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The Must See Sights of Dublin
Okay - here they are! The "Must
See" Dublin sights - those things a tourist must do in Dublin
to claim rites of passage. Luckily, most are within a 10 minute
brisk walk of Eliza
Lodge.
The maps you see were produced
by Compass Maps Ltd. They sell a lovely popup map of central Dublin
that fits in your shirt pocket and costs very little. They're
on sale everywhere and certainly the easiest to use tourist map
of Dublin you can find. Our scans don't do justice to their clarity.
The Southside
 1. Book of Kells
Located at Trinity College, the Book is one
of those transcendant works that defines humanity's best relations
with the Creator. Uniquely amazing, it must be seen! Up close.
No pictures remotely do it justice.
Unfortunately, though there's
a lovely museum with explanations and huge blowups of the Book,
it is the work itself that must be viewed. In the summer that's
well nigh impossible with huge crowds of people massed together
craning their necks for a distant view. Picture 100 people gathered
around a dimly lit bible and you have the picture.
Your only hope, in season, is
an early rise and breakfast at Eliza Lodge then a brisk walk to the front doors of the museum so that you're
there as it opens. Skip the store, skip the museum, and walk right
back to the Book of Kells.
Guaranteed - 5 minutes of close-up
inspection with your nose pressed against the protective glass
is worth the price of a plane ticket to Dublin. This is
a transcendant work and one of the human race's great achievements!
  2. Trinity College
You'll
have walked through Trinity to get to the Book of Kells. This
is quintessential Dublin Georgian architecture. A treat.
3. House of Lords
Just across the street from
the main gate at Trinity is the Bank of Ireland. Go inside and
ask for the House of Lords. Here's where Ireland was ruled
in the 18th century. Impressive. Incidentally, ask a guard where
the Central Bank Office is located. This is the only place in
Ireland where you can exchange any other European Currency for
Irish currency without any fees whatsoever!
4. Grafton Street Shopping - No Cars Allowed
Right in front of Trinity and
the Bank of Ireland is the beginning of Grafton Street.
This is Dublin's thriving retail heart - and cars aren't allowed!
5. Saint Stephen's Park
At the top of Grafton Street
is Saint Stephen's Park. A wonderful place, complete with
gardens, Henry Moore statues, and waterfall.
6. National Museum - History and Archaeology
Parallel to Grafton Street
is Kildare Street. Here you'll find the National Museum with the finest prehistoric gold art collection on the planet.
Particularly stunning are the famed Tara Brooch, Ardagh Chalice,
and St. Patrick's Crozier.
7. National Gallery
Walk around the block and you
come to the National Gallery with its Vermeer, Monets,
Picassos, Jack Yeats', and Caravaggio. Plus thousands of other
lovely works stretching back into the 13th century. Next door
is Leinster House where the national Parliament, known as the
Dail meets. And next door to that is the finest Victorian style
Natural History museum left in Europe.
 8. The Street Scene
The whole area is covered with chi-chi restaurants, art galleries, pubs, pizza joints, and book stores.
It's a combination of up-market establishments, university oriented
businesses, government buildings, and centre city commercial and
retail establishments. A great place. What looks like a huge fingerpainting
in this photo is an example of a modern gallery exhibition. The
walls are covered with magic marker - all radiating from the central
drawing. Not exactly the Book of Kells, but the kind of unexpected
little scenes that Dublin throws at you in unanticipated corners.
9. Temple Bar & Dublin Castle
Just outside Eliza Lodge is Temple Bar with its many small
art galleries and museums, theatres, pubs and restaurants. Dublin
Castle, from which the English ruled Ireland for centuries
is still the home of the Irish government. Tours of the public
rooms are well worth a visit.
10. Christ Church Cathedral
Go west, young man a few more
blocks and you come to Christ Church Cathedral and the
attached Dublinia exhibit. Here is an ancient cathedral
and modern museum of Dublin history in two connected buildings.
The kids love the visit to the crypts beneath the Cathedral.
The Northside
 1. The GPO - General Post Office (Site of the 1916 Easter Uprising)
Take a 10 minute walk through the throngs and crowds and buzz
of people across the Liffey River. Dominating
O'Connell Street, the nation's main street with its Georgian facades, is the General Post Office - the GPO.
Here, in 1916 a band of Irish
patriots held off the British Army for nearly a week as they tried
to set up the first Irish Republic. They failed and the leaders
were shot - a disastrous miscalculation on the part of the British
for it hardened the resolve of the nation and led, ultimately,
to the setting up of the Irish Free State.
