Dublin was the last stop on our ten day tour of Ireland and it definitely didn’t disappoint! The city is the perfect mix of culture and modern city life, with shops and bars right around the corner from beautiful sights likes Trinity College— there is something for everyone! Putting together the perfect Dublin itinerary can be tough so I picked the best sites for a 2 day itinerary.
Day 1 of your Dublin Itinerary
Your first day in Dublin is the perfect time to get your bearings and learn some history, while still leaving yourself enough time for a nap to shake off the jet lag. This day can also be changed out for any day on your trip where there might be rain in the forecast, as the sites are relatively close together and mostly inside.
Tour Trinity College and The Book of Kells:
Grab a coffee and walk around the beautiful campus of Trinity College. Trinity College, founded in 1592, is the oldest University in all of Ireland.
Student run tours of the University run about every 30-45 minutes and cost €13 (€12 with student ID). The guides give a great tour and will go deep into the history of the university. You can skip this tour and head straight to the library but I found it entertaining and insightful, so I guess it really depends how into history/tours you are!
Your guide will end the tour in front of the main entrance to the library which houses The Book of Kells. The exhibit includes a museum with an in-depth history of the book that takes about a half hour to explore. The book itself is worth the wait and is even more beautiful in person. It is known for it’s bright colors, Celtic knots and incredible calligraphy.
The library is also famous and it is definitely worth spending some time looking around. Any book lover will feel right at home here!
If you opted for the student run tour, your ticket to the exhibit is included in your tour ticket or separately costs €9 at the door. You can also purchase tickets ahead of time to skip the line here.
Discover the Natural History Museum-
Admission to all four National Ireland Museums are free and worth a stop on your tour of the city. The Museum of Natural history is home to over 10,000 different preserved species of animals from around the world. The museum hasn’t changed much since opening in 1857, so it is a bit cramped, but the old school vibe gives it atmosphere and it’s a fun place to wander around for an hour or two.
This area also has some delicious tea shops and restaurants, if you are feeling hungry for lunch!
Head to The Little Museum of Dublin-
Just opened in 2011, The Little Museum of Dublin provides a modern look at recent history in Dublin. The museum lives up to its name being home to just over 5,000 artifacts situated in a 3 story home in the middle of the city. The exhibits range from artifacts of the visit of John F. Kennedy to the work of hometown band U2. Entrance to the Museum is just €5 and they run an amazing guided tour every hour.
It’s the staff that really makes this museum, so if you have any questions be sure to ask, as they are wealth of knowledge!
Snap Photos of the Dublin Doors-
Just a short walk from the Little Dublin Museum is Merion Square which is home to some of Dublin’s best doors. Dublin is known for the colorful, eye-catching doors that adorn the front of the gorgeous Georgian homes through the city.
The block of Georgian homes look exactly the same except for their opulent doors. Our cab driver told us that Dubliners of the past painted their doors bright colors so they could figure out which house was theirs after a long night at the pub, but in reality it was more likely a situation of one upping their neighbors.
Take a walk around the square and surrounding streets and try not to get camera happy at all the beautiful doors. Deciding which one is your favorite is the best part!
Check out our guide to Dublin’s doors to make sure you see all the best ones!
End Your Day with A Walk Down Grafton Street
End your first day in the city with a walk down Dublin’s famous shopping road— Grafton Street. Grafton Street is home to famous Irish institutions such as Weir & Sons and familiar stores from home. At night the street is bustling with street buskers and musicians. Keep your ears open, you might hear the next U2 playing!
See Also: Ultimate Packing List for Ireland
Day 2 of your Dublin Itinerary
Today’s a good day to venture out of town a bit and see some sights that aren’t in the city center. You’ll also get the chance to see some of Dublin’s top sites like the Guinness Factory!
