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Lonely Planet - Dublin
If 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.
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