Five Good Things to Do in Dublin
Coffee:
3fe Coffee — 32 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin 2
Proper coffee. Nice place to sit with baked goods and hearty breakfasts (try the blood sausage).
Learn:
The Little Museum of Dublin — 15 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
A delightful little museum in an 18th-century Georgian town house overlooking St Stephen’s green. It’s full of titbits illustrating Ireland’s modern history and there’s a whole room dedicated to U2 complete with pictures of the stars as pimply teenagers.
Catch the guided tour and you’ll learn about why the Spire of Dublin was erected in 1966 (it replaced Nelson’s Pillar that was blown up by Irish republicans). The guide will also point out the part of the house that British snipers stood in to shoot down Irish Citizen Army revolutionaries stationed in the green during the Easter Rising.
Have a serious cup of tea and a sandwich with special spiced beef from County Cork at Hatch and Sons downstairs. It’s also great for dinner (they only open for dinner two nights a week).
Eat:
Terra Madre — 13 Bachelors Walk, Dublin 1
Hot Italian men serving even better food. It’s a tiny space so be prepared to wait. It’s worth it. Another delicious Italian meal to be had is at Paulie’s Pizza ( 58 Grand Canal Street Upper, Dublin 4). Also be ready to wait.
Drink and learn:
Teeling Whisky Distillery — 13–17 Newmarket, Dublin 8
Do the tour. It only takes about 30 minutes, it’s interesting and you get to taste some whisky at the end. The Jameson’s ‘distillery’ is not actually a working distillery so it’s more like going to a museum while this is the real deal. The whisky is also delicious. A couple of doors down there is a hippy co-op type store which has a market on Saturday and some weird Irish hippy delights such as dulse snacks.
Walk:
Dublin is a great city for pedestrians. Walk from the St Patrick’s Cathedral to the Christ Church Cathedral and on to the city hall and parliament. Really pretty. Then walk through Trinity College. See The Book of Kells and your ticket will include entrance to the old Trinity College Library upstairs which is very cool on its own merits but also was the used as the Jedi temple archives in the Attack of the Clones.
