Lonely Planet - Dublin

book coverIf you're exploring Dublin, be sure to check out these highlights, brought to you courtesy of our friends at Lonely Planet Publications

1. A stroll through the lofty Elizabethan Academe of Trinity

Entering through the Regent House archway onto Front Sq and leaving the noisy bustle of Dame St behind feels like you're stepping back in time to a more genteel era of august academia, cricket matches and Pimms parties on the lawn. There may be a debate over whether it's the city's foremost university, but there's no argument that it's by far the prettiest, the most central and easily the most evocative of Dublin's institutes of higher learning.

It's been more than 400 years in the practice, ever since Elizabeth I granted a charter to its founders in 1592 so that they may stop Irish youth from being 'infected with popery'. (One of its founders, by the way, was Archbishop Narcissus Ussher, who dated the act of Creation to 6006 BC - we thought you'd want to know.) Today the bigotry that led to its establishment has been consigned to history, but there's no escaping the scent of privilege that pervades the place, from the cobbled squares lined with handsome Victorian buildings (most of the original structures have long since been replaced) to the carefully manicured playing fields at the back, where on summer days cricket matches are played before an appreciative audience sitting on the deck of the Pavilion Bar, drinks in hand.

Dublin's very own slice of Oxbridge aside, Trinity is home to that most Irish of treasures, the Book of Kells, which ironically is not Irish at all but Scottish - for it was created on the island of Iona before being transported to Kells in AD 806 so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of Viking raiders. A glimpse of it is an absolute must, but it's about as much as you'll get: its popularity and the way it is exhibited ensures that visitors are ushered past quickly and efficiently, without any time to linger and savour its beauty.

2. A pint of black gold at the mother of all breweries

More Dublin than Joyce, the Liffey and Temple Bar put together, Guinness is the very lifeblood of the city, the liquid that courses through the arteries of its streets, fuelling 1001 experiences daily. So what better place to sample a pint of the black gold than its spiritual home, where every year 450 million litres of the stuff is brewed and exported to 150 countries around the world? Housed in an old grain storehouse opposite the original St James's Gate Brewery, this is the city's most visited tourist attraction, an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza combining sophisticated exhibits, spectacular design and a thick, creamy head of marketing hype.

OK, so you'll make your way through the various exhibits outlining the history of the beer and the brewery, from the original charter (exhibited beneath the glass floor in the lobby) to a whole section devoted to advertising (the iconic poster and TV campaigns that have helped sell the brand worldwide). Some of the exhibits are indeed pretty fascinating, but who are we kidding? Your final destination is what this place is really all about - the top floor Gravity Bar, where you get to drink a free glass of Guinness with a 360-degree backdrop of the city.

Guinness doesn't travel well, or so everyone believes, so the one you'll have here is reputedly the best one you'll have anywhere; hundreds of thousands of personalised tests, including our own, seem to validate the theory. It's cold, beautifully bitter and oh so very black, but the key ingredient to enjoying a pint is the company of friends, so make sure you have a couple of them around when you quaff that brew.

3. Getting in touch with your spiritual side at Chester Beatty Library

Away from the hubbub of the street, beyond the ordinary distractions outside, is one of Europe's most outstanding museums, a tranquil place of beauty and reflection whose astounding collection has the power to bring serenity and peace to those who visit it. And the best bit is that relatively few people ever do! The collection in question was gathered by New York mining magnate Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968), whose passion for the intricately decorated manuscripts, bindings and calligraphies he found on his journeys to Egypt and the Far East resulted in his amassing more than 20,000 manuscripts, scrolls, religious books and objets d'art, many of which are carefully displayed over two floors.

Unlike so many other museums, which seek to wow the visitor with scale, the Chester Beatty's collection is compact and can be easily visited in no more than half an hour. But the muted ambience encourages you to slow down and savour each individual piece - or watch one of the many audiovisual displays explaining some feature or another.

Exquisite displays range from intricately designed medicine boxes and Chinese jade books, to ancient Egyptian papyri and an extraordinary collections of Korans (the best in the West).

When you're finally done with the collection, you can ponder the passage of life in the small Japanese Garden upstairs, or grab a terrific lunch in the Silk Road Cafe.

4. Distinguishing your Hirst from your Hockney in an old soldiers' home for new art

Even if the thought of modern art leaves you cold, the setting of the IMMA will undoubtedly provide reason enough to visit. The country's top contemporary art gallery is spectacularly located in the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the city's finest surviving 17th century building. The grounds, with their long tree-lined avenue and fountain-filled Formal Garden with views across the Liffey to Phoenix Park, make a fantastic place to stroll.

Built between 1680 and 1684, this fine building with a striking facade inspired by Les Invalides in Paris, is laid-out with a central cobbled courtyard. Inside, the light-filled museum juxtaposes the work of major established artists with that of up-and-comers. The gallery's 4000-strong collection includes works by Picasso, Miro and Vasarely, as well as more contemporary artists including Gilbert and George, Gillian Wearing and Damien Hirst. The gallery displays ever-changing shows from its own works, and hosts touring exhibitions.

Modern Irish art is always on display and Irish and international artists live and work on-site in the converted coach houses. The New Galleries, in the restored Deputy Master's House, should not be missed.

5. Play, stroll or snooze in Dublin's favourite green lung

Workers at lunch, lovers and layabouts can be found splayed about its nine manicured hectares at the merest hint of sun, content among the green lawns and fowl-filled ponds, sharing food and a laugh with each other while the sun shines.

Once upon a time, handsome St Stephen's Green was a common where public whippings, burnings and hangings took place; these days, the worst punishment is a telling off by the warden for careless cycling or for kicking a ball on the grass - with lawns like these, it's almost impossible to resist.

