Grafton Street is one of Dublin's most recognizable locations. When you need a break from all the…read moremuseums and historical sites, head to Grafton Street. This pedestrian street - which runs from Trinity College to St. Stephen's Green - is Dublin's premier shopping district. Here, you'll find everything from familiar brands to more unique items like quirky shoes and used books. There are also two shopping centers in the area, the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and the upscale Powerscourt Centre. So, if you're looking for a place to exercise your credit card, this would be it. If the idea of shopping bores you to tears, Grafton Street is also known for its rambunctious atmosphere. As you walk along, you're bound to find yourself mesmerized by the dozen or so street performers and musicians hoping to entertain you in exchange for a euro or two. There are also several restaurants and pubs scattered throughout the area; hours and prices vary by vendor.

While visiting Dublin, Ireland for the 1st time (10/07/2025-10/11/2025) a visit to Grafton Street…read morewas on my itinerary as a must-do & just wanted to share my feedback for anyone else who's thinking about visiting Grafton Street. Grafton Street is a blocked off area w/ retail stores all around & is known for local street musicians setting up and performing for all to see. As someone who loves watching live music, I really enjoyed watching the performances of those we saw during our visit(s) to Grafton Street. Each of the performers were very organized & so VERY talented (see videos included w/ this review of these talented artists) ! I loved how they each had their social media contact info listed. Helpful Tips when visiting Grafton Street: --- Make sure to bring some tipping money w/ you to give to each of the artists. --- Food Recommendations: Xian Street Food Dublin is located off of Grafton Street & they are famous for their Spice Bag - however, all their food is really good and made fresh. Great prices. They do have table inside and do take away. Can get very busy. --- Toliet: McDonald's restaurant is located on Grafton Street and you can use the toilet w/out having to buy anything. This is a "free-99" thing to do so I definitely recommend adding it to your itinerary when visiting Dublin. Hope this info helps!

Its a easy experience to go through, beautiful castle with free lockers to store backpacks.read more

Dublin Castle was originally built in the early 1200s as a medieval fortress under the instruction…read moreof King John of England. For centuries, it was the headquarters of English (and eventually British) rule in Ireland. In 1684, a large fire destroyed a large portion of the castle. Instead of matching the original Gothic style, most of it was rebuilt using a Georgian style, similar to what you'd find in the French Palace of Versailles! It's quite the contrast. When you visit Dublin Castle, you can choose to explore it in two ways: with a self-guided tour to the state apartments or with a scheduled guided tour that visits the Viking Excavation, the Chapel Royal, and the State Apartments. When you first enter the courtyard, you'll immediately see the newer Georgian architecture in the neat red brick buildings surrounding the square. From the 13th century to the early 20th century, the castle was under British control. It served from being a royal palace and parliament to a prison. Dublin Castle was eventually handed over to General Michael Collins on the 16th of January in 1922. Collins was a soldier and a politician who lead the Irish people through their fight for Independence Dublin Castle plays a huge role in Ireland's history and a walk around the grounds is time well spent. Today the castle is a government complex and tourist attraction. Stroll through the famous Chester Beatty Library if time permits

I'm a big fan of horror events like this and had been wanting to do this tour since I saw it appear…read morelast year in Temple Bar, but it never seemed to be open. To my delight, a new crowd appear to have taken it over this year and it's officially open for visitors from this week. It's open every day from 2pm - 11pm. The tours themselves last approximately half an hour and cost €15 per person. I believe you are permitted to bring children but I possibly wouldn't see it being suitable for maybe under 16s. You are taken on a tour of the house in groups of around ten people. The history of the house itself is presented in an entertaining, interesting and historically accurate (?) fashion. It's not just about the jumps and scares like other horror attractions, this one has the potential to get into your head. I don't want to give away too much, but certainly I would recommend going along to the Temple Bar House of Horrors if you fancy something a bit different.

I went here yesterday to the house of horrors and highly recommend coming here for some local…read morehistory and some scares! The house has recently been opened to the public with tours costing €15 and lasting around 45 minutes. There are tales of body snatching and experiments and a whole lot more. I don't want to ruin the experience by saying too much but worth it if you like this kind of thing. I'm not generally a nervous person or screamish but some things had me literally jumping out of my skin!

Shay was our driver in the "new bus." Great driver!…read moreCareful, attentive, fun, educational, and knows how to manage and entertain an eclectic group who just met! The tour is great....but Shay totally deserves the credit for this 5 star rating!

