Dame Line: A Walk from Trinity College to Guinness Storehouse
Dublin Without Maps
Dublin's twisted streets confuse visitors. Vikings cities weren't built for tourists. My solution is Lines
- Each line follows one main street. Like a walking subway line
- With stops on and just off the route
- Never worry about getting lost
Dame Line
We’ll start with the Dame Line. It takes in a lot of the most popular sites in the city. Trinity, Books of Kells, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christchurch, the Liberties and Guinness.
This follows Dame Street. Once you're past Christchurch, it becomes Thomas Street. Just remember those two streets and you won't get lost !
1.Trinity College Dublin
Trinity is a 432 year old university in the heart of Dublin City. It is free to walk through its historic grounds. Be sure to explore more than just the main square, this is a big campus full of fabulous old buildings.
It takes 12 minutes to walk from the front entrance to the back. I know this because I studied here for four years and my engineering school was at the very end of Trinity. I had it nailed down to the minute how long it took me to get to class just as the lecturer walked in.
Current Trinity students lead a 45 minute tour of the Trinity College campus which is excellent because you're hearing directly about the history and life from them.
2.The Book Of Kells
1 million people a year come to see this little old book. The Book of Kells is a 1,200-year old manuscript of the four Gospels. Yes, it's historically significant, but you'll only see four pages under glass for about 30 seconds.
More impressive to me is the 300 year old Old Library's Long Room. Think the kind of ancient library that Harry Potter would whizz around on. It usually holds about 200,000 books, but today its shelves are mostly empty due to fire system being installed. It’s still very cool to see.
The tour ends a recently built red monstrosity. It looks like a red Ikea in the middle of this Elizabethan university While they'll tell you it was built for a digital experience of the Book of Kells, it was really built to expand the souvenir shop.
While we do walk through the Trinity Campus on my Dublin walking tour, we don't go into the Book of Kells exhibition itself.
If you want to visit the Book, you can get a fast pass to skip the long line here
Do This Walk With Me
- I'll guide you on a private tour. Any day or time.
- 2.5 hours & just €150 for up to 4 people. €25/extra person
3.Temple Bar
From Trinity, as you walk along Dame Street, turn down any street on the right.
You are now in Temple Bar. Temple Bar is an area of Dublin, but there is also a bar called Temple Bar. You'll have seen the bar in every single reel the Instagram pouter types put out.
I'm going to be careful because I'm not a big fan of Temple Bar and I've written quite negatively about it. So let me say something positive.
During the day Temple Bar is nice. The area was originally designed as a project to dilapidated old buildings into an artistic quarter, but it has become better known for its bars.
There are studios, galleries & vintage stores here that make it interesting to walk through during the day. So take some times and walk around it. If you're walking on cobblestone, you're in Temple Bar.
The Irish Rock & Roll Museum is here and is excellent if you're a music person. Admission is included with the Dublin Pass
4.Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle is underwhelming for me. This isn't a big hilltop castle like Edinburgh. The castle was built in 1204 and was probably impressive then. But it burned down in 1684.
So today all you see is 18th century version of government office buildings with a bit of the old castle. You can pay to tour the buildings but it's mostly old furniture and paintings of self important old men. I wouldn't bother.
5 Dubh Linn Gardens
The best part of Dublin Castle is its gardens. And no one even knows it is there. I go for peace in the city.
6.Chester Beatty Library
There is a highly rated museum of Islamic artifacts in Dublin Castle. Strange, but here is why.
Old Chester was a rich American miner with a lung condition. He lived in Ireland but found that Egypt's dry air was good for his health. He bought antiquities there and brought them back to Ireland.
Interesting back story, but I go mostly for the amazing food in its Silk Road Cafe.
Do This Walk With Me
- I'll guide you on a private tour. Any day or time.
- 2.5 hours & just €150 for up to 4 people. €25/extra person
7.Christchurch Cathedral
Vikings used to go to this 1000 year old church. It's still an active Anglican Church and if you stay in a hotel near by, you'll get to know its bells. I actually rang the bells at Christchurch last year during Dublin Heritage Week. This is an excellent week to come to Dublin because many unique things like this can be done.
I digress, back to Christchurch. You can do a tour of it if you like old churches. The crypt below was the most interesting for me. Not for religious reasons but to see the real cool mummified remains of Tom & Jerry, a cat and rat who got stuck in an organ pipe.
I could give it a skip though and instead use the money for a pint across the road at the Lord Edward pub.
But 736 people on GetYourGuide disagree with me and give the Christchurch tour 4.6/5 ratings. You can read what they like about it here.
8.Dublinia
Thank God for Netflix. I used to have to explain who The Vikings were but Netflix has educated people now and it's make my job easier.
Anyway, they came to Dublin around 850. Not so much to pillage and do other bad things, but more to trade (and with no tariffs). They even gave Dublin its name. They call it "Dubh Linn" meaning "Black Pool".
