Dublin

Safe space for LGBTQ+ people, with community café, social and cultural events, resources and support services, a queer library, theatre and meeting spaces.

Many Dubliners lived in buildings like this. Built in the 1740s, its first occupant was Lord Viscount Molesworth and his family, and after him came a series of Right Honorable This and Viscount That and Bishop of Wherever. But the union with England in 1801 drained power and money to London, and the neighbourhood went downhill. Rural folk flocked to Dublin after the famine, so the building was broken up into tenements, with 100 living here. From the 1930s the inner city drained out to new suburbs, and No 14 fell derelict in 1970 before being preserved. Visit by guided tour.

Trinity College is the fine Georgian campus of the University of Dublin. It's generally open to stroll around in daylight hours, but it is a working university, and most interiors are off-limits to tourists. You can visit the Chapel near the front (west) gate of the College. But the big attraction is the Old Library and Book of Kells. Book online, otherwise buy your ticket from the machines under the Lecky library just south. This is for a timed slot, and at weekends may be booked out. You enter an exhibition hall setting the Book in the context of other monastic writings of its period, circa 800 AD. Next enter the display area: only two pages are displayed at any time, one being richly illustrated with little text (or no text, on the "carpet" pages), and one page being text of the Vulgate Gospels, written in Insular Majuscule Latin. But it's difficult to enjoy, with crowds jostling round the display case. Next, go upstairs into the massive Long Hall of the library, with books and ladders and more books and ladders towering away upwards. No books are accessible to the public. Last but not least, exit through the gift shop, which can be entered without a ticket.

And not before time. Irish distilleries have for too long pumped out bland commercial fare, though the country has all the ingredients and know-how to produce whiskey of character to rival single-malt Scotch.

Impressive national collection of Irish and European Art. In January the gallery displays its watercolours by JMW Turner; the original donor specified that they had to be kept out of the light for the rest of the year.

Amazing display of Ireland's artefacts from prehistory through the Viking era to independence. The standout is the Treasury (with the 12th century Ardagh Chalice and 9th century Tara Brooch), and the prehistoric jewellery: gold and silver beautifully worked and carved.

This opulent Georgian mansion is in the same block as the Archaeology Museum. Designed by Cassels, it was built in 1745 as the residence of the Duke of Leinster at a time when the southside was unfashionable. It proved an "anchor development" and Dublin's centre of power and culture soon gravitated from the northside. From 1922 it became the temporary base of the Oireachtas, the Irish bi-cameral parliament, and like the Ulster border it remains temporary over a century later. Tours are only available if you're sponsored by a TD or senator.

The "Dead Zoo" contains a comprehensive zoological collection presented in a manner unchanged since its establishment in Victorian times.

Their main building on St Stephen's Green is closed for renovation, so this is a temporary home. It displays the 20th-century social, cultural and political history of Dublin city, with many artefacts donated by Dubliners. Visit by guided tour every hour.

Exhibiting Jewish life in the cities - as in Great Britain, many were emigres from "White Russia". Their best known member is fictional, Leopold Bloom the protagonist of Ulysses.

Former seat of British rule in Ireland. The guided tour takes in the medieval basements and Chapel Royal, then you see the State Apartments in your own time. You can skip the tour and just see the apartments for less.

Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968) was an American mining magnate who amassed a fabulous collection of early books and manuscripts and oriental art. He moved to London and collaborated generously with the British Museum, but in 1950 there was a falling-out and he moved to Ireland. He established the library to avoid his collection being split up; it's now in the Clock Tower in the Castle gardens.

A wooden church was built by the Vikings around 1030, and the first stone church was from the 1180s. So this is the oldest building in Dublin, though it underwent a massive restoration in the 1870s. It became Protestant under Henty VIII, apart from a brief Roman Catholic interlude in 1690 when the exiled James II was campaigning in Ireland, and the Vatican still claims it. The oldest part is the large crypt, where amongst the items on display are a mummified cat and rat, which got themselves stuck in the church organ in the 19th century.

Exhibition of life in the Viking settlement and medieval city, child-friendly.

Founded in 1191, it became Anglican at the Reformation, so the Protestants had two cathedrals in the same city while the Catholics had none. It feuded with Christ Church over rights and precedence, until 1871 when Christ Church was nominated the senior church for Dublin and Glendalough and St Patrick's for the rest of Ireland. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was dean of St Patrick's from 1713 to 1745 and is buried here, as is his lady friend Stella Johnson. It was rebuilt in the 1860s into a confident pile of Victoriana, and anything that looks medieval is probably a 19th century concoction.

The building is remarkable, a Georgian barracks around a parade square. Displays decorative arts and artefacts over 400 years, from rustic houses through Georgian elegance to "Proclaiming a Republic", the events of Easter 1916 when the interior decor of the Post Office took a sad turn for the worse.

Modern and contemporary art, housed in the Royal Hospital of 1684. See also the elegant courtyard and formal gardens.

This prison was in use 1796-1924; thousands have passed through, including many convicts transported to Australia. It's best known as the place where the rebels from the 1916 Easter Rising were executed. (Several now lie in Arbour Hill Cemetery just north of the Decorative Arts Museum.) Access by guided tour every 30 min, pre-booking essential.

Opened in 1830 and extended in 1997, this Zoo has a dozen habitats and is the largest in Ireland.

