park land in the pretty seaside town of Malahide, was both a fortress and a private home for nearly 800 years and is an interesting mix of architectural styles. The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last Talbot died. The house is furnished with beautiful period furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery.
• Return to the city and after you have lunch, visit the Book of Kells in Trinity College. The Book of Kells was written around the year 800 AD and is one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world.Its 680 pages of vellum contain the Latin texts of the Four Gospels. It was written around 800AD by Irish monks, probably begun at a monastery in Iona, an island off Scotland and finished at Kells, Co. Meath. It was later buried in the ground for fear of the Vikings and after being eventually rediscovered it was deposited for safe keeping in Trinity around 1653. It has been on display in the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin from the mid 19th century, and attracts over 500,000 visitors a year. Since 1953 it has been bound in four volumes. Two volumes are on public view, one opened to display a major decorated page, and one to show two pages of script. The volumes are changed at regular intervals.
• Based in Dublin’s city centre, the National Concert Hall is rated by performing artists as one of the finest in Europe.Since its opening in 1981, the Hall has established itself as Ireland’s premier centre for the performance of live music. As well as weekly performances by our resident orchestra, the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, the National Concert Hall promotes a programme of visiting international soloists and orchestras in addition to concerts of Jazz, contemporary and traditional Irish music.
• Suouth of the Concert Hall, spend a few hours relaxing in Stephen’s Green. Probably Ireland’s best known Victorian public park.Re-opened by Lord Ardilaun in 1880 for the citizens of Dublin. This 9 hectare / 22 acre park has been maintained in the original Victorian layout with extensive perimeter tree and shrub planting, spectacular spring and summer Victorian bedding. The herbaceous border also provides colour from early spring to late autumn. Sanctuary from inclement weather can be obtained in the Victorian lakeside shelter or in the Victorian Swiss shelters in the center of the park. Over 3.5 km of pathways are accessible for all users. The waterfall and Pulham rock work on the western side of the green are worth of a visit likewise the ornamental lake which provides a home for waterfowl and a garden for the visually impaired. A number of sculptures are located throughout the green. A children’s playground is a popular attraction of the park. Lunchtime concerts are performed during the summer months.
• End your visit in Dublin with a walk on the beach.

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