TradFest
20–24 Jan 2027 · Temple Bar, Dublin
Five January days of traditional music in Temple Bar's pubs, churches and historic venues: Ireland's biggest trad festival, and the warmest possible start to a year of Irish music.
Dublin
Give the capital more than a weekend: Georgian squares and medieval streets in the centre, and the bay waiting beyond them. Dublin stands on the River Liffey at the head of Dublin Bay.
Best sites to see in Dublin
Trinity College and the Book of Kells
Ireland's oldest university, founded in 1592, whose Old Library holds the Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel manuscript created around 800 AD, and the Long Room of historic books.
Kilmainham Gaol
A former prison opened in 1796, visited by guided tour, closely associated with Irish nationalist history including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, who were executed in its yard.
Guinness Storehouse
The visitor centre at the St James's Gate brewery, where Arthur Guinness signed a famous long lease in 1759, with exhibitions on brewing and a rooftop bar overlooking the city.
St Patrick's Cathedral
The national cathedral of the Church of Ireland, founded on a site associated with Saint Patrick, with a medieval interior, monuments and a connection to Jonathan Swift, its dean in the 18th century.
Where to stand, and when
- The Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey: Photograph at dusk when the bridge and quays are lit and reflected in the river.
- Trinity College's Front Square and Campanile: Go early in the morning before the square fills, for a clear view of the campanile and old buildings.
- The Samuel Beckett Bridge and Docklands: Evening light suits this modern harp-shaped bridge and the regenerated docklands around it.
Dublin through history
Dublin's name comes from Dubh Linn, meaning black pool, and a Viking settlement was established here in 841, growing into an important trading town.
Trinity College was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592 and remains at the centre of the city's academic life.
During the Easter Rising of 1916, rebels occupied the General Post Office on O'Connell Street, where the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was read, and the building still shows marks of the fighting.
Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State in 1922 and is the capital of Ireland, and its literary tradition includes James Joyce, W. B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett.
Practical tips
- Book the Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse ahead online, as timed tickets sell out, especially in summer.
- Central Dublin is walkable, and a Leap Card makes the Luas tram, buses and DART trains simpler for longer trips.
- Note that photography of the Book of Kells itself is not permitted, though the Old Library can be photographed under the exhibition's rules.
Golf near Dublin
Dublin is a golf city. Portmarnock is about 25 minutes north (visitors April to October; €405 including lunch in the club's latest published visitor guide), with The Island (around €325) and pay-and-play Corballis (from €27.50) side by side across the Malahide estuary at Donabate: championship golf to €27.50 in one county. The K Club's Palmer North course is about 40 minutes west (€260, club-published).
Our full guide to golf in Ireland
Where we would stay in Dublin
Drury Street, Dublin
Hotel in Dublin
Brooks Hotel, Dublin
Brooks sits on Drury Street, a short stroll from Grafton Street, in the part of Dublin where the cafés and small shops are at their best. It is a small city hotel rather than a big chain box, and travellers clearly rate the stay: 4.6 on TripAdvisor and a 9.0 score drawn from more than 5,000 reviews on trivago, where rooms were listed from 147 dollars (as seen 25 Oct 2026). For a first visit, the location does the heavy lifting. You can walk to Trinity, Temple Bar and St Stephen's Green and be back for a quiet nightcap.
Best for: First-time visitors who want to walk the city centre from the door. It is a small hotel on a lively street off Grafton Street, so it suits travellers who plan to be out in the city rather than in the hotel.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this site free, and we only list places and trips we would choose ourselves.
What's on
St Patrick's Festival
13–17 Mar 2027 · Dublin (and parades nationwide)
The national festival: five days around 17 March, with the great parade through Dublin city centre at its heart, and a parade in nearly every town in Ireland besides.
Bloomsday Festival
16 Jun 2027 (dates to be confirmed) · Dublin
One day, one novel: every 16 June, Dublin walks in Leopold Bloom's footsteps, with readings, Joycean breakfasts, Edwardian dress, and the city Joyce made immortal.
What we would choose ourselves
The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare
Cliffs & coastal tours
Dublin to Cliffs of Moher, including Wild Atlantic Way and Galway (Wild Rover Tours)
The Cliffs of Moher are the one sight nearly every first trip to Ireland is built around, and this is the day trip we point people to. It runs about thirteen hours from Dublin, out along the Wild Atlantic Way to the cliffs, then into Galway for a couple of hours on the cobbled streets before the run home. It leaves from College Green in the city centre. The numbers are hard to argue with: from US$88.21 a head, rated 4.9 from nearly 24,900 reviews, the largest count of any cliffs tour on Viator, with free cancellation up to a day ahead.
Best for: Anyone whose trip is built around the cliffs and who would rather not hire a car. It is a long coach day of about thirteen hours, so travellers who like to set their own pace may prefer to drive the coast themselves.
Glendalough, County Wicklow
Day trips from Dublin
Kilkenny, Wicklow and Glendalough Sheepdog Trials from Dublin (Wild Rover Tours)
If you have one day to get out of Dublin, this is the day we would spend. The coach leaves the city for Kilkenny first, with a guided walk through the medieval streets and free time around the castle grounds. Then it is up into the Wicklow Mountains, past the Wicklow Gap, to Glendalough and its 6th century monastic settlement between the two lakes. The finish is a working sheep farm, where border collies move a flock on whistle commands. Ten hours, free cancellation, from US$49.15 a head, rated 4.9 from more than 8,700 reviews, and the farm stop is the part people write home about.
Best for: First-time visitors with one spare day in Dublin. It is a full ten hours with an early start, and the walking takes in old town streets and uneven monastic ground, so it is not the pick for a slow morning or for limited mobility.
The Giant's Causeway, County Antrim
Northern Ireland tours
Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway, Dark Hedges and Belfast (Finn McCools Tours)
The north in a day, without hiring a car or working out the border crossing, because there is not one to work out. The coach leaves Parnell Square at a quarter to seven and heads up the coast: a photo stop at Dunluce Castle, an hour and a half on the stones of the Giant's Causeway, twenty minutes under the Dark Hedges, and an hour in Belfast to finish. It carries Viator's Badge of Excellence, a 4.9 rating from nearly 5,900 reviews, from US$91.65 a head, and free cancellation to the day before.
Best for: A first run at the Causeway coast without driving. It starts at a quarter to seven in the morning and runs twelve and a half hours, and the operator does not recommend it for small children.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this site free, and we only list places and trips we would choose ourselves.