Spending two days in the Irish capital

Dublin was established around the tenth century by the Vikings and despite the numerous attacks from the native Irish people, it remained under the control of the Vikings for some time. Later, Vikings, Irish tribes and English people were fighting for the control of the city, which led to the prevailing of the Irish tribes.

Nowadays, Dublin is the capital of Ireland and is as greener as ever. If I have to be honest, this is one of the greenest cities as I have ever seen. It is a huge city and so are the buildings, but this doesn’t mean you will get lost. It’s exactly the opposite, Dublin is a very well and thoughtfully built city and it is pretty easy to navigate in it.

I went to Dublin, as part of my trip to Europe and mainly because I wanted to visit the Cliffs of Moher, but I decided that Dublin is a must-see. Thus, we stayed there for a couple of days and I will share them with you along with important information and places to visit.

Food in Dublin

The food in Dublin is quite diverse and you can find pretty much everything. However, I would also say that it can be quite expensive, especially in the city centre.

Anyway, I would totally recommend you to try the Irish Stew, which is made out of fine lamb meat and vegetables including very tasty potatoes. To that, you can get some Irish soda bread, which is also a traditional meal. Furthermore, you can try their seafood and especially the oysters or the smoked salmon, which is absolutely delish!

However, if you are travelling on a tight budget I would advise you to try the buffets in Dublin. They have pretty good meal options and you will pay almost half of the amount than in a normal restaurant. Me and my friend tried the Ten Thousand World Buffet at O'Connell Street, which is the main street in Dublin, and paid 12 euros, which was pretty cheap compared to the regular restaurants in the city.

Transportation in Dublin

When we arrived at the airport in Dublin we didn’t know what to catch to get to the city centre, but we already read about the Leap Visitor Card and went to the counter that they had in the airport. Thus, we got the card for 72 hours or 3 days for 19.50 euros, which included the airport shuttles buses 747 & 757, all the buses in the city, trams and the trains that were operating in the short hop zone. This meant unlimited travelling for 72 hours, which was a pretty good deal, as sometimes you have to catch a couple of buses to get to a specific place. Otherwise, we had to pay 6 euros for one-way for the shuttle bus and or 2.25 for each ride with the bus, and this would have cost us a lot.

However, when using the card, you have to remember to always validate it once you get on and once you get off. This is a very important rule.

In case you can’t purchase the card at the airport you can do it either online at leapcard.ie or at the Visit Dublin Centre on 25 Suffolk St.

Furthermore, if you need a taxi in Dublin be prepared for one of the highest prices in Europe. We got a taxi via the TaxiMe application on our last day in Dublin, so we can catch our early flight. It cost us more than 30 euros and we were staying 10 kilometres away from the airport. Luckily, we were new members of TaxiMe, so the driver told us to pay by card, so we can get 10 euros free. Thus, we paid 20 euros in total and were pretty happy with this. So my advice is – use taxi services in Dublin only if necessary.

Prices in Dublin

I will be honest with you. Dublin is not a cheap destination and it is quite expensive. We didn't expect this to be so expensive, but for example, if you want to eat outside, it would cost you more than 20 euros. Even if you decide to purchase some necessities from the supermarkets it will be quite more expensive than normal. Thus, my advice to you is to be prepared for the prices in Dublin, as they shocked me a bit.

The easiest way to get to Dublin?

We got to Dublin with a plane from Liverpool and our journey lasted less than an hour. However, getting to Dublin is easier than ever, as there are numerous options to go either by plane or ferry. The cheapest options for plane flights, as usual, are the low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet and sometimes the cost of the ticket is around 10 to 15 euros. There is also the option for catching a ferry from the United Kingdom to Ireland and it is not that expensive either, so it is also a good option, but time-consuming.

Does Ireland have two languages?

At first, when I went to Ireland I was sort of puzzled, as on every sign there would be another language that was so different from English, which is their main language. However, later I learned that this language was Gaelic, which is also an official language in Ireland. However, it is not spoken so much today, as years ago and around twenty percent of the population speaks it fluently, even though they study it at school.

First day in Dublin

Our first day in Dublin was spent by strolling around the world-famous breweries of the city. There we learned a lot about the ways they make alcohol and also get to taste a bit of it.

Guinness Storehouse

The Guinness Storehouse is located in the south part of Dublin and is also close to the Teeling Whiskey Distillery. It was found in the 2000 and this year it celebrates 20 years of its founding. Thus, we went there as we were curious about what is so special about this tourist attraction.

Well, the storehouse had 7 floors that were surrounding an atrium created to resemble a giant Guinness pint. That was pretty amazing and quite massive. On the first couple of floors, we went through lots of panels explaining the history of the brewery, the way they brew the Guinness beer and all that was explained in a fun and entertaining way. I enjoyed my stay there very much and had lots of fun.

Then, when we got to the last floor we were pretty surprised by the beautiful view from the Gravity Bar in the brewery itself. We could see everything in Dublin. It was simply mesmerizing.

By the way, you can get a student ticket by showing proof and it will cost you 19.50 and you get a free pint of Guinness with this ticket, so it is pretty much a deal. I won't lie to you - the pint of Guinness had a very different and authentic taste than anywhere else in the world.

Jameson Distillery

To get to the Jameson Distillery we crossed the Liam Mellows Bridge over Liffey river to the other side of Dublin. It took us around twenty minutes of walking to get there, so it was not that much, plus we got the chance to walk around the city and see more awesome bridges around.

