3 Days in Dublin: Sights, Pubs & Easy Itinerary Ideas

We are finally getting to a New Country, starting in Dublin.

Planning an itinerary to explore a new destination can feel overwhelming. We hope this relaxed 3-day guide gives you fresh ideas for your Dublin adventure.

It had been three years since we had visited a new country, and Dublin, Ireland, was the place we chose to break that drought. Waking up in Dublin was a brilliant feeling, knowing this three-day adventure was going to be just the beginning of our Epic Ireland adventure; we were ready to hit the ground. After months of researching, I came up with an itinerary I felt would give us a good overview of the city, Irish culture and history. In this post, we lay out an overview of our first visit to Dublin; this is how we achieved our full but chilled 3-day visit.

Travel Tip

 One of the big things I always keep in mind when putting together an itinerary is things may and probably will change, and this three-day itinerary was no different. Going to Ireland, we had prepared our wardrobe to deal with the rain, but to be honest, my planning brain had not caught up. The information below is what our on-the-ground itinerary looked like after we got our mindset wet weather ready.

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Need to know

Using a City Card, our Ticket to Success

Dublin Day 1

Dublin Day 2

Planning Mindset Tip

Dublin Day 3

Our Final Thoughts on Dublin

Need to know

Currency: € Euros

A week-long trip for a couple will cost around: €1,921

Correct at the time of publishing and meant as an approximate guide, Budget your trip is a great resource to help in your budgeting research

Weather:

Quick Climate Info
Hottest Month		July (15 °C avg)
Coldest Month		February (5 °C avg)
Wettest Month		October (52.3 mm avg)
Windiest Month		January (22 km/h avg)
Annual precip.		493.2 mm (per year)

Weather by CustomWeather, © 2023

Summer Days are 17 hours (June to September), and the longest days are in June. The longest dark nights, on the other hand, are in winter (December to March). December nights in Dublin last almost 17 hours.

Best time to visit:

For great weather and lower crowds, visit between March and May and September to November. It is not as cold as it is in winter, either. That said, Ireland has a mild, temperate climate; even though rainy at times, you can visit all year round.

Using a City Card, our Ticket to Success

Most of our sightseeing was accessed through the Dublin City Go Card. This card meant we had pre-paid entry to the locations and came with a handy booklet helping us to know some of the requirements to make the most out of our visits and, if needed, helped us to choose other sites on the fly.

Dublin Day 1

Getting ready to explore in the rain

We were not prepared for the reality of sightseeing in the rain. Waking up to a very wet Dublin knocked our confidence. Our itinerary had a lot of walking, and being jetlagged and worn out due to a busy couple of days in London, we decided to change it up. Having the city card meant we had more we could do and not have to spend money, so we set out to fill our day. Because I had a short list of activities for the three days, this was a good starting point. Along with that, we had the city card booklet with other options.

We had breakfast at our hotel. It was our first Irish Breakfast, but it left us disappointed (which can often be a risk).

 Deciding to do the Hop On Hop Off Bus

Together we decided to rework our day and start off by taking the Hop On Hop Off Bus. This was a great way to get the lay of the land and see the sights while keeping dry. The hop-on hop-off bus was not on our original plan, but as I say, things change and having the tour included in the city card made the tour easy.

The whole route takes  1 hour, 40 minutes and gives a great overview of the city, with 25 locations covered. We did not use the hop-on hop-off service but choose to use it as a one-stop tour. Some buses include a driver guide, and our bus was one of them. The live guide takes the tour to the next level, and this guide was lovely and really made everyone feel welcome on his bus.

Stop one: 13 Upper O’Connell Street (Outside Discover Ireland Centre)

Prices start Online Total: from €29.70,  Full price €33.00 (brought on site) 24-hour ticket

 Grafton Street

If you are into music or shopping, then Grafton Street is a destination you have to include. Phil had discovered that Grafton Street was home to some of Dublin’s best Buskers, and this was one place he was keen to see on the itinerary. Grafton Street runs from Trinity College to the entrance to St Stephen’s Green. Seeing buskers is very weather dependent, and on our first walk, we only saw one busker. Later in the visit, we had more variety and enjoy our time on Grafton Street.