Dublinia is a museum about Vikings and the medieval history of Dublin. It uses guides dressed as vikings to tell the story. I suppose it's more interesting than reading a sign, but there is a bit of cringe too. Every school kid in Dublin was brought here as a kid and kids do seem to like it. Good views from the tower.
Admission is included with the Dublin Pass
9.The Liberties
The road curves a little and now you're on Thomas Street. This is the Liberties area of Dublin. It's called the Liberties because it used to be outside the city walls, so the people living here had more freedom than those within. It still has a rebellious, independent feel today. I love this part of town.
The Liberties is gentrifying fast, but it’s still full of character. You'll see modern day Molly Malone street traders selling toilet roll in front of an Argentinian bakery (which is delicioso!).
Take a wander down Francis Street for antique shops. My favorite plant shop, Hopeless Botanics is at the end. They are so clever in their branding. They don't bore you with the latin names for the plants. Instead they categorize them by their hardiness! I have one of their 'impossible to kill' plants slowing dying in my living room.
Meath Street for the aforementioned street traders. Vicar Street is one of Dublin's best music venues, check their schedule to see who is playing.
It seems that every second door is a bar in the Liberties, which makes sense since Guinness Brewery is here too & a lot of the Guinness staff used to live here. Some bars are very much for the locals, but they’re well used to tourists passing on their way to Guinness and the characters on these well worn bar stools will give you better stories of real Dublin than any exhibition.
10.Teeling Distillery
This is Ireland, so of course there's lots of whiskey. In Dublin we have Jameson, Roe & Co but I really like Teeling. It's smaller and more personal. They are a perfect example of the regeneration in the Liberties and are a big success story.
I prefer Teeling Distillery over the nearby Roe & Coe, who are Diageo/Guinness oneed.
11.Guinness Storehouse
It's Guinness. Go. Everyone goes.
1.7 million people went last year. It gets very busy, but I'm going to tell you the best ways to visit.
Guinness Storehouse Experience
This is the basic entry. It's a self guided tour through an exhibition. You don't actually tour the brewery. It is an exhibition with bars. But it is superbly done.
You work your way to the top floor where there is the Gravity Bar and you get one pint of delicious Guinness that is included in admission. Bad news is that you can't buy more pints in the Gravity Bar. It's very crowded and they want you to move on to create space for the next group.
You can buy drinks in other areas of the Storehouse though. And not just Guinness. For the non-drinkers, the new Guinness 0.0 is just like the real thing. I drink more of that now than the alcohol version!
Definitely book ahead of time !!
The Connoisseur Tour
Visiting Guinness is something you'll do once in your life, so you may as well do it properly.
The Connoisseur Tour is the business class of Guinness tours. And if it's within your means, it's absolutely worth doing.
I was trying to think of how to describe it when I saw this online. It's so full of passion, I loved it!
The connoisseur experience was 100% worth it. It was our first day after an overnight flight so sitting and listening to history, storytelling (& a bit of traditional irish music peppered in from a speaker at the bartender’s leisure from time to time), inside a really nice bar amid a small group was perfect. We also skipped a SUPER long line that stretched back and forth outside while it was pouring rain. They lifted a velvet rope and we were seated 2-3 mins later upstairs. It’s a flight of pints, so a lot of beer— at least 5. You learn to pour the last one yourself & they give you a certificate. 10/10 worth it over a “self tour” which is just walking around and reading things (you can still do this after the connoisseurs experience if you want to)
The main advantages of the Connoisseur Experience:
- Guided by an officially trained Guinness Connoisseur
- Private tasting in an exclusive, quiet bar setting
- Sample four different Guinness brews with stories behind each
- Learn to pour the perfect pint (and receive a certificate)
- 90-minute immersive experience
- Still includes everything from the basic tour, including Gravity Bar pint
- Skip-the-line privileges (especially valuable during busy periods)
And you skip the line.
Book your Connoisseur Tour here.
12.Pearse Lyons Distillery
Writing about Teeling reminds me of another fabulous distillery and this one is in an old church. "Honey, I'm just off to church for a few hours"
It gets more interesting because the founder was an Irishman who is in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame! Another smaller and more unique distillery for you to visit. Here's where to get your tickets
Update : Hot off the press, I just wrote a review about my visit to the Pearse Lyon Distillery
Hotels On The Dame Line
Stay on this route if you want feel like you're living in Dublin, not just visiting. And because parts of it are outside the main tourist area, prices are lower.
Walk some steps to save some money. Win Win.
Dame Line Details
- 2 hour walk & 4kms
- Here is the Google Maps Route
The Final Word on the Dame Line
The Dame Line is brings you from Trinity to Guinness. Take your time, wander down side streets when they catch your eye, and remember that Dame Street will always be there to guide you back.
This route hits many of Dublin's must-see attractions, but without the usual tourist confusion. You now know which parts to linger in and which to breeze through
Plan Ahead And Save Money
I've mentioned a few times, but the Dublin Pass is worthwhile if you're into museums and attractions. If you're a planner, you'll definitely save money. I'm the type who will put together a spreadsheet with each place and estimated time spent there.
