Attractions in Dublin

 So now we come to one of the biggest tourist attractions in Dublin. It’s a book! No, seriously it’s just a book, no pop-ups, no lift-the-flaps, and no noises when you open the pages. Yes, it does have some pictures but it’s still a book. It's the Book of Kells. READ MORE

Braveheart! Now there’s a great film all about the great warrior William Wallace and how he stuck it to the English – a great tale from the annals of Scottish history. Hang on a minute! Scottish history? But we’re on a Dublin site here!  READ MORE

The Chimney Viewing Tower is currently closed due to unforseen circumstances. READ MORE

Castles come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are traditional with lots of fortifications and towers, others are called castes but don’t look how you’d imagine one to be - like the trio of Edinburgh Castle, Castle Howard and Nottingham Castle in the UK. And then there are some that have a bit of everything – and that’s the category...READ MORE

There’s something about Dublin that inspires people to write magnificent prose. Whether it’s the air fresh off the Liffey, the heritage and history around every corner, the wonderful Irish whiskey or the gorgeous Guinness, who knows? The fact remains though that the city has spawned a growing selection of distinguished writers - commemorated in the...READ MORE

As the father of a small boy, who loves all living things, I’ve been to many a farm park, safari centre and bird sanctuary. But the pinnacle for a small child with an animal obsession is always a zoo. Fortunately, Dublin has a brilliant and very historic one! READ MORE

We know plenty about today’s Dublin – the land of Guinness, Trinity College, Grafton Street, fine food and great craic. But what about way back when? What about Dublin in medieval times? Or Dublin even earlier, when the Vikings came a-looting, a-raping and a-pillaging? If only there was a place that concentrated on explaining the origins of the...READ MORE

It’s ironic that one of Dublin and Ireland’s most famous literary sons is perhaps best-known for something he would almost certainly have hated with a passion. For most people who have heard of George Bernard Shaw today know him as the man behind the 1964 film of the musical My Fair Lady, which won eight Oscars! READ MORE

If I were to ask you to name a colour with which Dublin is inextricably linked, some people would say it was green. They’d be forgiven for thinking ‘green of Ireland’, the ‘green of the Emerald Isle’. Those in the know, however, give a different answer - it’s black, the black of Guinness!   READ MORE

Hugh Lane is not an address but is the name of the late and visionary art dealer, who had an admirable dream for Dublin. Lane wanted to provide the people of the city with a chance to view the best of national and international art. His dream was achieved and continues today but the man himself did not survive to see it in its full glory. READ MORE

The first thing you need to know about the Irish Museum of Modern Art is that it is housed in one of Dublin’s first ever and finest 17th century classical buildings – the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham.  READ MORE

Dublin has spawned more than its fair share of literary legends. There’s Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift and Oscar Wilde to name but three. But the author that embodies the spirit of the city more than any other was a chap called James Joyce, often dubbed Ireland’s greatest modern writer. READ MORE

It’s a well-known fact that through the annals of history the Irish and British have not enjoyed the best of relations – to put it mildly! In fact considering how appallingly the Irish were treated under British occupation it’s surprising they let UK residents through customs let alone welcome them warmly along with everyone else. Kilmainham...READ MORE

In this world there’s art and then there’s modern art! On a recent trip to Amsterdam, for example, a banana stuffed through a hole in a piece of plywood then left to rot on the floor was presented to me as the latter. Thankfully, the National Gallery of Ireland offers more traditional works for your enjoyment. READ MORE

Is closed for refurbishment and is not scheduled to reopen until the end of 2012. READ MORE

The Irish used a very simple and easy to follow recipe for creating a fantastic national museum. You take a number of fine and historic collections, bring them together and plonk them in a selection of historic buildings, some of which are themselves steeped in history, and bingo! There you have it – the National Museum of Ireland. READ MORE

In the marketing blurb for this attraction it claims to be ‘an exceptionally original visitor attraction’. Now I think they know, and we know, and a certain French woman whose surname was Tussaud definitely also knows that statement might be stretching the truth a little. But ignoring the originality argument, this still provides a great family...READ MORE

You know when you watch those cheesy American films where the geeky boy never gets a girl to take to the prom? At some point, someone on the screen is likely to say something like: “Don’t worry, it’s what’s inside that matters!” Well, in the world of churches, St Patrick’s Cathedral is like the nerd with no date! READ MORE

Around the world buildings are given nicknames by the local residents that stick. So you have the modern glass office building in London known as ‘the gherkin’, the ING headquarters in Amsterdam is ‘the ice skate’, the Sydney Opera House is ‘the coat hanger’ and Berlin’s Reichstag is ‘the cheese cover’....READ MORE