Grafton Street is home to cafes, pubs, restaurants, shops, and hotels. Walking along Grafton Street will not only be a pull to your wallet but in and around the area are many sites worth your time. Whether you are wanting to visit museums, walk in a park or find a modern part of Dublin, you can on or near Grafton Street. One of the shopping centres, St Stephens Green Shopping Centre, is on the corner opposite one of the entrances to St Stephens Green.

We had lunch at a burger place in St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, and this was a great place out of the weather with a view over Grafon Street and St Stephens Green, allowing for people watching.

If someone says, we will meet you at the top of Grafton Street that is referring to the St Stephens Green end.

FREE

Open 24 hours to wander

 St Stephens Green

As stated above, St Stephens Green is a large park on the top end of Grafton Street. Our first visit to the park was in the wet, but this did not stop us from going for a short walk.

In 1880 the park was reopened to the public, and today, this 22 acres (8.9 ha) greenspace with beautiful flower beds and a great lake with ducks, swans and lots of seagulls is a great place to rest or have a picnic. Oh, we also saw a squirrel running around in the rain.

The main entrance is through the Fusiliers’ Arch, at the top of Grafton Street.

 Opening hours

Monday – Saturday: 7.30 am – dusk.
Sunday and bank holidays: 9.30 am – dusk.
Christmas Day: 9.30 am- 12.30 pm

Note that “dusk” changes depending on the time of year

 Gunness Storehouse and trying Guinness

This iconic destination was the only thing that we had a booking for this day. So our new look day was planned around this visit. The Guinness Storehouse is a destination in itself and very popular, we decided that it was worth the time.

We had an absolute ball during our visit, and we are so glad we made the call to include it. The people who created this 90 min experience did an amazing job at keeping you engaged. Collecting your Guinness at the Gravity Bar was a great way to finish. Yes, the experience is the same as everyone else, but totally worth it.

Dublinia Viking Medieval Museum

What an amazing Museum. Dublinia shows you early history dating back to 820 AD, with the arrival of the Vikings through to medieval life. A great way to spend 90 mins, even with aching feet and very glad we added it to day one.

St Michaels Hill Christ Church, Dublin 8, Ireland

Cost: Adult: €15.00

Dublinia is open daily, Monday to Sunday, from 10.00 am until 6.00 pm (the last admission is 5.00 pm)

Christchurch Cathedral

Walking over the stone bridge from Dublinia, you can either exit or enter Christchurch Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral has stood at the heart of Dublin for almost 1,000 years.  Originally a Viking church, this beautiful building steeped in History was amazing to drag tired feet through.

Christchurch Pl, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, Ireland

Cost: €10.00

 Opening Times Monday – Wednesday – Friday – Saturday 9:30 – 7 pm

Tuesday – Thursday 9:30 – 6 pm

Sunday 12:30-15:00
16:30-19:00

Last admission 45 minutes before closing.

Dinner at Copper Alley Bistro

Dinner was enjoyed at the Copper Alley Restaurant, a few doors up from our Accommodation Handels Hotel and opposite Christchurch Cathedral. We both enjoyed a hearty and delicious Beef and Guinness Stew.

 2 Lord Edward St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 P634

Opens Daily 8 am – 10 pm

Here is the link to our day one video for more of our explorations.

Dublin Day 2

Breakfast at the Chrous Cafe

After the previous day’s failed breakfast, we decided to try the Chrous cafe next door. This was a much better experience, and Phil enjoyed the best cup of Tea since leaving home.

7 Fishamble St, Temple Bar, Dublin 8, Ireland

Sunday – Monday 8:30 -3:30

Tuesday- Saturday 8:30 – 4 pm

Dublin Castle

We had planned to visit Dublin Castle to start our day, but due to the USA President coming to town, it was closed and not an option.

