Dublin Walking Tour: 50 Free Video Stops

This Dublin walking tour links 11 sights and 50 short video stops narrated by Clarissa, from St Stephen’s Green and Trinity College to Temple Bar, the Ha’penny Bridge, EPIC, Dublin Castle, Christ Church, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol and Phoenix Park. The notes below group the stops into walkable routes and add the timing, transport, etiquette and ticket details that make the Irish capital easier to enjoy. For official events and visitor information, also check Visit Dublin, the official tourism website for Dublin.

Route 1, Georgian Dublin and the college (stops 1 and 2). Start at St Stephen’s Green, entering through Fusiliers’ Arch at the top of Grafton Street, and walk past the pond and the stone bridge to the Georgian terraces on the north and east sides. Stroll down Grafton Street to Trinity College, founded in 1592, for the west front, Parliament Square, the campanile and the Old Library, home of the Book of Kells.

Route 2, the river (stops 3 to 5). Walk west into Temple Bar, the cobbled block between Dame Street and the Liffey, through Merchant’s Arch, Crown Alley and Meeting House Square. Cross the white iron Ha’penny Bridge of 1816, named after its old halfpenny toll, then follow the north quays east past O’Connell Bridge and the Custom House to EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum, in the brick vaults of CHQ in the Docklands.

Route 3, medieval Dublin (stops 6 to 8). Walk back along the quays to Dublin Castle, seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922, with its medieval Record Tower and the State Apartments around the upper yard. Climb to Christ Church Cathedral and its stone bridge to Dublinia, then walk south to St Patrick’s Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was dean, and its park.

Route 4, the west (stops 9 to 11). Head west to St James’s Gate for the Guinness Storehouse and the Gravity Bar view, continue to Kilmainham Gaol, where leaders of the 1916 Rising were held and executed, and finish in Phoenix Park, one of the largest walled city parks in Europe, with its Wellington Monument and fallow deer. If you only have one day, Routes 1 to 3 make the best free walking tour Dublin offers on foot.

Between the stops, Dublin rewards a wander. The Chester Beatty Library in the castle grounds holds a remarkable collection of manuscripts and books from around the world, and the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street and the National Gallery on Merrion Square are a short walk from St Stephen’s Green. Merrion Square, with its colourful Georgian doors and the Oscar Wilde statue, is a lovely detour.

O’Connell Street, across the river from Temple Bar, is the city’s grand main avenue. The General Post Office, headquarters of the 1916 Rising, still shows bullet marks on its columns, and the tall steel Spire rises in the middle of the street. Around EPIC, the Docklands mix old warehouses with modern offices and the Samuel Beckett Bridge, shaped like a harp.

For photos, the best viewpoints on this Dublin walking tour are the Ha’penny Bridge at dusk, the campanile in Parliament Square, the Gravity Bar at the top of the Guinness Storehouse, the Custom House from the south quays and the Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park. The Gravity Bar is included in a Storehouse ticket; the others are free.

A two-day Dublin walking tour works well as Routes 1 and 2 on day one and Routes 3 and 4 on day two, with Kilmainham booked for a set time. If it rains, which it often does, move EPIC, the Chester Beatty Library, the National Museum and the Guinness Storehouse to the wet spells.

Late spring and summer are the best seasons for a Dublin walking tour, with long evenings and the mildest weather, though rain is possible in any month. St Patrick’s Day on 17 March brings a huge parade and festival, and the city fills up, so book early. Autumn and winter are cool and damp, with shorter days, but the pubs are at their cosiest and the Christmas lights are bright.

Book timed tickets ahead for the Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse and above all Kilmainham Gaol, where entry is by guided tour only and slots sell out. Start early at Trinity College, before the tour groups arrive. Temple Bar is calm in the daytime and lively at night. Check each official website for opening times before you plan each day of your Dublin walking tour.

Dublin’s centre is compact, so most of the stops are easy on foot. The Luas trams, Dublin Bus and the DART coastal railway cover the rest; the Red Line Luas runs along the quays toward Heuston and Kilmainham, which helps for Route 4. A TFI Leap Card gives cheaper fares than single tickets and caps your daily spending, and the TFI Live app shows real-time departures. From the airport, express coaches and city buses run into the centre.

For a day out, the DART runs along Dublin Bay to Howth, a fishing village with a cliff walk, and south to Dalkey and Bray, while Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains, with its monastic site and lakes, is about an hour away by road. Every stop on this Dublin walking tour has its own map link, so you can start wherever your hotel is.

Dubliners are famously friendly and chatty, so don’t be surprised if someone starts a conversation in a queue or a pub. In a pub, order and pay at the bar, and if you join a group, you may be drawn into a round, where each person buys drinks for everyone in turn. Be respectful in the cathedrals and at Kilmainham Gaol, a place of deep meaning in Irish history.

Food and drink are a highlight of any Dublin walking tour. Try a full Irish breakfast, Irish stew, coddle, a Dublin dish of sausages and potatoes, seafood chowder with brown soda bread, and fish and chips, and of course a pint of Guinness, often said to taste best near the brewery. Pubs with traditional music sessions are easy to find in the evening. Tipping of around ten percent is usual in restaurants with table service, but not expected in pubs.

Dublin is generally safe, but keep an eye on your belongings in Temple Bar, on busy shopping streets and on public transport, and be aware of your surroundings late at night. Drinks in Temple Bar cost more than in pubs a few streets away. Pack a rain jacket and comfortable, waterproof shoes, because showers come and go quickly. In an emergency, dial 112 or 999.

Several stops on this Dublin walking tour need tickets. The Book of Kells and the Old Library at Trinity College, EPIC, the State Apartments at Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol all charge, and most sell timed tickets online. Check each official website for current prices and opening times before you go.

Plenty is free. St Stephen’s Green, the Trinity College campus, Temple Bar, the Ha’penny Bridge, the castle yard, St Patrick’s Park and Phoenix Park cost nothing, and the Chester Beatty Library, the National Gallery and the branches of the National Museum of Ireland are free to enter, though donations are welcome. Merrion Square and the Docklands quays are free and pleasant walks too.

For accessibility, central Dublin is mostly flat, and the main streets have dropped kerbs, though some lanes in Temple Bar and around the castle are cobbled. The Luas trams have level boarding, and most Dublin Bus routes use low-floor buses. Many museums are accessible, but some older sites, such as parts of Kilmainham Gaol and the cathedral crypts, have steps. Check each venue’s accessibility information before your Dublin walking tour.

After this Dublin walking tour, carry on with more free walks: the Edinburgh walking tour and the London walking tour across the Irish Sea, the Paris walking tour and the Amsterdam walking tour. You can browse every city on the Free City Tours home page.