Dublin is a small capital with the heart of a village: Georgian terraces, centuries-old pubs and the slow River Liffey cutting it in two. It's a city of words, home to Joyce, Yeats and Beckett, where a conversation with strangers inevitably starts at the bar.
By day you drift between Trinity College, the Guinness brewery and wide green parks; by night everything shifts to warm, wood-panelled pubs full of live music. It rains often, but that's part of the charm, and a fine excuse to stay for one more pint.
Start at Trinity College with the Book of Kells and the Long Room, then stroll up Grafton Street to St Stephen's Green. Explore the Creative Quarter in the afternoon, and end the evening with live music in a pub around Temple Bar.
Spend the morning at the Guinness Storehouse and toast your free pint in the Gravity Bar, then delve into the sombre Kilmainham Gaol, where Ireland's rebels were held. In the afternoon walk the vast Phoenix Park to seek out its fallow deer.
Take the DART along Dublin Bay to the fishing village of Howth and walk the cliff path around the peninsula. Finish with fresh fish and chowder by the harbour before rolling back into the city.
Ireland's oldest university, a cobbled campus in the heart of the city whose Old Library holds the lavishly illustrated 9th-century Book of Kells. Stand beneath 200,000 antique volumes in the wood-panelled Long Room, and book online ahead to skip the queue.
Seven floors inside an old brewery tell the story of Ireland's most famous stout, topped by the glass-walled Gravity Bar with 360-degree city views. Redeem your free pint at the summit and learn to pour the perfect one yourself.
A maze of cobbled lanes packed with pillar-box-red pubs, live trad music and crowds, the city's most touristy but most photogenic quarter. Come for the facades and the early-evening session, then drink a few streets away where a pint costs half as much.
One of Europe's largest walled city parks, twice the size of New York's Central Park and home to a wild herd of fallow deer. Rent a bike, seek out the deer among the oaks, and pass the Wellington Monument and the president's residence.
The city's buzzing pedestrian spine, lined with department stores, flower stalls and some of Ireland's best buskers. Stroll up to St Stephen's Green, then duck into the Creative Quarter's lanes for vintage shops and cafes.
A fishing village at the end of the DART line, where a looping cliff path traces the windswept peninsula around heather-clad headlands. Walk the loop to the lighthouse, watch for seals in the harbour, and eat fresh fish on the pier afterwards.
The cobbled cultural quarter on the south bank, loud, red and packed with pubs, galleries and weekend markets. Great for wandering and photos, though locals prefer to drink a few streets away.
The lanes around South William Street and Grafton Street, dense with vintage shops, cafes and cocktail bars. The most stylish patch for shopping, eating and people-watching.
Dublin's oldest district in the west, shaped by the Guinness brewery, old whiskey distilleries and a rough, genuine character. Come for craft breweries, antique markets and working-class history.
A hip residential quarter north of the river, full of red-brick terraces, specialty coffee shops and easygoing pubs. Right beside Phoenix Park and pleasantly free of tourists.
A hearty stew of lamb or mutton, potatoes, onions and carrots, slow-cooked until it falls apart. Order it on a rainy day in an old pub, with a slice of soda bread to mop it up.
An Irish potato pancake made from grated and mashed potato, fried crisp on the outside. Often stuffed or served alongside meat, it's hearty comfort food from rural Ireland.
A creamy soup of salmon, cod, mussels and smoked fish, served with warm soda bread. Best on the coast, in Howth, right by the water.
The creamy dry stout undeniably tastes best in Dublin, where it's brewed. Wait the two minutes for it to settle properly, a local would never rush it.
May to September is the mildest and brightest stretch, with June light lasting almost until 10pm. March revolves around St Patrick's Day, while winter is cool, damp and quiet, but wonderfully cosy in the pubs.
The compact centre is best explored on foot, with almost everything within walking distance along the Liffey. The Luas tram and city buses cover the rest, and the coastal DART train reaches Howth, Dún Laoghaire or Bray in half an hour.
A realistic daily budget per person, in three styles.
Dublin can be quite expensive, especially for accommodation and dining.
