‘Old woolen wrap’ – this is a Dublin metaphor for me. A bit worn out thing, nothing special, but so close to the heart that I would want to roll myself into it, sit next to the window with a glass of whiskey and read a book on a long rainy day. And not hurry. And in the evening I would go to a pub and again, I will not hurry.
Honestly, there is not so much to ‘see’ in Dublin, in Dublin you need to ‘do‘. And there is always something to do.
- Go to a theatre, concert, show. The fact that Ireland is English speaking is a nice advantage for travelers. That means we can go to theatres and other events for locals and enjoy them. For example, interactive theatre VaultsLive or Irish dance show in Gaiety Theatre or just go for a pub crawl and talk to bartenders. You can be strolling from a pub to a pub endlessly. And you will come across dancing, live music (Irish music or different other types).
- Visit the new museum of emigration ‘EPIC’. This is an interesting example of a modern museum when it is not about objects but about storytelling. You are taken through a story and it feels like someone is holding your hand. As we were told by the hostess of the B&B we stayed, every Irish has some relatives in America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada who emigrated there and that’s why this museum is so relevant to the country.
- Get a ride on a double-deck bus. As any European capital has tourist buses, but I am not sure they are of any need as normal city buses are also double-deck and very pretty.
- Visit Trinity college area and skip the Long Room library. Wherever you are trying to go in Dublin, you will end up at Trinity College. In the inner yard of the college, you can join an excursion that is organized by students of the college themselves (15 Euro). You will learn a lot of interesting stuff, but you will not get inside anything:). You will see the canteen building where the best students can have dinner for free and have a right for a pint of Guinness every evening. They say it looks pretty much like the one in Harry Potter. You will also learn that the oldest dormitory does not have heating, that to reach the showers you have to go outside and that, of course, there is a ghost that lives on-premises. Trinity College is famous for its Long Room (a library), it was also used as an inspiration for the Harry Potter movie. However, I would not recommend going inside the Lond Room. Crowded, way too crowded to enjoy anything. The same advice about the Book of Kells, do not go to see it, pointless.
- Take photos of as many doors as possible. Dublin is very proud of its Georgian doors. They are very ‘Instagramable’. You can spend the entire day photographing them. And if I would need to tell what is the color of Dublin, I would say, it is red!
- Drink as many different types of whiskey as possible. Even if you do not like whiskey, you will have to fall in love with it at least for a bit, if you are in Dublin. The city has several museums of whiskey, also Irish Whiskey Museum. The Irish are very proud of their tradition of whiskey production and they are very jealous that Scots got more advanced with it because they picked up some technology trick that Irish decided to ignore.
- Visit Church restaurant and follow a self-guided excursion. This church was closed for restoration for several years and when it was opened, everyone saw that nothing has changed inside except the bar installed in the middle. In the evenings they have music and Irish dancing. There is a short brochure for a self-guided excursion that is accessible to everyone.
- Sing the unofficial Dublin hymn, a song about Molly Manon, in a pub. Not every city has its own song.
Even if you do not prepare your trip beforehand, Dublin is a very tourist-friendly city. Everywhere, in all hotels, restaurants, museums you will find leaflets and small sightseeing cards (one for each sight) and there are lots of them. You can create your own itinerary within 15 minutes.