Built as a fortified mansion around 1583 and prettified in the 18th century, it fell derelict in the 19th but has been restored as a museum.

Patrick Pearse (1879-1916) saw Irish culture and language as essential for national independence. His one and only case as a barrister was his unsuccessful defence of a Donegal tradesman for using an "illegible" sign, and the verdict effectively made Irish signage illegal. He set up a language school in 1908, which moved here in 1910. He was also a leading Republican, reading the proclamation of independence on the GPO steps in the Easter Rising of 1916. He was court-martialled and shot nine days later.

This opened as an RC cemetery in 1832, in an era when the Catholics weren't allowed their own parish churches, and their burials were begrudged affairs in Protestant ground. Glasnevin has grown and grown, expanding south across Finglas road into the St Paul's section, but the famous names are north side. You can visit the cemetery free, but to make sense of it go to the visitor centre (daily 10AM-5PM, closed M Tu in winter). Walking tours visit the graves of Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins, Eamonn De Valera and many others of historic or architectural interest. A back gate connects to the Botanic Gardens.

Extensive gardens favouring alkaline-loving species. The great Palm House was where Wittgenstein often came to warm his lugubrious backside. A gateway leads into Glasnevin Cemetery adjacent. The gardens also manage the arboretum at Kilmacurragh near Wicklow Town.

Guinness is brewed in 49 countries and Ireland just happens to be one of them. The St James Gate brewery is still in production, now part of Diageo, and this vast storehouse has become an exhibition (self-guided) on the drink and the Guinness family. Price of entry includes a pint at the seventh floor Gravity Bar, which forms the head of the giant pint of stout formed by the atrium. Outside, touristy-trappy horse-drawn carriages ply for hire, but a stretch limo for the 2 km ride back to city centre might be cheaper.

Distillery opened in 2015, primarily for whiskey but with small amounts of poitín.

Jameson whiskey was produced in Dublin from 1780 to 1976, when the business relocated to Midleton near Cork. So the old Bow St distillery no longer makes whiskey but has been converted into a museum about the process and industry.

Two-hour bike tours of the major sights and off the beaten track, with informative guides.

Dublin city is famous for its characters. A great way to experience and live the city is by learning about it from people who are characters themselves - Dublin Tour Guides. Tours can vary from one to four hours in length and include, as well as the standard sightseeing tour, tours on topics like the paranormal and ghosts, music and song, literature, historical, 1916 Rising, and even Irish mythology. There are various walking tour companies and freelance tour guides available in Dublin. Anyone interested in geeky history should try the Ingenious Dublin tours, that cover history of medicine, Irish inventions (yes, there are lots!), great Irish scientists (lots of those too). They have walking tours and self-guided MP3 tours.

This is the most ingenious crash course in Irish literature, history, architecture and pub bonhomie yet devised... It combines street theatre with the 'craic' that makes Dublin pubs the liveliest in Europe. It is a highly enjoyable evening that gives you the pleasant notion of replacing brain cells as you drown them. The tour is a kind of rough guide to the cultural, religious and political life of the city. Performances by professional actors are central to the experience, not forgetting a fun-filled quiz with prizes for the winners. Can be a bit formal at times but this one's been going a long time and is well worth the experience for such an unusual tour. There's just enough time to stop in each pub for a pint as well.

Opened in 1904, and always at the centre of the Irish drama scene, the Abbey is a good venue for catching local playwrights' work but with a global repertoire. It's intended to replace the current building with two new theatres fronting onto the Liffey. This will mean a lengthy closure, but the work has not started.

Founded in 1871 so this is the oldest continually operating theatre in Dublin. It hosts popular musical shows, opera, ballet, dance and drama.

This has a focus on European and American theatre ranging from classics to modern plays. It was established as a theatre company in 1928 by Hilton Edward and Micheál MacLiammóir.

This offers classical concerts. Frequent performances by the resident orchestra, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. The main auditorium seats 1200 and there are three smaller spaces. It was built in 1865 for a trade fair then became an entertainment venue then the core of University College Dublin. It became a concert hall from 1981 when UCD moved to the Belfield campus.

The theatre offers a wide range of shows featuring ballet, musicals, family shows, drama, concerts, comedy and opera. With a 2100-seater auditorium, the building was designed by Daniel Libeskind and completed in 2010.

Event venue and theatre located in the northern suburbs of the city, built in 1996. Hosts a wide variety of talks and performances.

This stages Gaelic football and hurling for Dublin County GAA and national competitions, with a playing season April-Sep. The stadium has a capacity of 82,300 yet you may struggle to get tickets for big games. Tours of the stadium and GAA museum are also available, including a chance to try out these sports. You can also take the "skyline walk" across the stadium roof.

Leinster play in the United Rugby Championship, the professional European league, and often win it. The stadium has a capacity of 18,500 and big games sometimes transfer to Aviva stadium.

They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier. The stadium (capacity 10,500) is on N81 two km west of M50.

This has regular meetings throughout the year, flat-racing in summer and jumps in winter. There's a "Pay as you Play" golf course within the racecourse grounds, as well as bars, restaurants and a nightclub.

Arthouse cinema for independent Irish and international movies.

Cultural centre where Irish is the first language. They organise events and classes.