Dame St, Dublin 2, Ireland

Daily 9:45 am–5:15 pm (Castle)

9 am–6 pm (State Apartments)

Walking the streets of Dublin

When we start researching a Destination, all the popular destinations get our attention but don’t disregard that getting from one to the next and walking the streets of Dublin to our next location was fascinating.

The Little Museum of Dublin

Opposite St Stephens Green and close to Grafton Street, the Little Museum of Dublin is housed in an 18th-century Georgian Townhouse. This quirky museum showcasing life in Dublin is very cool, and they say you can visit in 29 minutes (we allowed longer to enjoy the displays).

We found it was a perfect follow-on from Dublinia and recommend you visit them in the same order.

15 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, D02 Y066, Ireland

Cost: €15.00

Opening hours: 9 am – 5 pm every day (Last tour at 4 pm)

Revisiting St Stephen’s Green and around Grafton Street

With the Little Museum connected to the History of St Stephens Green and it not as wet, we decided to take another walk through the green and enjoy other spaces we missed in yesterday’s rain. This is a lovely Green Space and a real respite in the heart of the city.

Still on the hunt for buskers, and it was the most direct way to our next stop, we headed back to Grafton Street. Today, we also venture down the roads and off to the sides.

St Ann’s Church of Ireland

Off one of the side streets, Dawson Street, is the lovely Church of St Anns, a Church of Ireland church that stands as an oasis of hope in the heart of the city. The church offers services, lunchtime recitals, and other events, but at the time of our drop-in, it was quiet and calm, a great place to take a moment to slow down and reflect on God’s goodness. The stained glass was lovely.

Dawson Street Dublin

Cost: Free

Trinity College Green and the Book of Kells

When most people think about visiting Trinity College, they are thinking about visiting the Book of Kells and the Long Library. After much research, we decided it was not really something we wanted to see enough to book, but I was still keen to visit the College grounds. Wanting to visit the grounds was about taking in some of the atmosphere. Unfortunately, they were preparing for an event, so there were tents, stage rigging and other pre-production equipment around, meaning we did not really see much.

The book of Kells is a medieval Manuscript, which would be fascinating to see, but by all accounts, you see an open page under glass that may or may not include any of the artwork you are going to see and looking at the actual pages is only about 30 seconds of your visit because of the crowds. The long library would have been the real reason for us making the time to visit, as I love old libraries. Ultimately, we decided to give it a miss as we had so much to see in this amazing city.

College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

Book of Kells Opening Hours

April – September

Monday – Saturday8:30 – 17.00

Sunday9:30 – 17:00

October – March

Monday – Saturday9:30 – 17.00

Sunday12:00 – 16:30

 Self-guided tour costs €5

Planning Mindset Tip

When looking at a new destination, you will always have a massive list of sights considered must-sees by others, but remember to plan a trip that suits you. Just because others consider a sight a must-see does not mean you have to.

In this case, we were happy to miss the stress of the crowd for a small glance in favour of having more time to wander and slow down an already full itinerary a bit.

The Jeanie Johnston: An Irish Famine Story

After Navigating the tram system to the other side of town, we found The Jeanie Johnston: An Irish Famine Story location. This was an attraction I under research on,  and it is a timed tour. They had spaces, but not for quite a while. As interesting as it would have been to learn more about the Famine and life on board the ships that took people to a new life, we walked away in search of warmth and food.

Custom House Quay, Dublin 1

Tours daily, Mon-Sun:
10.00, 10.30, 11.00, 11.30, 12.00, 12.30, 13.30, 14.00, 14.30, 15.00, 15.30, 16.30, 16.30.