Ride the Hop on Hop off Bus
It may sound like a touristy thing to do, but the hop on hop off bus in Dublin is a great way to see see the city. It is reasonably priced at €17 for a 2 day ticket. With over 40 different stops on 2 different routes, you can get almost everywhere in Dublin City and the surrounding areas. It’s the perfect way to make sure you fit in your entire Dublin itinerary!
You can also ride on the top and take in the scenery while listening to the history— they have live guides and an audio guide available.
Tour the famous Kilmainham Gaol-
When we were planning our trip to Dublin, countless people told us that we couldn’t miss the tour of Kilmainham Gaol. The Gaol was home to many prisoners, several of which played a big part in the battle for independence from Britain. This jail played a very significant role in Dublin history and the stories that the guides share are both informative and sobering. Guided tours cost €7 and run for roughly 45 minutes.
Kilmainham Gaol is also famous for scenes from several movies and music videos. You might recognize the picture above from the U2 music video “A Celebration.”
Get Sporty at Croke Park
If you are interested in sports, in particular the Irish sports of Hurling & Gaelic football, than a visit to Croke Park is a must!
Croke Park is roughly a 25-30 minute walk from downtown Dublin (or a 5-10 minute walk from the last stop on the Hop-on- Hop- Off bus) and is the home to the All Ireland Finals of Hurling and Gaelic football every year.
With a capacity of 82,300, Croke Park is the 3rd largest stadium in Europe. A tour of the stadium includes the locker rooms, the press box, a walk onto the field and a view from each level of the stadium. After the 1 hour tour ends, visitors get free admission to the GAA museum which is home to the Hurling and Gaelic Football hall of fame. If you want to give the sports a try yourself, there are exhibits upstairs that allow you to test your skills. The tour and museum admission cost €13.
Have a Pint at the Guinness Storehouse
Without a doubt, the Guinness Storehouse is the can’t miss stop in Dublin. The tour is a bit pricey for the budget traveler, but definitely worth it.
You don’t have to be a beer lover to enjoy learning about the history of Ireland’s favorite beer. The tour takes you through the beer making process from start to finish and ends with a pint in the Gravity Bar, an all glass rooftop bar that provides amazing views of Dublin.
Give yourself about 3 hours to take in the full experience. Tickets are €18 online and €20 at the entrance. Check out my post about my experience at the Guinness Storehouse for more details!
Wander the Temple Bar Area
No Dublin itinerary would be complete without a trip to the Temple Bar area. A short walk from most accommodation you will find tourist filled streets waiting to get into the famous Temple Bar to enjoy a €7 pint. Temple Bar is known for its traditional Irish music and the best pints in Dublin.
However, if you are on a budget, I suggest wandering into nearby bars like Oliver St. John Gogarty and The Auld Dubliner which are still packed with tourists, but have more reasonably priced drinks and live music all night. Temple Bar will definitely give you a night to remember!
Where to stay
For backpackers and budget travelers, hostels are modern, clean and reasonably priced. For around €13-€15 per night during the off-season, you can have a bed in a 4 bed dorm not to far from the city center. We stayed at Isaacs Hostel and LOVED it– can’t recommended it more!
Where to eat
Dublin is home to plenty of pub grub, street food, and fancy restaurants– so where you eat depends on your budget and taste.
For great pub grub at reasonable prices check out O’Neil’s Pub. They have a maze of small cozy rooms and even have counter service if you are in a hurry and don’t want to order off the menu. Don’t miss their turkey dinner— it was delicious!
The Celt is located on the Spire side of Dublin and is known for their amazing fish & chips!
Dublin is distinctly different from other cities in Ireland. We were excited to find it had such a great mix of people, entertainment, food, culture and history. If done right you can see most of the sites in 2 days on a reasonable budget. Hopefully this Dublin itinerary will help you plan your perfect trip.
If you are planning a trip to Ireland, make sure Dublin is your first stop!
