Dublin Ireland

Ireland

You hear Dublin before truly seeing it: gulls above the cranes, then, once in the city, a violin at a street corner, laughter at a pub door, the melodious accent of Dubliners. Ships berth at Alexandra Quay, in the heart of an industrial port zone about three kilometres from the centre. Walking there is prohibited for safety reasons: you must take the cruise line shuttle—which deposits you near the centre in about fifteen minutes—a taxi or the port service. Once dropped off, everything else happens on foot.

Trinity College and Ireland's Most Famous Book

Begin by crossing Trinity College's threshold, the country's oldest university, founded in 1592. The cobbled courtyards, lined with Georgian buildings and a campanile, lead to the old library where the Book of Kells is displayed, an illuminated gospel manuscript penned by monks more than 1,200 years ago, with interlacing of stunning fineness. The neighbouring Long Room, a nave of wood where tens of thousands of ancient volumes line shelves beneath a barrel vault, ranks among the world's finest libraries. Booking tickets before the port-call avoids often-long queues, especially in summer.

From Grafton Street to Georgian Doors

Leaving Trinity, Grafton Street unfolds its storefronts and street musicians—the tradition of "busking" is here an institution, and more than one international career has begun on these pavements. At the street's foot, the statue of Molly Malone, the fishmonger of song become the city's unofficial anthem, draws a constant stream of photographers. The street opens onto St Stephen's Green, a Victorian garden where Dubliners picnic among flower beds and pools. Neighbouring streets, around Merrion Square, line the famous brightly coloured Georgian doors, framed by fan-shaped fanlights. Art lovers will venture to the National Gallery, free admission, which notably preserves a Caravaggio found in a Jesuit house in the city.

Temple Bar, the Cathedrals and a Well-Poured Pint

Descending back toward the Liffey—which you cross at least once by the Ha'penny Bridge, the elegant white footbridge of 1816 named for the half-penny toll of old—the Temple Bar quarter concentrates red-façaded pubs, galleries and cobbled laneways; very lively in the evening, it shows quieter in daytime. A little further up stand Dublin Castle, seat of British power for seven centuries, then the two medieval cathedrals, Christ Church and St Patrick. To the west, the Guinness Storehouse tells the famous brewery's story over seven floors; the Gravity Bar, at the very top, offers a circular view over the capital, pint in hand. Closer to the ship, in the old docks, the EPIC museum brilliantly traces the story of Irish emigration—ten million departures that seeded the island's culture as far as Quebec.

Practical Landmarks

• The shuttle is essential: no exit on foot through the port zone.
• The centre can be visited entirely on foot once dropped off; bring comfortable shoes and a light raincoat.
• Trinity College and the Guinness Storehouse can be booked online in advance.
• Allow a good half-hour margin for the shuttle return at day's end.

Slán agus beannacht

Dubliners have a word for the atmosphere that reigns in their streets: the "craic," that mix of conversation, humour and music impossible to translate. It is what you carry aboard, more than photographs of coloured doors or ancient libraries. One port-call is not enough to exhaust Dublin—it is more than enough, however, to understand why so many travellers return.