All you need for a couple of days in Ireland’s capital in March!

March is a popular time to visit Dublin, with St. Patrick’s Day drawing crowds from all over the world, but if you avoid March 17th and the Paddy’s Day weekend, you can score some pretty cheap deals and still witness the city in all its Paddy’s Day glory.

Packing Essentials:

• A comfy jumper or two
• Layers (with very changeable weather and central heating & pub fire places, you’ll be glad to be able to add or remove a layer on the go!)
• Comfortable, waterproof shoes (don’t slip on Dublin’s old cobbled streets!)
• Waterproof jacket (for when the drizzle kicks in!)
• Sunglasses (March is spring time, and when the sun comes out it means business!)
• Daytime backpack (to carry your haul of miniature whiskey bottles!)

Lunch & Shopping

The little Aer Lingus plane with its shamrock on the tail landed in Dublin just in time for lunch. A crowded bus took us from the airport into the city, where we alighted close to Temple Bar. We went in the first pub we saw – The Duke on Duke Street, and ordered the special – traditional lamb stew served with rye bread. It would be rude not to celebrate our arrival with a local Dublin brew, so a pint of Five Lamps ale was enjoyed beneath the St. Patrick’s Day decorations.

Duke Street leads out onto Grafton Street, Dublin’s pedestrianised shopping hub, where you can find your favourite international stores lining the bustling brick paving. Street artists and buskers fill the atmosphere, while the side streets lead off to vibrant bars, restaurants, and interesting venues including St. Anne’s Church of Ireland. We found a whiskey shop offering free tasters!

Where to Stay

I can highly recommend Staycity Aparthotel for comfort and convenience and reasonable prices. The hotel is walking distance from a multitude of pubs, restaurants and shops, and just across the river from Temple Bar. The studio rooms have self-catering facilities, perfect if you want to save some pennies on meals!

The Guinness Storehouse

Now we’re getting into the real reason you’re all here… let’s face it, everyone wants to know, does Guinness really taste better in Dublin? The Guinness Storehouse sees 1.5 million visitors per year, so it is definitely necessary to book ahead, and be prepared for crowds.

The walk to St. James’s Gate was interesting in itself, through narrow streets, lined with brick factory walls, second and third level walkways criss-crossing above us. It was like walking back in time through the Industrial Revolution. Little horses and jaunting cars stood in a line outside the Guinness Storehouse entrance, enticing tourists for a ride – €50 for half an hour!

Inside the Guinness Storehouse, levels and levels of escalators zigzag up an endless hollow building. We followed the line up to the first level of the sensory immersive museum, where we were funnelled through the early stages of beer production – growing the barley, extracting the finest spring water, etc. I found it artistic and sensory, though I struggled to take in all the information with the tide of humans flowing at a constant rate. There were things to open and touch and smell, replicas and giant mash-tuns you could walk into. Beyond this section, the Storehouse got a little more relaxed; the crowds dispersed a little as you could choose an experience, see the advertising history, or go to one of the restaurants on the fifth floor. As for me, I chose the Tasting Experience.

We waited in line for a few minutes, until the door opened and we were welcomed through a tunnel of mood sound and lighting and what I could only describe as the smell of vape flavours! The tunnel opened into a very bright white room with four matching white tubes coming out of the floor, steam rising from each of them. It felt very Willy Wonka! The four tubes represented four different flavours of Guinness ingredients. Into the next room, which resembled the foyer of a Royal abode, and we stood amongst bust statues and oil portraits to down a very tiny glass of Guinness. Sláinte!

A walk through the interesting history of advertising, with the famous Irish harp, a flock of toucans, a seal, a kangaroo, a whistling oyster and a cycling fish, it was time to make our way to the roof for a beer. The Gravity Bar boasts that it is 300 pints of Guinness tall, and it would take 2.5 million pints of Guinness to fill it! It is designed to look like a giant head of Guinness sitting atop the Storehouse, and offers 360° views of Dublin. This is where you come to taste your complimentary, perfect-pour pint of Guinness and find out if Dublin does it best. (The answer is obvious!)

It’s difficult to leave the Guinness Storehouse without visiting the enormous gift shop. I came away with a bottle of Porter, which turned out to be my favourite Guinness drink, and I wish I’d bought more than one!

Arran Quay

It’s not all about Guinness in Dublin. Coffee has popped off in the city and there are a number of excellent artisan cafes. My favourite was Copper & Straw in Arran Quay. Overlooking the 1800s flagstone quay on the river, we sat and enjoyed perfect barista-made coffee and a freshly baked croissant. This is literally around the corner from the Jameson Whiskey Distillery, where you can take a tour or just go check out the old factory building.

Dublin Castle

The castle in Dublin’s city centre is a little different to castles around the UK. It is hidden in the city rather than sitting guard on top of a hill, and its buildings are a mash-up of many different historical eras. The latter is because parts of the castle kept getting destroyed, and therefore there is only one original medieval turret remaining. Interestingly, Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula worked at Dublin Castle in the 1870s, and his first, lesser known publication was based on his time there. But it is thought that his time at the gothic castle also influenced his telling of Dracula.

National Museum of Ireland – Kildare Street

The National Museum on Kildare Street is free to roam around at your own pace. Set inside a grand Victorian Palladian building, this particular museum focuses on Irish archaeology through the ages. From gold hoards found in swamps, to graphic artefacts from medieval Catholic Ireland, there was even a Viking exhibition while I was there.

Temple Bar

We paused for lunch at KC Peaches – a Dublin chain of fresh food eateries, before walking back through the old town to Temple Bar. Temple Bar is a bustling, riverside neighbourhood, famous for its ‘good craic’, traditional pubs and array of live folk music. These pedestrianised streets can become very crowded, especially at beer-drinking o’clock, which – it comes as no surprise – is all day! Through alleyways lined with neon ‘Guinness’ signs, and down curving cobbled streets, past old pubs and the famous statue of Molly Malone and on to the very popular Temple Bar Pub. Probably the most touristic pub in Ireland, The Temple Bar Pub was smothered in massive shamrocks, and had a loud yet inviting ruckus blaring out of it! We went inside and found some empty bar stools next to some giant green Celtic God heads. A man was playing guitar and singing classic sing-alongs in the small bar, and we sat with a Guinness and soaked up the atmosphere.

Ireland’s Oldest Pub

The Brazen Head, est. 1198, is undoubtedly old and very atmospheric. We were early and lucky enough to get a table inside for dinner, and the food was traditional and impeccable. It isn’t cheap, but for the full atmosphere it was worth it. Timber beams hold up the small, dark inn, with a fireplace in the wall, and a tiny, ancient bar with every beer and whiskey you can imagine behind it. The walls are smothered in foreign money, photos, signatures and memories, and if you manage to get in later in the evening, they promise live music every night.

A short walk back to Temple Bar to continue our walking tour of pubs! We stopped in The Porterhouse Brew Pub, a tap room for their own range of beers and ales, where a Fiddle Trio were jamming at a table in the window! Next we followed the sound of live music into Fitzsimons Pub, world famous for its non-stop entertainment! We sat along the bar and enjoyed proper folk music with Irish bagpipes. The night was topped off with a sip of Distillery Edition Jameson’s – because “when in Rome.”

A good way to conquer the day after the night before is to try out Supermac’s – Ireland’s own competitor for McDonalds. We found one at Dublin Heuston Train Station and it hit the spot.