Adult €14

The Epic Immigration Museum and lunch

The people at the Jeanie Johnston gave us some vague information about a possible place for lunch, and we headed toward the tram, hoping to find something along the way… we hit the jackpot. Inside the Chq Building, Custom House Quay was not just the promise of another museum but a choice of lunch venues. We settled on Sevens Wonders, a healthy takeaway—a find we liked and would recommend.

At the waterside end of the building is the EPIC Emigration Museum, another well-thought-out journey through stories of Irish Immigration through the ages. It is a really fascinating museum, and they have worked really hard to make it a wonderfully fun experience.

The Chq Building, Custom House Quay, North Dock, Dublin 1, Ireland

Cost: €19.00

Open 7 days a week: 10:00 am – 6:45 pm (Last entry 5 pm)

Early opening (9 am) in July and August

Molly Malone Statue

Catching the tram, we returned to the Trinity College stop and walked to check out the Molly Malone Statue.

Bronze statue of a fictional fishmonger named Molly Malone, the star of a well-known Irish song. We just wanted to check it out, and there is a tradition that if you rub her boobs, luck will come your way… no we did not do it 🙂

Suffolk St, Dublin 2, D02 KX03, Ireland

Finding more Buskers on Grafton Street

On the Way to our next stop, we walked Grafton Street again, and this time we found two buskers; yay. At the top end of Grafton Street seems to be the place where popular buskers entertain, and the guy we found there had the crowd dancing and loads of smiles everywhere.

Finding the South City Market Arcade.

This was a surprise.

We found this Markethall on our way to Temple Bar and our hotel.

Opened originally in 1876 and rebuilt after a fire, today we are looking at the 1894 construction.

South Great George’s Street, Dublin, Ireland

Monday 9 am – 6 pm

Tuesday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Wednesday 9 am – 6 pm

Thursday 9 am – 7 pm

Friday 9 am – 7 pm

Saturday 9 am – 7 pm

Sunday 11 am – 6 pm

Dropping by The Temple Bar and Fitzsimmons Bar for music and a cider

A trip to Dublin is not complete until you have at least walked through the fascinating streets of the Temple Bar area, and today was our first chance to experience this area.

We headed to the famous Temple Bar, which was packed with tourists looking to get a piece of this now-iconic pub. Awesome Musco kept the throng entertained and happy.

Showing our age, we headed for the door to visit one of the other pubs. We entered Fitzsimmons Bar. The bar was chilled, with two guys in a corner playing Trad Music and a bar serving ciders. With a seat, we enjoyed ciders as we ended our day experiencing an Irish way of life before walking up the hill to our hotel.

Temple Bar

47-48, Temple Bar, Dublin

Mon – Fri: 10:30 AM – 1:30 AM

Sat: 10:30 AM – 2:30 AM

Sunday: 12:30 PM – 1:30 AM

Fitzsimmons Pub

21/22 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland

Monday 12:30 pm -12 am

Tuesday 12:30 pm -12 am

Wednesday 12:30 pm -12 am

Thursday 12:30 pm -2:30 am

Friday 12:30 pm -3 am

Saturday 12:30 pm -3 am

Sunday 12 pm – 2:30 pm

Dublin Day 3

Breakfast at Queens of Tart Bakery

Yesterday we picked up dessert here on our way to the hotel, and we were so impressed we decided to come back today for Breakfast. The Queen of Tarts had a great atmosphere, and the food was amazing—a great place to start our last day of exploring Dublin.

Walking the Temple Bar area

I love going to popular places when they are waking up for the day, and with that in mind, we headed back down the hill to take in Temple Bar in the morning, and this was better than we thought. We expected to just walk around the streets, but Temple Bar pub was not yet opened, but we were able to walk around the inside, taking in the amazing decor and being surprised by the size of this popular pub.

Teeling Whiskey Distillery

Today we wanted to include another Irish traditional drink, with the go city pass included a few whiskey places, and we chose to head to Teeling Whiskey Distillery. Bookings are required, and even though we did not have a booking, we could get on the next tour, so we waited in the cafe with a coffee before we enjoyed learning about Whiskey. At the end of the tour, we tried a whiskey and a cocktail.

