Can you see Dublin, Ireland in a day?

So you find yourself with only one day to explore Dublin, Ireland… can it really be done? I suppose that’s up to the individual traveller to decide based on what they want to see and do. After stopping in Dublin as part of a cruise itinerary I would say that you cannot do Dublin justice in one day, but you can see a few highlights if you plan your time out well in advance.

We decided not to take any organized tours offered through the ship and set out on our own to see the sights. This required some research in advance of our trip, but we basically picked the attractions we wanted to see from the organized tours and saved ourselves at least $100-150 by doing it ourselves. We were shuttled from our cruise ship and dropped off at Merrion Square. Below is a map of our general points of interest, however this doesn’t account for our numerous detours (i.e. we got lost), our stops for shopping, photography, and to have a rest (it was unseasonably hot that day) and the varying speeds we walked.

Guinness Storehouse Tour:

The only request my husband had of our trip to Ireland was that we must go to the Dublin Storehouse and drink a Guinness. We purchased our tickets online in advance and could skip the line when we arrived. This was fantastic, because the line to purchase tickets was huge! We thought the museum/exhibits were interesting and provided a good history on Guinness and how they brew their beer. There was the opportunity to pour your own Guinness or to use your ticket (with our admission) for a Guinness in the restaurant at the top of the building. The line to pour your own beer was quite long, so we decided to head to the restaurant. The restaurant at the very top was so packed you could barely find somewhere to stand that wasn’t in the way. It was hot up there as well, so we ended up drinking our Guinness quickly so we could go sit down somewhere else. We checked out the gift shop before we left and thought they had a great selection of items to purchase, however as expected they were priced fairly high.

Tips: If I were to visit again, I would have taken a cab to Guinness directly from the cruise ship or the drop-off point. This would have saved a lot of time getting to our main point of interest. From there we could have walked to the other attractions at a more leisurely pace and ultimately back to the pick-up spot. Buy your ticket online to skip the line and save time, and note that this attraction will be busy – plan to arrive early. If you want to pour your own Guinness, there may be a line so plan your time accordingly! There are escalators and elevators, so all floors are accessible.

Christ Church Cathedral:

The cathedral was founded almost 1000 years ago and is a popular tourist attraction in the heart of medieval Dublin. You can take a self guided tour or guided tour of the cathedral to see the medieval crypt and climb the belfry for a view of Dublin. We unfortunately did not leave enough time in our day to actually go inside, so we grabbed a pamphlet to learn about it and took some photos.

Tips: Purchase your tickets online to save a bit of money and skip the line. Ensure you read up on their hours of operation and tours – most Sundays they do not offer tours.

Dublin Castle:

The Dublin Castle is another popular attraction for visitors. They offer self-guided admission and guided tours of the castle gardens, apartments, medieval tower and royal chapel. We quickly toured around the grounds outside and wish we had more time to explore. The architecture and grounds are lovely for anyone who is interested in photography.

Tip: If you plan to spend a lot of time in Dublin and visit many of the historical sites, a Heritage Card will get you in at a discounted rate to a number of popular attractions. Make sure the price works out for you though! If you don’t visit enough attractions it may be cheaper to pay separately.

Temple Bar:

A big attraction is Temple Bar. Make sure you stop here to hear some live music and have a Guinness! In preparing for the trip we heard that it was usually a very busy location and the reviews were right. We were lucky to find a table just as a couple was leaving, but it’s primarily first-come-first-served. While we were there we didn’t see servers, which seemed to be standard in most pubs in England and Ireland. We got our drinks from the bar, listened to some music and were on our way.

Tips: It is a very loud, busy, and crowded place but definitely worth a visit. If you can’t get a seat you can always stand outside (less loud!) and still hear the music from inside.

Hanley’s Cornish Pasties:

After our time at the Temple Bar we were looking for somewhere to grab lunch. We found Hanley’s Cornish Pasties by accident as we were wandering around the Temple Bar area. We each got a pie for lunch with a can of pop and the total cost was around 12 euros – we thought that was a great value and it was very quick as well. My husband got the steak and gravy pie and I got the traditional pie. The pastry was very good – light, flaky and flavourful and the fillings were also great in both pies. If I could go back to Dublin, I would absolutely stop here again and recommend it for a quick and delicious lunch.

Tip: If you are there with a companion, get two different pies and share!

Shopping/Market Area:

To be completely honest here… we got lost on our way back to our pick-up location and found a really great shopping area with a small market. After I got home I looked it up and found out that it was the Powerscourt Centre. There were great shops for both souvenirs and regular shopping along this stretch and again, I wish I had more time to spend here.

Overall Thoughts…

If you only ever get one day of your life to spend in Dublin, you can make the most of it. But you will not be able to see everything without rushing. Based on my personal experience, I think you could easily spend a week in Dublin taking your time to see the sights and perhaps do a few day trips out to the surrounding areas. Now that I have a taste of the city, I definitely want to go back and encourage others to plan enough time to enjoy all that Dublin has to offer.