Packing Essentials for Dublin
Camera Gear: Make sure you pack a good digital camera
Rain Gear: Ireland’s weather is rather unpredictable but you can count on a little (or a lot!) of rain during your time in Dublin. Umbrellas tend to be rather unhelpful due to the high winds so it’s important to bring other gear like a light rain jacket
Day Pack: A daypack is essential for carrying around cameras, snacks and rain gear while touring Dublin. I love ones like this Oricsson Lightweight Travel Backpack
Good Guide Book: I’m obsessed with guide books and love having them on hand while traveling. They are super helpful when trying to figure out attraction hours and prices while on the go. I will either carry the guide book around in my day pack or download the e-book on my phone. Lonely Planet Ireland
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This Dublin itinerary post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of the product links, I’ll earn a small percentage at no extra cost to you. All proceeds go to keeping this site up and running 🙂
So jealous of this trip! I’m trying to convince my husband to go here soon because I want to go so bad! I’ll have to show him this post to convince him.
Dublin was amazing! You should definitely try to convince him. There is plenty of sports and beer if those happen to be some of his favorite things 😉
I am currently in Dublin with two of my friends, and we have been using this itinerary to help plan our trip. Your suggestions and advice has all been incredibly helpful and we are having the best time thanks to you! The little museum of Dublin was so interactive and engaging, and we especially loved The Celt Pub because it was so authentic and not too touristy. Thank you so much!!!
This is my favorite thing to hear!! I love knowing that these posts really help people have a great time traveling.
I am so glad that you are having a fantastic time in Dublin and enjoyed both the Little Museum of Dublin & the Celt. Have a Guinness for me!
I would love to go to Dublin one day. I just bookmarked this so I can reference in the future. Your trip looks amazing!
Glad it was helpful! Dublin is amazing. You’ll have a great time if you end up going 🙂
I visited Dublin in February and am going back in August. I did a lot of the things you mentioned, but didn’t know about the doors! I will have to add them to the list when I go back!
The doors were so fun! I have a whole post about running around and finding the prettiest ones. Definitely check it out 🙂
I’m going to Dublin with two friends for three full days in December… Could you please give us some suggestions about weather there, and which clothes should we pack? Does it usually snow? (For the record I’ve never seen snow in my life!) Advice is definitely appreciated 🙂 thanks a lot!
Hi Nat! The weather is unpredictable in the winter in Ireland. You never really know, so it’s important to pack accordingly. I actually wrote a post all about what to pack for Ireland in the off-season! You can find it in the link below! Let me know if I can help with anything else 🙂
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Loved your post! I always worry that two days, i.e. a weekend, will be too short for a trip. Having been in Dublin how many days would you recommend, i.e. what would you add to the two days?
I was actually there for 3 full days as I prefer to slow travel and there is a lot to see. I would honestly recommend taking a day trip or two to some of the surround areas or just pursuing these attractions at a slower pace. I spent a whole day wandering the streets taking pictures of the doors, speaking with super friendly locals and eating my weight in amazing food in pub. I think thats how Dublin is best enjoyed 🙂
Thanks for this post! We are heading to Dublin in the new year and these are some great ideas! I didn’t realise you could tour Trinity College! And the Guinness Factory is high on my list and I don’t even like Guinness!!
I wasn’t a huge fan of Guinness either but I swear it taste best from the tap there at the factory 🙂
I love your itinerary! I was happy to have a little more time, but you do highlight the best of Dublin. My personal favorite was the Guinness Storehouse and the Book of Kells. I had such a good time in Dublin but after reading this, I need to go back to visit the National Museum of History. It looks really cool!
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Yes! Dublin is definitely a city that requires a few visits! The museums are especially beautiful. Not sure if you went to the Little Dublin museum but it’s really lovely and has a ton of history.
I’m taking a over land trip from Ireland to Istanbul this fall and Dublin will be close to my starting point. The pub grub sounds good, no doubt leading to a few pints. I’ll probably just take a picture of the famous temple bar and drink in the cheaper nearby pubs you mentioned. I didn’t know Croke Park existed and it’s so huge, 3rd largest in Europe, wow. I’m not really into museums but actually taking pictures of the doors could be quite interesting, I love colourful photos!