The fine Georgian buildings around the square date mainly from Dublin's 18th-century boom. During the 1916 Easter Rising, a band of Irish rebel forces occupied St Stephen's Green, led by the colourful Irish nationalist Countess Constance Markievicz, later the first woman elected to the Irish Parliament. Markievicz failed to take the grand Shelbourne Hotel, a popular society meeting place (although gunshots apparently disturbed the ladies at lunch, with bullets flying through the windows), but the rebels did seize the Royal College of Surgeons building on the western side of the square. If you look closely at its columns you can still see the bullet marks.

A few doors from the Shelbourne is a small Huguenot Cemetery, established in 1693 for French Protestant refugees. The south side is home to the beautifully restored Newman House and the Byzantine-inspired Newman University Church.

Statues and memorials dot the green, including those of Sir Arthur Guinness and James Joyce. Around the central fountain are busts of Countess Markievicz and a 1967 Henry Moore sculpture of WB Yeats.

6. The gaol where beats the gruesome heart of Irish history, in all its defiant glory

If you have any interest in Irish history, especially the juicy bits about resistance to English rule, you will be shaken and stirred by a visit to this infamous, eerie prison. It was the stage for many of the most tragic and heroic episodes in Ireland's recent past, and the list of its inmates reads like a who's who of Irish nationalism. Solid and sombre, its walls absorbed the barbarism of British occupation and recount them in whispers to every visitor.

After the 1916 Easter Rising, 14 of the 15 rebel executions took place at Kilmainham. James Connolly, who was so badly injured during fighting he couldn't stand, was strapped to a chair in the Execution Yard to face the firing squad. The ruthlessness of the killings outraged the public, both in Ireland and England, and boosted the nationalist cause.

The East Wing, modelled on London's Pentonville Prison, with metal catwalks suspended around a light-filled, vaulted room, allowed guards full view of all the cells. Graffiti, scratched and scrawled by prisoners in the cells, is moving stuff.

Guided tours to Kilmainham include an excellent museum; the prison chapel; the exercise and execution yards; and the dark, dank old wing. During the Great Famine, thousands of petty thieves, including children, were crammed in here.

7. Food, beer and a damn good play: what more do you want?

Beckett, Synge, Shaw, Wilde...Dublin's not short of a theatrical genius or two, so a night at the theatre is absolutely necessary, daahling. But it'll take more than just the play, for any night out in Dublin has to involve food and booze somewhere along the way!

Start with the pre-theatre special at Chapter One, three courses of gourmet delight at one of Dublin's best restaurants, in the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum. What's really special about this place is that they'll pick your theatre tickets up for you and deliver them to your table. Then, it's off to either Ireland's national theatre, the world-famous Abbey, or the Gate - where James Mason and Orson Welles trod the boards in their youth - for the main event.

When the curtain falls, make your way back to Chapter One for the remainder of your prandials, where you can dissect the merits of the show over dessert and coffee in the lounge, at the bar or at a table. To cap it off , make your way to one of the best traditional bars in town, the Sackville Lounge, a favourite of thespians.

If you prefer to do your own ticketing, bookings can usually be made by credit card over the phone; you can collect your tickets just before the performance. Most plays begin at 8pm.

8. Losing your money and your voice in support of sporting vice

Dublin without sport is like...well, Guinness without the bishop's collar, so an afternoon or an evening in the company of Dubs pursuing their passion through bet and bellow is one of the best experiences you could ever have here.

Gaelic sports - hurling and football - are a national religion, and Dublin is home to the high cathedral of both games. The best time to go to Croke Park is during the summer and early autumn, when the stadium becomes a cauldron of passion, especially if Dublin is playing in the Senior Football Championship - they're not very good at hurling. But the best of the Senior Hurling Championship is on here too, with the likes of Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary displaying their consummate skills to packed houses in excess of 70,000.

You may think that the dog track is the sole preserve of the gambling hound and other desperate types, but there's a surprise in store, especially if you don't fancy the idea of standing against the rail while the drizzle dampens the printed hopes you hold in your hand and the greyhound in trap six isn't quite the speedster your money assumed him to be. No, you can experience the delight and dismay of a night at 'the dogs' from the comfort of the glass-enclosed stand, where dinner, fine wine and your very own waiter-cum-bookie will bring you refreshments and process your bets...at the table.

Croke Park is Dublin's most famous sporting venue, but there is a host of others:

9. Bust an Irish move on the dance floor to impress your friends

Irish dancing looks impossibly fast and complicated, especially if your only experience of it is the phenomenon that is Riverdance.

Two little facts: the Riverdance kids are good, but it ain't all that traditional; and learning the basics is not nearly as difficult as you think.

The Comhaltas Ceolto iri Eireann - pronounced 'ko-ltass kee-oltory erin' and translated as the Organisation of Irish Musicians - is housed in the Culturlann na hEireann (Irish Cultural Institute), the spiritual home of the traditional forms in Dublin, located in the southern suburb of Monkstown, which is easily reached from the city centre by DART. There are free, informal sessions of traditional music on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8pm; visitors are most welcome, where they can sit and tap their feet, get a bite to eat and have a few pints, all the while enjoying some of the best music around. But the real treat is on Friday night, where, for a nominal fee, you can participate in the ceilidh, or group Irish dance, itself accompanied by live music.

There are teachers on hand to help you with the basic steps, and if nothing else you can be guaranteed to learn how to stay on your feet during a jig, reel or square dance. It's an enormous amount of fun and one of the more memorable experiences of any trip to Dublin.

Reproduced with permission from Dublin Encounter ©2007 Lonely Planet Publications