Top Reasons to Visit Dublin

MARY BERGIN PHOTO. Tour Dublin’s biggest attraction, the Guinness Brewery and Storehouse.

1. Walking tours: Pace your way through Dublin’s spirited past on two-hour tours led by alums from Trinity College, steeped in the footnotes that trail from St. Patrick’s day to the times of The Troubles. Groups assemble at the college gate. 01/878-0227

2. Guinness Brewery and Storehouse: Laying claim to the biggest tourist attraction in Dublin, the famed fount of Ireland’s favorite drink invites people to tour its six-story facility, drinking in explanations of the brewing history and process, then ascending to the Gravity Bar for a free pint and astounding 360-view of the city. www.guinness.com 01/408-4800

3. St. Stephen’s Green: The vast, 27-acre center-city park, all frilly with flower beds, fountains, a glimmering pond and Victorian gazebo, is the city’s beloved living room and provides the best free show in town: matrons pushing prams, scurrying college students, lovers strolling arm-in-arm, and retirees staking out benches for the day.

4. Grafton Street: Connecting the Green and Trinity College, the 200-yard-long pedestrian-only promenade is the most bustling in the city, and the land—with buskers, flower carts and food stands fronting the multitude of shops and pubs that lure swarms of strollers.

5. Gate Theater: Count the Gate as one of Ireland’s national treasures, where works of its literary heroes — Wilde, Shaw, Synge and O’Casey among them — are performed in an 18th century Georgian hall. 01/874-4045

6. Pubs: The very soul of the city — which indeed calls itself The City of 1,000 Pubs — there’s a pub, or three, for every persuasion, from literary to music to sports, where all it takes is a pint in your hands to start a craic (lively conversation) with the locals. Pub tours are on offer, but you’re never more than a step or two from the nearest spigot.

7. City of Cathedrals: St. Patrick’s Cathedral was built in Viking times on the site where the country’s patron saint is said to have baptized converts at the courtyard’s well. Inside you’ll spy the tomb of Jonathan Swift, a clergyman here when not engaged in writing “Gulliver’s Travels.” Just three blocks south stands Christ Church Cathedral on a site of 1038; its crypt is the city’s oldest surviving structure. Their combined choirs premiered Handel’s “Messiah,” and today plenty of concerts are still on offer. www.stpatrickscathedral.ie, 01/453-9472; www.cccdub.ie, 01/677-8099

8. Go, Vikings! The National Museum showcases Viking Age Ireland, with awesome artifacts including swords (and skulls pierced by them), elaborate jewelry and a replica of a seafaring boat. Also, say hello to Bogman, Dublin’s counterpart of an Egyptian mummy, complete with fancy pompadour. www.museum.ie, 01/677-7444

9. Fab Food: Corned beef and soggy cabbage is long gone, replaced by proud purveyors of those re-imagined classics, found at the likes of Pig’s Ear, a trendy bistro overlooking Trinity College on posh Nassau Street, featuring a new take on shepherd’s pie and apple-rhubarb crumble, or the Tea Room of the Clarence Hotel (owned by U2’s Bono), serving local lobster with blini and chive crème fraiche. www.thepigsear.ie, 01/670-3865; www.theclarence.ie, 01/407-0813

10. The People: Actually, you could skip the first nine reasons and still have the time of your life soaking up the humor, friendliness and joie de vivre of Dublin’s citizens. When complimenting a café owner on a terrific waitress, he offered this explanation: “She’s Irish, y’know.” That’s all it takes.

For more about tourism in Dublin: www.visitdublin.com, 01/605-7700.

Post by Carla Waldemar, 2008 Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year

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