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Very cool journey that you’re embarking on! Dublin sounds like a great starting point for it. Can’t wait to read about your adventures!
Dublin sure looks exciting after reading your blog. Those doors look lovely. A bit of color can make any place look outstanding! I love visiting places which have been featured in movies. Looks like I am gonna enjoy my time at Kilmainham Gaol.
I’d love to go to Dublin. Strangely, despite the fact I live just across the water I have never been. I’ve heard the Guinness tastes different over there compared to the UK. I really do need to try it. Great selection of ideas , its good to see a post with more than just Temple Bar!
I thought that it tasted different from the Guinness here in the United States. Maybe its a myth but it was definitely better in Ireland 🙂
We may be in Ireland in a couple months, so I will definitely refer back to this. The library is gorgeous! Worth a trip just to see that. And I love the painted doors, too. Of course, you can’t go to Ireland without having a pint of Guinness. Dublin looks like a beautiful city.
If you are a book lover, that library is a dream ? I literally had to be dragged out of there in order to see some other sites!
Dublin is amazing! The Temple bar and Guinness Storehouse seem to be the 2 most popular destinations, I certianly went to both on my last visit. Nice to include the jail and library to show an alterante side of Dublin.
This is a great itinerary. I’m a big fan of Hop-on Hop-off buses because they allow you to see alot in a short space of time so I will definitely do that. And it’s good to know that the National Museums have free entrance too..
We are hoping to head to Dublin soon so this post massively helps! The Guinness factory and Trinity College are high on my list!!!
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Both are so much fun but if you are a library nerd like me, you can’t miss the Trinity Library! It was amazing ?
I’m going to Dublin for the first time in a month and this guide is perfect! I had seen Kilmainham Gaol all over the maps but had no idea what it actually was until I read your post. Sounds really interesting, and I’d love to visit and tour the inside. We already booked tickets for a Guiness tour because we are big beer drinkers & love Guiness! Pinning this so I can come back to it later! 🙂
Yay! Have an amazing time in Dublin ☘
Oh this is such a great itinerary! I’ll be in Dublin in October and can’t wait to visit all of these places!
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Great article on Dublin! I went there 2 years ago and wished my trip was this organized!
Libraries, colorful doors and beer? Sign me up! All of that is right up my alley 🙂
I have to be honest, Dublin was a bit of a disappointment for me (dont hate me haha). BUT i didnt see a lot of these places and I would be wiling to give it another shot! The tour of Trinity college looks so cool! Love the pics! 🙂
I love this! I’ve always wanted to visit Dublin but haven’t yet. I love the look of the colourful doors, and all the architecture in your photos looks amazing! I definitely want to visit Trinity and the Guinness Factory. I’ve heard Dublin and Boston (where I’m from) are very similar, so I would love to go and experience it there for myself 🙂
I loved this post! I visited Dublin for a long weekend a few years ago and hope to return soon, so this couldn’t have come at a better time! So comprehensive and I love your photos!
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This is a great itinerary!! Thanks for all of the tour recommendations — I’m a big history/tour lover, too 😀
Thank you for posting this! My friends and I just spent two days in Dublin and we especially loved the Celt and the Little History Museum recommendation! Two awesome places that we otherwise may not have experienced!!! Thanks <3
So glad that you enjoyed!! I hope you have an amazing time on the rest of your trip 🙂
Thanks for sharing this. Its so informative
Great itinerary! Planning Ireland trip #3, this time spending a few extra days in Dublin. Advice for the Storehouse: Buy tickets online. You’ll breeze right past the looong lines. I love this country!
I have wanted to see the Book of Kells for a long time! And I love those colored doors. Dublin is toward the top of my bucket list!
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