Spending 48 hours in Dublin? As welcoming and cheery as the phonetically attractive and ever-personable people who call this fair city home, Dublin is the kind of town that’ll steal your heart in two hours, let alone two days…
Think: checking out historic sights, grand Georgian architecture and bustling shopping streets by day; singing along to live music in super-friendly bars all night (washed down with plenty of Guinness, of course).
How to Spend 48 Hours in Dublin
Day One:
Explore the Georgian Quarter
One of the best things about staying in the 3-star Beresford Hotel – your digs for the next 48 hours – is that it puts Dublin’s oh-so-charming Georgian Quarter right on your doorstep.
Once you’ve unpacked, head out and admire the area’s glorious period architecture, strolling from Trinity College and St Stephen’s Green to the Grand Canal in no particular hurry.
If you’re looking to fill up your Insta feed, then Fitzwilliam Square and Merrion Square are the pick of the city’s most scenic plazas. Grab some retail action along pedestrianised Grafton Street afterwards, then refuel at historic Bewley’s Grafton Street Café while watching Dublin’s residents go about their day.
Pay Homage at the Guinness Storehouse
Guinness is so synonymous with Ireland and Dublin that no visit to the capital is complete without seeing how and where the ‘black stuff’ is made. With opportunities to learn about Ireland’s most famous export and even pour your own pint, this attraction – Dublin’s most popular – is anything but dry. The rooftop bar offers sensational views over the city as well.
Seek Out the Craic in Temple Bar
There’s only one way to follow a trip to the Guinness brewery and that’s by seeing the ‘product’ at work in its natural playground – Temple Bar. Lively, entertaining and as convivial as can be, this bustling area of restaurants, casual bars and cute boutiques is how many visitors picture Dublin to be. Sure, it’s mainly overpriced and touristy, but it’s a first-time visitor’s rite of passage.
Once you’ve finished exploring the quaint cobblestone streets and walked across the landmark Ha’Penny Bridge a few times, follow your ears and drop in at Oliver St. John Gogarty’s pub. If you don’t find yourself singing along to traditional Irish music with a Guinness in your hand within half-an-hour then you must be jet-lagged…
Day Two:
Start Your Day in Quaint Fashion
After lying in later than you’d meant to, evict the fog in your head by devouring a so-called ‘brunch of champions’ at San Lorenzo’s (order the Cocopops French Toast!) on South Great George’s Street. Follow this with a gentle stroll back to St Stephen’s Green where the quirky Little Museum of Dublin awaits.
Delightful and diminutive in equal measure, this dinky museum of only a few artefact-filled rooms manages to convey the history of Dublin and its residents in an authentically fascinating way. It’s pretty popular these days so you may well need to book in advance.
Check out History at Trinity College
Though you’ve already admired it from the outside, head back to Trinity College and check out the secrets it holds within. Once you’ve nosied around the handsome quads and rarified halls Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde once called home, make for the glorious Old Library and stand before Ireland’s most significant cultural treasure… The Book of Kells.
Even if you’re in no way religious, there really is something quite profound about having an audience with the world’s most famous medieval manuscript. It’s a richly decorated parchment containing the four gospels of the New Testament written around 800 AD.
Round Off Your Trip with Irish Food and Theatre
All that culture has no doubt worked up an appetite, right? Trot on over to The Winding Stair for a taste of local Irish ingredients with a creative twist.
Let the carbs work their magic then stroll over to The Abbey Theatre on Abbey Street Lower. It was founded as a national theatre for Ireland by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory in 1904. So, it’s a fine place to catch a performance and finish off your visit to Dublin in style.
