Dublin 3-Day Itinerary

How this 3-day Dublin plan works

Dublin literary weekend

Each day below is grouped geographically so you spend your time in Dublin rather than in transit. Dublin Bus + Luas trams (Green + Red lines) + DART commuter train share Leap Card: single €2.60, day-cap €8, 7-day €40. Old Town + Temple Bar + Trinity walkable. FreeNow + Uber work but limited-supply — Dublin Bikes covered by MyBikeIE €5/day. DART reaches Howth (fishing village, 30 min) + Bray + Greystones + Malahide. Rail from Connolly to Belfast 2h; Heuston to Cork 2h30.

Day by day

• Day 1

  Day 1 — Trinity College + Book of Kells + Long Room + Grafton Street + St Stephen's Green + Temple Bar evening trad session.

• Day 2

  Day 2 — Kilmainham Gaol + Guinness Storehouse + Gravity Bar sunset + Christ Church + Dublin Castle.

• Day 3

  Day 3 — Merrion Square Georgian doors + National Gallery + Museum of Ireland + DART to Howth cliff walk + seafood.

Where to base yourself

• Temple Bar

  Cobbled cultural quarter + live-music pubs — Clarence (Bono's hotel), Temple Bar Hotel, Radisson Blu Royal.

• Georgian Dublin (Merrion + St Stephen's Green)

  Georgian squares + National Gallery + Museum of Ireland — Merrion Hotel, Shelbourne, Conrad Dublin.

• Trinity + Grafton Street

  Shopping + Book of Kells + Little Museum — Westbury, Wynn's, Trinity City Hotel.

• Docklands (Silicon Docks)

  Grand Canal + tech HQs (Google + Meta + Airbnb) + Bord Gáis Theatre — Marker (Anantara), Spencer, Gibson.

Best time to run this itinerary

May–September for warm-mild days (14–20°C) + long daylight (17h in June) + outdoor beer gardens. June for Bloomsday (Joyce festival, 16th), late-July TradFest. October Dublin Marathon + Bram Stoker Festival Halloween. December for Christmas + St Stephen's Day. March 17 St Patrick's Day — book 3+ months ahead + rates 2–3× normal.

Before you go

• Book Guinness + Kilmainham + Book of Kells 2+ weeks ahead in summer — walk-ups often turned away.

• Dublin Pass €69/109 (1/2 days) covers 30+ attractions + hop-on-bus — worth it if hitting 3+ paid sites/day.

• Free Sundays: National Gallery + Chester Beatty Library + Iveagh Gardens always free; Dublin Zoo free 1 Sunday/month.