How to Spend 2 Days in Dublin

Up until this year, Dublin was one of those cities that wasn’t high up on my list of places to visit. In May, we spent 2 days in this bustling city in Ireland. It was the first stop on our European holiday, we flew in before heading to Rome. I can’t wait to return to spend some time again in Dublin plus also explore the countryside of Ireland.

I’m sharing the highlights of our trip plus where to stay, what to see, where to eat and what to do! We managed to see so much in a short period that I feel it was enough time, even though I wish we had one more day to see the Clifs of Mohar! Oh well, next time, great excuse to go back.

One of the best ways to see Dublin is to just wander around. We discovered so much walking everywhere, you stumble upon cute cafes or little museums. Plus all the architecture and everything is pretty!

Let me know your fav spots in Dublin in the comments below! And if you have any recommendations for a return trip to Ireland, that’s much appreciated!

What to Do in Dublin

Book of Kells – Old Library

Visit this amazing library when you explore the ground of Trinity College. One tip though.. book ahead! We booked that morning and were able to get in to one of the last spots that afternoon. It’s one of the must sees in Dublin, expect lines if you don’t reserve ahead. Everyone is there to see the Book of Kells, an illlustrated manuscript, but the Long Room is most impressive. To me anyways. In this room, books are ordered by length and weight. There are over 200,000 books just here!

Trinity College

One of the oldest universities in the world, it’s somewhere you have to visit. Beautiful grounds, great architecture, you can tell how the university grew by the different eras of architecture. They have walking tours available but you can easily wander around by yourself.

Merrion Square

A nice park that includes a statue of Oscar Wilde since he did live across the street. But the homes that surround the park are the stars. The doors are brightly coloured, each one a different colour plus the door knockers are so fun to see. I would love to live in one of these townhomes.

Grab a pint of Guinness

This is obvious, go into any pub and enjoy a properly poured Guinness. Or two, or three whatever your preference. There’s also a small, craft brew scene and I tried to sample a few when we were in town. There are more pubs around every corner than you will think humanly possible, but somehow they are all busy.

You can also opt to visit the Guinness factory and do the tour, but we didn’t want to dedicate time to a tour so just opted to do our own Guinness tour around Dublin haha.

Drink some whiskey

Another obvious thing to do since the Jameson distillery is in Dublin. You can visit or just sip some whiskey at any tasting bar or pub etc.

National Gallery of Ireland

Unfortunately when we went to visit, they were under some renovations so majority of the exhibits were closed. But we did see a few interesting ones like travel guides from the 17th century in Italy and France. A few female artists and their modern art exhibit were also viewable. Oh and best part, it’s FREE.

Kilmainham Gaol

If you are wanting to see it, you HAVE to book Kilmainham Gaol 3 days in advance. Something we unfortunately did not know! So this time we missed out on going, Curtis was pretty disappointed because this was high on his list. This former prison is now a museum where you’ll learn about the many revolutionaries that were eventually imprisoned and then killed by the British inside.

Where to stay

The Spencer Hotel

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, it was conviently located along the River Liffey, everything was in walking distance, the bus that takes you to and from the airport had it’s stop literally right outside the front door. They also had other amenities like a gym, a spa and onsite restaurant but also had a killer breakfast buffet in the morning we took full advantage of. It opened really early and with jetlag we were the first ones to arrive hungry!

Airbnb

Ton of Airbnb’s are located in the city, but we opted for a hotel since we were arriving at a funny time and only there for two days. I preferred the convienence of the checking in and leaving our bags while we waited for our room since we arrived at 7AM. But next time I will choose an Airbnb or a cute inn.

What to eat

Sprout and Co.

We stumbled onto this delicious, healthy food bar along the river. I had the best salad I’ve had for months there and it was the perfect meal to have after a long travel day.

The Temple Bar

Iconic, you can’t miss it with all the people taking photos outside of it. I’d say grab a pint and a quick bite and enjoy the live music that is playing everyday.

The Brazen Head

Now while we didn’t eat here, it was so busy when we tried! It was on my list to do so because it was highly recommended. Apparently their Sunday roast is really yummy, and serve up a few traditional dishes.

Queen of Tarts

Want a sweet treat after all that walking? Stop in here and try to choose just one dessert. I dare you.

The Wooden Whisk

Again, another great bakery/cafe to tuck into for a warm cup of tea, because most likely it’s raining in Dublin and a slice of cake to go with.

Day trips you can take from Dublin

Cliffs of Mohar

I wish I left us another full day to do this. One regret in life. This is one of the coolest landscapes you can see, miles of rolling hills lead up to a sharp, vertical cliff that cuts Ireland so dramatically. Scenes from Harry Potter were filmed here, if there are any HP fans, you’ll recognize it.

One thing I wish we did while in Dublin was to have afternoon tea. But we only had one full day so alas it wasn’t meant to be on this trip. We might go to London and Scotland in the next year or so, where I will get my fill of fish and chips and afternoon tea. YUM.