I do not recommend the Cliffs of Moher tour. I can imagine no greater H3ll than sitting on a bus…read morefor 12 hours without a bathroom, but it exceeded my expectations for how awful it was. The bus drives erratically along winding roads, swinging horribly. At least 2 people on our tour were vomiting at their seats. It does stop at least every 1.5 hours for bathroom breaks but the stops are short, you do not get to experience anything at these stops except for one mediocre restaurant that is chosen for everyone for lunch. The cliffs are usually cloudy/windy/rainy anyway. Definitely not worth it. The driver was nice enough and gave some information while driving, that is the only positive feedback I can give.

The Book of Kells is one of Ireland's beloved treasures. It's an illuminated manuscript from the…read moreninth century, a collection of the four gospels. That the Book is so well preserved given its age--approximately 1200 years old--and that the illustrations are so vibrant are amongst the reasons it's so extraordinary. Beyond simply being a work of art, its history is fascinating; it even survived a raid in which dozens of monks were killed! Maybe it does have a bit of divine luck. Its origins are quite mysterious, though it's suspected to have been at least partially created in Scotland before the aforementioned raid led the surviving monks to Kells. It's made of vellum, so quite delicate, hence the reason it's under such careful care. In fact it has been in the care of Trinity College since the 17th century in order to protect it. To view the Book of Kells, you will need to visit Trinity College Dublin. I can't recall if we bought tickets ahead of time or upon arrival, but you can buy them online. There's an exhibit about the book as you make your way toward the pages on display to provide context to what you'll see. There are only two pages from the Book open at any given time; they change every six weeks or so. And you get to leave through the Long Room on the way out, which IMO is itself worth the price of admission.

I've read about and admired the artwork of the Book of Kells since I was small, so to be able to…read moresee a small scrap of the real thing was exciting...but. The museum was small and crowded, and navigating from exhibit to exhibit was confusing -- I was attempting to listen to the audio guide, and kept ending up pausing to search around for the correct exhibit. (Maybe put arrows on the floor to guide visitors?) The enlarged illuminations, with discussions of all the symbolism, were likely the best part, as I learned a lot about the Book... but I'd almost prefer to buy a book *about* the Book of Kells, with high-quality close-up photographs. I'd be able to see more detail, suffer less crowding and frustration with the navigation, and sit down occasionally and use the restroom when needed. (There is nowhere to sit and rest, and no restrooms in the building.) So! If you love history, come see the single illuminated page on display (if you're patient enough to wait for a chance to get close enough), learn a bit about the creation and the history of the Book, then move upstairs to marvel at the Long Library, with its beautiful arched ceiling and weight of history. In the Long Library, there is ongoing work to restore and catalog the thousands of historical works on the shelves -- plus the shelves themselves. It's a glorious space, with a few benches where one can sit and admire without getting dizzy. The Harp of Brian Boru (the actual harp that is the symbol of Ireland, centuries old) is on display here, and was a real wonder: warm dark wood with delicate carving, worn through years of use, and inlaid gemstones (some missing). The final part of the tour is in a different building, where many of the most famous works from the Long Library are featured in a really creative interactive exhibit: images of busts of the authors talk to you, and to each other. There are representations of the digital archives as well, allowing you to appreciate how many important works are stored in the Long Library, and what a Herculean task is underway in restoring and cataloging them all. The exit is through the gift shop, which had a diverse and high-quality collection of souvenirs of the college and the museums (not just cheap tchotchkes and tshirts).

I recently found out about The Healing Room in Donabate. It's close to where I live, and I wanted…read moreto try a Reiki session here. I emailed the owner (Emily) and scheduled an appointment for a Friday morning. She has a Reiki studio here and one in town as well. So if you want to get a Reiki session at either one make sure to email or call ahead for an appointment. Anyway I'd done Reiki back home in Canada, but hadn't gone for Reiki since moving to Dublin over a year ago. The studio is a small one room cabin behind a house in Donabate. There isn't an address, but it's easy to find on Google Maps. There's a sign on the nearby house at the end of the road of Middlefield Lane. If you're coming from the Donabate train station it's a 5 minute drive (or 30 minute walk). There's a 33b bus stop on the R126 before Middlefield Lane. The 33b goes from Swords to Portrane via Donabate (and vice versa). The room itself was very cosy. There was some incense burning, but I didn't find it too overpowering. There's a bed that you lay on of the session. Before that I sat down at a table and chair and talked to Emma (the practitioner) about what I was looking for. I said I'd been feeling tired and drained, even with not a lot going on in my life, and wanted to work on that. She asked a few medical questions (about medication I was on, any health problems, etc). She was friendly and open and easy to talk to. I went on the bed (like a medical cot) and laid on my back. Emma put a blanket on me, for some reason people get cold during Reiki sessions (me included). Reiki is a touch therapy, although some Reiki practitioners won't lay their hands on you, but will kind of hover their hands above the area. Emma did touch, but it was gentle. Funny enough different parts of my body would start tingling before she did anything. Like before she went to work on my head my scalp started tingling. Reiki is noninvasive and you're completely clothed during a session (unlike say getting a massage), so it's great for pretty much anyone. It's considerd a complimentary healing modality (meaning still go to the doctor, but you can use reiki to help you out with what's going on in your life). I always feel really refreshed after a session. How one person feels during and after reiki is completely different and it varies from sessions to session. In some sessions I feel colours (which sounds very hippyish, but I'm not sure how else to describe it). Even if you don't feel or sense the same things I did it's still helpful. They say Reiki works whether you feel anything or not. Emma was very professional, and quite intuitive. I know she offers angel card readings and counselling that you can do in conjunction with the Reiki. After the session she pointed out some things that she wouldn't have been able to pick up from just looking at me, and nothing I'd mentioned before. Stuff about me personally, my family, and a health issue (nothing major) I'd suffered from a couple weeks back that I forget to mention at the start. I was quite impressed with this, and moreso impressed with the resources she gave me after the session. It cost €60 for a session, which I felt was a great price. I'll probably wait until after the new year for another session, but I definitely want to go back here again. Emma was great, and I'd highly recommend her if you're looking to try Reiki for yourself.