13-17 Newmarket, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 KD91, Ireland

Tours: 11 am – 6 pm (Mon-Fri), 11 am – 7 pm (Saturday), 11 am – 6 pm (Sunday)
Gift Shop: 12 pm – 7 pm
Bang Bang Bar: 12 pm – 7 pm (Mon-Sat), 12.30 pm – 7 pm (Sunday)
Phoenix Café: 8 am – 4 pm (Mon-Fri), 10 am – 6 pm (weekends and Bank Holidays)

Tours and tasting from €18

St Patrick Cathedral

We all know about St Patrick’s Days, and I was keen to learn about the man; visiting St Patrick’s Cathedral was lovely. It really honours his memory as a man of God and points us to worship the Saviour.

Did you know that when St Patrick arrived in Ireland and meet with non-believers, including a king, he explained the triune God using a three-leaf clover? Just as the three-leaf clover has three leaves coming from one stem, God the father, son and spirit are one.

St Patrick’s Close, Dublin, D08 H6X3, Ireland

Lunch at the Brazen Heads Pub

The Brazen Head Pub is the oldest pub in Dublin, we had only planned on walking by, but being lunchtime, we thought we would see if we could get a seat. We found a table and ordered lunch, and enjoy sitting in this ancient place. I love how the pubs in Dublin have so many rooms to enjoy. Phil got to try his first Irish Fish Chowder here.

20 Lower Bridge St, Usher’s Quay, Dublin, D08 WC64, Ireland

Daily 11: 30 am – 12 am

Crossing the Ha’penny Bridge

We had driven past and looked at this bridge from other bridges, but until now, we had not walked across the Ha’penny Bridge. The Ha’Penny Bridge is Dublin’s oldest pedestrian. It was erected in 1816 and is now named after the halfpenny toll levied on all users of the bridge up to 1919.

It is a pretty bridge.

Bachelors Walk, North City, Dublin, Ireland

24/7

GPO Museum

In Easter of 1916, the Easter Rising started here at the GPO building, and today there is a museum explaining all things around the battle of the Irish people to gain independence from England. Finishing our walk through the history of Ireland was a very fitting way to finish our official tour of Dublin.

O’Connell Street Lower, North City, Dublin 1, D01 F5P2, Ireland

Opening Times

Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Last Admission 4:00 pm

Closed Public Holidays and Christmas Eve.

Ticket Prices:

Adult – €15.00

Our Final Thoughts on Dublin

We had a wonderful 3-day visit to the capital of the Republic of Ireland, we did find it took us a day to get used to the weather, but it was not a big problem; it just took our still jet-lagged brains a moment to catch up.

Over the course of our time, we did a lot of walking, the trams were easy to use, and we had a couple of trips and got to where we needed to go with only one hiccup on our first run. We only caught a couple of buses, and our first experience was a total failure. We think between the perspex wall and thick accents, we ended up on a bus going in the wrong direction.

If a place suggests a booking or has timed entries, take the time to book and plan your day around them, we missed out on a tour and had to wait for another to do the tour.

We had a big itinerary, but doing this in three days was full but not rushed; having the City card meant we could change things up and not having too much booked meant we could adjust as needed, but as I said, you risk missing out. I know we seemed to cross back a bit, but having the itinerary we did over three days meant, things we wanted to revisit we could.

Dublin is a great place, and I would encourage you to give at least a couple of days for your first visit.

If you want to check out our Youtube Channel here are the Links to our Dublin Videos

We would love to hear from you.

Did we miss that you could not miss in Dublin?

What did you think of our itinerary?

Have you got any planning tips that have changed the way you plan and travel?

*Links to the Go Dublin Card and Handel’s Hotel are affiliate links, and any purchases made from this link could see me earning a commission. Links directly to the locations are for linking purposes only, and I have no affiliation with them at all.