Inside stands the famous statue
of the ancient Irish hero Cuchulain, slumped against a rock in
death yet still holding off his enemies by the power of his reputation.
On the statue are engraved the names and words of the leaders
of the 1916 Uprising.
 2. Henry Street Shopping Area
Branching off from O'Connell Street are the great shopping
streets. Henry Street, Earl Street and scattered throughout
various shopping malls and centres. Up the middle of O'Connell
Street is the fountain of Anna Livia - goddess of the Liffey River
which runs through Dublin and on which Eliza
Lodge is located. Local wags have named this gushing fountain
"The Floozie in the Jacuzzi."
3. The Spire
Erected during the Millennium as a new symbol of modern Dublin, the spire stretches 300 feet into the air. Stand beneath it and crane your neck upward.
4. Northside Museums
At the end of O'Connell Street
is the peaceful Garden of Remembrance. A few steps more
brings visitors to the Hugh Lane Art Gallery, the Writer's Museum,
and the Wax Museum - all very well worth a visit.
 
The Westside
Achhh... so much for the "short"
tour of Dublin. In a long, long day or walking you can see the
Northside and Southside areas and visit one or two of the museums.
But, there's more! Tons more.
1. Collins Barracks
A 15 minute walk along the
river heading west from Eliza Lodge brings you to Collins Barracks where the National Museum keeps its vast collection of decorative
arts. This is a stupendous exhibit of silverware, ancient wood
carvings, ladies dresses from the 19th century, fine furniture
and country goods. Anything and everything from the daily life
of the Irish people.
2. Guinness Brewery and Hops Store
Across the river from the museum
and up the hill are the Guinness Brewery and Hops Store where you can learn how Ireland's national drink is made. Enjoy a complimentary tipple of the Dublin's favourite brew.
There's
the Modern Art Museum in the vast grounds of the former Royal
Kilmainham Hospital - once an 18th century country estate.
3. The Modern Art Museum
The Modern Art Museum occupies the vast grounds of the former Royal
Kilmainham Hospital - once an 18th century country estate. Just walking around the old grounds is a treat and there's a marvelous formal garden featuring a beech hedge and rose gardens. The collection rotates continuously and has featured major contemporary artists from Andy Warhol to Georgia O'Keefe.
4. Kilmainham Jail
Across the street from the
main entrance to the Royal Hospital is Kilmainham Jail. This is an impressive and oppressive place. It was here that the
leaders of the 1916 Uprising were jailed and then shot. The central cell block is a uniquely chilling place. A museum brilliantly explains the lives and crimes of the inmates.
 4. Phoenix Park
Back across to the north
side of the river is Phoenix Park with its Zoo, walks,
and huge obelisk in honour of the Duke of Wellington. The park is huge and was the site of Pope John Paul II's mass for over a million people. Smaller gardens are scattered throughout the area. The President's mansion is located on the grounds of Phoenix Park.
Further Afield
Botanic Garden & Glasnevin National Cemetery
You can take a bus to the National Botanic Gardens which are an oasis of centuries old gardens and trees and river paths. A 10 minute walk from the Gardens is Glasnevin National Cemetery where the great leaders of Ireland are buried along with thousands of less well known Irish men and women.
Newgrange and Knowth - UN Designated World Heritage Site
Special Tour Buses can whisk you to two remarkable ancient sites about 30 minutes outside Dublin. The first is Newgrange, a tremendous and impressive temple to the sun constructed a thousand years before the pyramids. You can walk deep within this ancient mound which functioned as a calendar, precisely pinpointing the winter solstice when the ancient spirals at the back of the tunnel were lit by the rising winter sun. Nearby Knowth is another huge mound featuring dozens of huge stones enscribed with prehistoric art. In fact, between them, the two mounds feature half the prehistoric stone carvings found in Europe. This is a UN World Heritage Site, one of only two in Ireland.
Glendalough National Park
The other wonderful site well worth visiting is Glendalough National Park. In this peaceful valley set amidst the granite peaks of the Wicklow Mountains, Saint Kevin and his followers built a monastery whose ruins endure to this day. The walks along the lakes and amidst the ancient buildings are beautiful and memorable.
Eliza Lodge will happily assist you in making bookings for these tours.
Dublin is over a thousand years old and people have left their mark on Ireland for more than 10 millennia. You can easily dedicate a solid week to sightseeing
and not see it all. This has already gone way beyond the attempted
summary stage. Better leave off now.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Just don't miss Trinity College and the Book of Kells!!!
And Eliza Lodge,
of course.
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