From the owner: The Healing Room offers reiki healing, angel card readings and counselling with qualified…read morecounsellor. The Healing Room, run by Emma Henderson, offers Reiki treatments, Counselling and Angel Card Readings. Face to face appointments available at the Healing Room Donabate now. Online appointments and distance healing sessions available too.

Funland, a place where you curl up in a ball and cry. Funland really has set the bar high for…read moreitself with that name. If playing slot machines and arcade style games is your idea of fun then get your passport stamped at Funland. It's located in a dirty and somewhat dodgy alleyway which is not fun. It's not as roomy as Dr Quirkeys, I had an alright time there.

This building and business has undergone a big upgrade both decoratively and machines. Has a floor…read morededicated to roulette with 3 machines. Developing a 3rd floor at present. The entrance is on 67 O'Connell St opposite the Spire! The picture shows the back door/fire escape in the back lane! Liam

I find it really hard to rate Dr. Quirkeys because I don't want to encourage gambling. In these…read moretough economic times, I wouldn't want anyone to lose their hard earned cash... That being said I've been dragged in here a few times and sometimes it can be fun to get rid of your loose change or win an ugly stuff animal that isn't worth the 4 Euros you spent trying to get it. Be warned though that these games are rigged!! Watch out for the people eying your machine too. They're waiting for you to put in all your money so they can swoop in afterwards and collect your reward. Another word of caution for the Dr. Quirkey's newbie: there are some rough people that hang out here. Because it's located on the top of O'Connell Street, you get a lot of bratty little kids that are bored and looking to rattle some cages. This place is good for a cheap thrill or if you need to kill time before you catch your bus out of town.

I'm not sure I've ever been to a place like this. Sure, I've been to Las Vegas and casinos in other…read morecities; but I don't think I've ever seen parents walking the kiddos past all the slot machines to get to the air hockey tables in the back, and then letting the DDR machine babysit while they go spin the slot machines. There's no drinks here, so you don't have the drunken debauchery that sometimes accompany casinos. There is a decent variety of games (blackjack, roulette, video poker) but they're all automated (no dealers, no chips, no cashier) and honestly it gets boring pretty quickly. Dr. Quirkey's is good for an hour or so of (relatively) inexpensive entertainment, but not much beyond that.

Wonderful museum. It is in the smaller side and a bit dark but it feels cozy somehow…read more The exhibitions tell a story of the history of Ireland. I wanted to visit to view the big bodies and I was not disappointed. They also had hordes of gold in display which were surrounded by beautiful jewelry. The museum is free.

My sons and I loved this museum. The building itself is gorgeous inside with hand carved wooden…read moredoors and amazing inlayed mosaic floors. The Bog bodies was my favorite exhibit. I didn't include images of the bodies on display since some people might find them too disturbing, but I did include one of the descriptions on what was found at a site. Lots of beautiful gold jewelry and iron weaponry as well. Admission is free, and we spent about 2 hours here.

Ringsend church nice peaceful place to pray st patricksringsend full title great history behind itread more

Having recently moved into the area, I feel I have to give it 5 stars!…read more Ok, like any area, its got its issues : some "colorful" locals, litter here and there, the odd bit of graffiti. However, I have to say, I love it. Bars, cafes, restaurants, groceries, hotels, buses, trains ... everything on my doorstep. 15-20 min stroll into town, or cross the river for another selection of bars and cafes. Why didn't I move here sooner???