Dublin Things to Do

Ireland’s lively capital never fails to win over visitors with its blend of historic sights and laid-back social scene, but before you plan your itinerary, here are a few things NOT to do in Dublin.

Gaelic football might be the national sport, but rugby is the sport of choice for many of Ireland’s sports fans and such is the popularity of the rough-and-tumble sport, that if there’s a rugby match on, you’ll be hard pushed to find a pub in Dublin that hasn’t tuned their TVs into the game. A major competitor in the annual Six Nations Championship (contested against England, France, Italy, Scotland and Wales) and 11-time champions, Ireland’s love of rugby shows no sign of waning.

Held in honor of the region’s world-renowned prawns – large, flavorsome crustaceans that originated from Dublin’s coast – the Dublin Bay Prawn Festival is one of the city’s most exciting food events, running over 3 days each spring in the coastal suburb of Howth.

You can’t get more romantic than the resting place of Saint Valentine himself (relics of the patron Saint are located in the Whitefriar Street Church) and Dublin offers the perfect backdrop for a romantic city break. Here are a few ideas for getting in the mood in Ireland‘s capital.

While visitors to Dublin flock to marvel at the historic grounds of Dublin Castle, few take the time to wander the castle gardens, a pocket of tranquility despite their central location, and a popular picnic spot for locals in the know.

Nobody wants to miss an opportunity to party and Dublin’s epic NYE Dublin festival provides a myriad of options for making New Year’s Eve a night to remember. From street markets and movie screenings to a public fireworks display and an enormous music concert, here’s the lowdown on bringing in 2013, Dublin-style.

Grafton Street, running between Trinity College and Stephen’s Green in Dublin, will satisfy every type of shopper. From big chain stores to small boutiques, from shoes to cameras to books, it’s here. And when you and your credit card are both exhausted there’s the 19^th century icon Bewley’s Grafton Street Café to fall into for the city’s best coffee, cakes, or lunch.

In 1872 a young Irish athlete called Henry Wallace Doveton Dunlop realized his dream: to build Dublin a proper, dedicated sports venue. Landsdowne Road Stadium, only about a mile from St Stephen’s Green in central Dublin, is this venue.

In 1876 it hosted its first rugby match and in 1878 it held its first international rugby game. By the turn of the 21st century, Landsdowne Road was the oldest sporting stadium in Europe. It’s inevitable then that it’s had an update.

Ireland is famous for its music: jigs, polkas, reels. The harp, the accordion, the fiddle. Traditionally, Irish music was based in the community or the extended family; you invited people over for a seisiun (Irish for session), they brought their instruments and everyone played or tapped their feet in appreciation. Tunes were played by ear, memorized, passed down the generations. But as with so many things, the 20th century brought some changes.

These are places in Dublin where you’ll find the locals having a pint, a coffee or a meal. Dubliners are all about getting out and about and socializing over good food and drink, the craic as they call it. Here are a few places to find them.