Dublin, Ireland is a small city with a lot of charm. The downtown area is definitely walkable, if you're up for it, and many of Dublin's most popular tourist attractions are conveniently crowded together. Although the Irish capital is bisected by the River Liffey, you'll enjoy the walk across one of Dublin's historic bridges, the Ha'penny Bridge or the O'Connell Bridge.
This self-guided walking tour will take you to Dublin's most famous cathedrals, statues, bars, building, and interesting art pieces. All up, it'll be two to three hours to walk around, and three to four miles.
1/ The Dublin Portal
Starting north of the river, I thought the Dublin Portal was one of the coolest and most wholesome art exhibits I've ever seen. This is a live video feed between New York City (next to the Flatiron Building, south of Madison Square Park) and Dublin that allows you to people-watch, say hi to strangers, and just generally interact with a different culture. (Although, the New York portal is being relocated to Philadelphia, so look out for it there.) The Portals were founded by Benediktas Gylys, first established in 2021, and are currently in five cities. I love to see more of these around the world because I thought it was the coolest idea!
2/ O'Connell Street
The Dublin Portal is right next to the Dublin Spire, which is on O'Connell Street, the middle point between Upper and Lower. From here, take a left and walk down O'Connell Street Lower until you get to the River Liffey. This is a really nice street with multiple statues and interesting, important buildings. It's a great place to start a walk around Dublin, and you can grab a coffee or tea at any number of cafes on this street.
3/ Ha'penny Bridge
Once you get to the river, you'll be at the historic O'Connell Bridge. You can cross it or wait two blocks (turn right and walk along the boardwalk) and instead cross at the famous pedestrian-only Ha'penny Bridge. This bridge was built in 1816, and legend goes, got its name from the original half-penny toll.
4/ Temple Bar
A couple of short blocks from Ha'penny Bridge is the energetic and colorful Fleet Street, which is home to the world-famous Temple Bar. You can't miss the boisterous bright red storefront filled with beautiful flowerbeds. Head down Temple Lane and catch a glimpse at the Irish Music Wall of Fame. Dublin has some great public murals, and this is definitely one you don't want to miss. That said, I didn't snap a photo, so you'll have to wait to see it for yourself!
5/ Dublin Castle and Dubh Linn Garden
Continue south and west one block each, and you'll find yourself face-to-face with Dublin Castle. This is a giant, ornate, and extremely old building that is one of the highlights of any tour around Dublin. The Dublin Castle opened in 1204, making it over 820 years old! Many people may choose to venture out of the capital city for a castle tour, but it's nice that you can see one right in town if you choose. This is certainly one of the better preserved castles Dublin has to offer.
You can get a tour of the castle, but unfortunately it was under construction when we visited. Just behind the castle is the also beautiful Dubh Linn Gardens. While small, the gardens has some nice areas and a lot of colorful flora. There are also two museums here, an art gallery and an installation of rare manuscripts, complete with public bathrooms and a cafe.
6/ St. Patrick's Cathedral
The next stop on the tour is St. Patrick's Cathedral. On the way, be sure to pass by the famous Christ Church Cathedral, which is one of Dublin's most famous cathedrals. It was founded in 1030, and it's also a beautiful building. Just a few blocks directly south of it is St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was founded a century later in 1191, and it is the final resting place of Jonathan Swift and his wife. St. Patrick's has a really nice park in front of it that's definitely worth the visit. Is it worth is to tour inside St. Patrick's Cathedral? You can check out my pros and cons and decide for yourself, but it's definitely worth it to see the building.
7/ Oscar Wilde Memorial and House
Next up are a couple of Dublin's best public parks. St. Stephen's Green is a gorgeous large park in the middle of Dublin. It has a lot of statues including a fountain, an arch, and a statue memorial of Dublin-born poet William Butler Yeats. You can walk through this park and make your way to the second, Merrion Square Park. Between these two, it should be about a twenty minute walk. Merrion Square Park is nice, too, and features a large memorial to Oscar Wilde. This memorial is directly across from Oscar Wilde's former home, which you can tour.
8/ Trinity College Dublin
No trip to the great city of Dublin is complete without at least a walk through Trinity College. This historic university is the alma mater of many famous Irish names, and the campus is really pretty. If you can, grab a ticket to see the Old Library as well. It's a beautiful old library with some important artifacts of Irish cultural and political heritage.
9/ Molly Malone Statue and Parliament House
Just across from the official entrance to Trinity College Dublin is the Parliament House, which was built starting in 1727 and currently houses the Bank of Ireland. Across from that is
the famous Molly Malone Statue, which sits at the entrance to St. Andrew's Cathedral. Unfortunately this was also temporarily closed for construction when I visited, but the building is really nice. Walk a couple blocks back north to the River Liffey, and you can get a great view of the Dublin Custom House, which is a neoclassical building constructed in 1707 and now home to Ireland's Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage.
Why You Should Walk Around Dublin
This trip around Dublin will take you past a lot of cool tourist attractions as well as some unexpected charms of the city. I was pleasantly surprised at how much street art I found along the walk, and it seemed that there was a statue or plaque of someone important at every turn. Dublin is really proud of its heritage and well-known figures, and it was nice to get a view of this.
The city was very colorful, both in culture and quite literally, and I really enjoyed getting to see all of it. The city is clearly still very artsy, in keeping with its cultural tradition. It's definitely worth a good long walk around!
Bonus Attraction: Dublin's National Botanic Gardens
One of my favorite parts of Dublin is unfortunately not in this downtown area. The National Botanic Gardens of Dublin is gorgeous, free, and totally worth a visit. It's about a 15-minute drive northwest of downtown. If you have a rental car, definitely plan to stop by!
