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Essential Dublin

Europe » UK & Ireland » Dublin

Tour Creator

Jennifer Carbery

Jennifer is a social historian and historical content writer. She is a keen traveller, in her youth where Jennifer spent time in India and Asia before she finally settled down…Read More Bio »

Tour Type:

Castle

Introductory

Medieval

Dublin

GPS-directed

Remote Tour Included

2hrs

2km

Our tour of Dublin will bring you on a roller-coaster through time from its Viking origins through its medieval streets to the grandiose royal sites, while finishing with its revolutionary Independence. You will hear history with humour, quirky insights to the whys of everything whilst keeping the stories very much inline with real Dublin tales. Let us walk and listen our way around this old and enchanting city.

Avoid the Crowds

Allows you to explore without having to be shoulder-to-shoulder in a large tour group

Expert-created Tour

Written by a tour guide and social historian, who worked as an Archaeologist uncovering artifacts from Neolithic times.

GPS Directions

Easy-to-follow GPS directions to get you from one point to the next on your tour

Highlights include:

Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and Trinity College

Remote Tour Included

As with all our tours, a remote tour is included that can be enjoyed from home

dublin_trinity-college-405783

essentialdublin_Viking Area 3

essentialdublin_Trinity College Front Square 2

essentialdublin_GPO

essentialdublin_City Hall side entrance

essentialdublin_Christchurch Cathedral

Itinerary

Essential Dublin

The Viking area - This is the natural starting point of Dublin’s city life from the 10^th century and where today stands the civic offices: Dublin Corporation, of the city. The two vital lifelines: one old and one new. Here we will uncover the origins of the city and explore the artifacts found during the 1979 excavation.
Christchurch Cathedral - Christchurch is a majestic 12^th century Cathedral which is composed of several smaller chapels within. It holds the remains of the first English knight in Ireland, the heart of a great Bishop and the mummified remnants of Tom & Jerry!
Gardens of Dublin Castle: Dubh-linn - This stop provides a vista for gazing at the seat of British rule in Ireland for over 700 years. We will unravel the stories behind the variety of buildings construction. The green space was built to remind us of the old marriage tradition of tying the knot with its spiral motif.
Dublin Castle Front Square - Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland from 1208. This is where the Lord Viceroy, the Lord Lieutenant, the chief of the Military and Police ruled the island from. The stories of upper-class society in the 19^th century are held within these walls.
City Hall/ Side View - This is one of the oldest Palladian buildings of the city, its foundations stones were laid at a time of great commercial expansion. A role of the registered guilds of the city is contained within, along with the ‘Sword of the city’ from the 14^th century, the mace from the 17^th and the mayor’s chain.
Trinity College - This college contains not just some of the finest architecture of the city, but it also boasts to have the finest collection of books. The Rubic building is the oldest onsite while the Berkeley Library, is one of the more recent constructions. Standing within these walls and ground one might gain knowledge purely by osmosis.
O’Connell Bridge - The true centre of the city with a panoramic view both to the port, and the old medieval hub. Both sides of the bridge offer stories: some real and some half-truths Here we can listen to how ‘Temple Bar’ got its name, how it rose in prominence to become an affluent area in the 18^th century, then a merchant area, nearly a bus depot in the 1980’s until it finally settled as the night hub, the buzz of Dublin’s ‘craic’ today.
General Post Office - The GPO stands as one of the finest Georgian Civic buildings of the city. It was here on Easter Monday in 1916 that the rebels occupied the building and established it as their headquarters. We can listen to the true stories of those who wrote the ‘Proclamation for Irish Independence’ and partook in the struggle of the ‘Easter Rising’.
The Spire - This is Dublin’s monument of light standing at 122m tall. We can learn of what was here before and what happened to Nelsons pillar in 1966 the 50^th anniversary of the Easter Rising. We will also learn of how Dubliners rename the many monuments of the city to place them in a very real and funny way, making these monuments their own.

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