The Jameson Distillery is a bit older than the Guinness Storehouse, as it was built in 1780 and was also the place that they were making the whiskey for a long time until they decided to change it.

The Bow Street Tour at the Jameson Distillery is one of the best options if you decide to check it. It will provide with lots of information on the making of whiskey and includes a comparative whiskey tasting along with a complimentary drink at the bar in the Jameson distillery. The ticket price is 19 euros for students and compared to the rest is quite nice.

Pearse Lyons Whiskey Distillery

The Pearse Lyons Whiskey Distillery is a very interesting spot in the city, as it was built over an old church and this is quite interesting to see. If I have to be honest if you pass by it most probably you will think that this is a regular church, as they didn’t change much, but this is pretty much a place where they made alcohol for quite some time.

Unfortunately, we didn’t go inside to check it from within, but it was pretty impressive from the outside, so it was quite enough.

Temple Bar

After, our stroll around some of the most famous distilleries we decided to check out the bars in Dublin. That’s why we headed straight to the Temple bar, which is a famous spot for most of the tourists, but to our surprise, it was full of people and we couldn’t find a spare place. However, the bar was very nice and cozy with live Irish music only adding to the cheerful vibe of the place.

Second day in Dublin

On the second day in Dublin, we decided to unwind a bit and check the rest of the cool places in the city.

Phoenix Park & Dublin Zoo

We started our day with Phoenix Park, which is one of the biggest parks in Ireland and Europe. It is also famous for having a herd of deer freely roaming around the park, which only made it more appealing to us. Thus, we walked through it with the hope we will see the deer herd, but we were not so lucky. Although, at the end of it we reached the Dublin zoo, which we also wanted to visit. The regular tickets were 19.50, but before going in I remembered that we could get a discount if we order them online, so we quickly checked that on our phones and bought them online. However, I got a student ticket, which cost 13.50 euros if purchased online and 15 euros if purchased at the counter. Then, we went to the cashier and showed her both of our electronic tickets, so there was no issue with that and we went inside.

So we went inside in the zoo and our first stop was that of the house belonging to the founder of the zoo who was also a veterinary doctor and owned one of the first exotic animals of the zoo. Then, we went straight to the Gorilla Rainforest, where we could see gorillas strolling around freely and their environment seemed to be pretty well-established for their needs. Actually, my whole impression for this zoo was that it perfectly managed to recreate the natural habitats of the animals, which I believe was very important. Then, there was even a separate Orangutan forest, which had lots of ropes hanging on trees on which the orangutans were moving and passing the pathway. This was also very interesting to witness, as they didn’t seem bothered or unhappy, it was exactly the opposite.

After that, we went to check on the elephants that for our surprise had one of the most beautiful habitats. In order to get to them, we had to pass through a bamboo forest that was basically creating a green fence between the visitors and the elephants and there were only a few places to observe them.

Then, we continued further, where we found the big cats, that were actually little tiger cubs with their mother. They were so joyous and seemed so unbothered in their own house that they didn’t pay attention to the visitors that were looking at them from the windowed house. Then, we went to the African Savanna where most of the animals could be found like giraffes, ostriches, rhinos, zebras, antelopes and many more. Of course, the rhinos were kind of separated by a stone wall from the rest, but they still seemed to live in symbiosis.

Last but not least, we got the chance to enjoy the chance to see real wolves from the recently launched habitat. I have never seen a wolf before, so for me, it was truly fascinating, so I spend some more time staring at them in pure admiration.

Visiting zoos is one of my favourite parts of a trip and I won’t lie that I truly enjoy it. However, this zoo truly made my experience memorable, no because of the many animals living a nicer life than in most zoos, but because the zoo was putting lots of effort into taking care of them. They also had a special program for species that are about to go extinct and were trying to save them, so I would say that this zoo also has a purpose that is different from just keeping animals.

Ireland's Botanic Garden

Then, we went to the National Botanical Garden of Ireland by using public transportation. To enter the National Botanic garden was free of charge and although it was quite gloomy there were lots of people walking around. The garden had a couple of massive glasshouses full of different exotic flowers like orchids or other tropical species. Around the garden, there were lots of trees from all over the world that only added to its uniqueness. However, my favourite part of it became the glasshouse full of blooming orchids.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Then, we headed back to the city centre and straight to the famous Saint Patrick’s cathedral. The cathedral is considered to be the tallest and largest cathedral in Ireland and was named after Saint Patrick who was a crusader and a bishop of Ireland for some time. Furthermore, he was the first priest that brought the Christian religion to Ireland many ages ago. That’s why Irish people celebrate St. Patrick’s day every year in March.

When we got to the cathedral we found that we couldn’t go in, as we were quite late, but at least we got the chance to admire it from outside. It had a very nice park where we sat for a while to take a better look at it. It was absolutely astonishing and I would say that I admired it for quite some time.

Dublin's Castle

Then, we got to the Castle of Dublin, which was in a short distance from Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and walked around it, as we couldn’t get in. however, I found out that the price of the ticket to get in is 8 euros and is totally worth it, so I kind of regretted not having more time in Dublin.

The castle was once a fortress for the Vikings until the prevailing of the Irish people, which made it a bit more colourful. We strolled around it and found it very interesting, as at some parts it was painted in different colours and in some parts it was built as a fortress. Luckily, we found the park next to the castle where we got a little break from all that walking around.

Overall, I truly enjoyed my two days in Dublin and was fascinated by how cheerful and carefree the people here were. They were smiling, laughing and singing everywhere you go and that charged me with tons of positive energy for months ahead.

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