JamieBLT

Packed with history, lively pubs, and great music,  Ireland’s capital is a good place to start  your first adventure in The Emerald Isle. Known for being a city full of friendly people, Dublin is an ideal place to hang if you are traveling solo.

It is also a very walkable city, and thank goodness for that! I consider myself a woman of many talents but driving on the other side of the road is definitely not one of them. Besides, the best way to truly explore a new city is to walk around and get a little lost.

Here is a list of some places I enjoyed while wandering through Dublin:

Temple Bar. 

If you’ve heard of Dublin, then you’ve probably heard of The Temple Bar. This is a tourist haven with the price tags to prove it, but the ambiance and photo ops are worth weaving through the crowds for. I went in the early evening just before the party people came out to play in full force, and enjoyed the jovial atmosphere and music coming from the pubs.

 St. Steven’s Green

This 22-acre urban park  is such a beautiful serene place in the middle of lively Dublin to catch your breath…unless there are kids running around feeding the seagulls and pigeons in your immediate vicinity. Then you will be stuck playing “dodge bird” to avoid getting pooped on, or hit in the face by the crumb- crazed critters. Luckily, the park is so huge that when I ran away from the chaos,  I found a safe, quiet spot across a pond to watch the bird feeding insanity unfold.

P.S. I am scared of birds.

 Whelan’s 

This is a great place to kick back, hear live music ,and enjoy a few drinks. I absolutely loved the vibe here. People with good taste in movies will recognize this venue from the film P.S. I Love You as Gerry’s favorite pub. :-).

 The Brazen Head

Dublin is filled to the brim with amazing pubs and I had a great time at each of the ones I went to, but I think my favorite was Ireland’s oldest. They’ve been doing this since the year 1198, so they must be doing something right! There is a cool outdoor seating area, but I enjoyed the dimly lit indoor bar area. It was easier to meet new friends while enjoying my Beef and Guinness stew.

Book of Kells and Trinity College. 

The Book of Kells is one of Ireland’s great national treasures and a treat for any history lover. I highly recommend buying your ticket online before getting there, otherwise you will end up waiting in a long line. People tend to crowd around the exhibit so it would be better to go as early or as late as possible to have it mostly to yourself. Afterward, you can check out the Long Room in the Trinity College Library. If you are a book lover though, it’s kind of like being stuck in Limbo. All these rich, old books that you can admire but can never touch! Torture. The campus itself is a great place to wander around for a break  on a nice day.

Guinness Store House

This is consistently rated as Dublin’s number one attraction and the second you walk in you can see why. They set it up to be quite the experience for every visitor, not just Guinness connoisseurs. And, yes it’s true: Guinness does taste better in Dublin.

Old Jameson Distillery 

The Old Jameson Distillery was not too far from where I was staying so my feet may have wandered here more than once. If you’re not a fan of this whisky, the tour may not interest you as much. You do get to do some whisky sampling and comparing though and that’s always fun. Of course, the complimentary drink of Jameson at the end is a bonus too.

As with any big city, you can’t see it all in one trip! One day, I would love to go to Dublin again. Comment below some great places I can’t miss next time around.