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Best things to do in Dublin: 27 brilliant ideas
8. See the best view of the city (from a pub)
Climb the winding road into the Dublin Mountains to find the Blue Light, a pub built in the 1800s, squatting on the hillside. Inside are open fireplaces and cosy, higgledy-piggledy rooms where traditional musicians often spark up an impromptu session. But on a sunny day, the terrace is where you want to be, as the whole of Dublin is laid out before you.
9. Find the coolest small shops
The patchwork of side streets near the grand Powerscourt Townhouse is known as Dublin’s creative quarter for its boutiques and design shops. Costume stocks lust-worthy labels such as Isabel Marant and Roland Moure, while Article has standout modern, Irish tableware and patterned linens, Industry & Co promises chic European accessories and homewares, and the Irish Design Shop just next door offers locally crafted jewellery and gifts, both contemporary and traditional. Meanwhile, a five-minute walk away within the Temple Bar area, Indigo and Cloth is an unmissable spot for a carefully curated selection of men’s and womenswear by brands such as Universal Works, Norse Projects and A Kind of Guise, alongside modern accessories, homewares and the possibly the best filter coffee in town.
10. Watch the world’s fastest, fiercest field sport
The Gaelic game of hurling has been played for over 3,000 years, yet it still inspires the same fanatical following as a World Cup final. Go to a match at the impressive national stadium, Croke Park (which also houses a museum about the sport), to experience ‘the clash of the ash’ – the sound of players’ wooden hurleys fiercely colliding as they hit the leather ball.
11. Bag the hottest new table in Dublin
Dublin is having a culinary moment right now, with a flurry of exciting openings getting foodies across the city licking their lips. There’s a cool take on a European bistro at Comet, tucked away down a lane of Dawson (order the quail on toast); Lena, the neighbourhood Italian restaurant that everyone wants in their neighbourhood, from the team behind two of Dublin’s best-loved restaurants; funky wines, small plates and a fun attitude at Notions, the after-hours alter ego of popular Liberties café Two Pups; and sustainability-focused Vada, bringing brilliant brunches to the ever-evolving northside enclave of Stoneybatter.
