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ENJOY THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY...Their contents are priceless, but entry to Dublins top museums and galleries is free. Just think about thepossibilities. That means you could skip from bog bodies at The National Museum of Archaeology to canvasesby Caravaggio and Jack B Yeats at the National Gallery. You could check out four centuries of furnishings atThe National Museum of Decorative Arts and History, before visiting Francis Bacons reconstructed studio atDublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. Seven thousand items were meticulously transplanted here from ReeceMews in London, including books, brushes and, erm, several pairs of corduroy trousers. I feel at home here inthis chaos, Bacon once quipped. Its a world of riches that wont cost you a cent.

DRINKA DROP OF DUBLIN...You cant visit Dublin without tasting Guinness. Or better still, go the whole hog at the home of the blackstu. The state-of-the-art Guinness Storehouse, located beside the famous brewery at St James Gate,wraps several floors of exhibitions and advertising displays around a pint-shaped atrium. You can evenlearn how to pour the perfect pint (tip: leave it settle for 119.5 seconds) before drinking in 360-degreeviews of Dublin from the Gravity Bar. Afterwards, enjoy another drop of Dublin on a tour of the OldJameson Distillery in Smithfield, where you can learn about the tr iple distilling process before taking atutored sup of the nectar itself. Slinte!

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4 PLAY KING OF THE CASTLE...You want castles and cathedrals? Dublin has you covered. Take Malahide Castle, home to an amazing banquetinghall, a mischievous ghost named Puck and one of the best playgrounds in the country. Take Dublin Castle, datingfrom 1204AD and still central to the aairs of the nation. A tour of the State Apartments and medieval undercroftis essential here, but dont miss the Chester Beatty Museum and it s excellent Silk Road Caf, with MiddleEastern, North African, Mediterranean and vegetarian dishes. Dublin is also unique in boasting two landmarkcathedrals within a short walk of each other St Patricks, where author and satirist Jonathan Swift famouslyserved as Dean, and Christ Church, a chandelier of a building containing the bones of Strongbow.

VISIT DUBLINS ANIMAL KINGDOM...Over a million visitors pass through the gates of Dublin Zoo ever y year, and there are just as manyreasons to join them. Tucked away in Phoenix Park, the zoo is constantly welcoming new arrivals babygorillas, hippos, rhino and red pandas to name but a few. Adult attractions include Harr y, a 40-stonesilverback lording it over the Gorilla Rainforest (hes watching you). Habitats range from the sweepingAfrican Plains to a free-flying aviar y, a family farm and lots of playgrounds. Modern principles ofconservation, education and animal care govern every thing and, yes, that includes the humans. Thekeepers at Dublin Zoo are walking, talking encyclopaedias. Throw them a bone.

1 HOP ON A CITY TOUR...Exploring a city is a beautiful thing. Sitting on a bus for t wo hours not so much. Thats why theHop-on/Hop-o tours oered by Dublin Bus and City Sightseeing are such a brainwave. Stoppingat multiple attractions around the city (think Dublin Zoo, Trinity College, the Guinness Storehouse),customers are free to hop on and o at their leisure. That means exploring your own interests, at yourown pace, in your own sweet way. But theres more. Quality guides are on hand to oer entertainmentand insight, multilingual audio commentary is available, kids go free on certain special oers , andtickets last for 48 hours, meaning you can pick up where you left o the following day. Genius.

DUBLINSTOP10

Take the weight o your feet...

2 Millennium wing of the National Gallery 3 Rooooaaaar of the wild in Dublin Zoo

4 Dublin Castle at the heart of the capital

5 Triple distilling at Jamesons

For more info: museum.ie; nationalgallery.ie; hughlane.ie

For more info : dublinzoo.ie

For more info: christchurchdublin.ie; stpatrickscathedral.ie; dublincastle.ie

For more info: Guinness-storehouse.com; tours.jamesonwhiskey.com

For more info: dublinsightseeing.ie; citysightseeingdublin.ie

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AWARD-WINNINGTRAVEL WRITER

PL CONGHAILESELECTS HIS 10

FAVOURITE THINGSTO DO IN DUBLIN

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BROWSE THE CITY OF WORDS...Dublin is one of just five UNES CO Cities of Literature. The words of Nobel laureates like Yeats, Shaw, Beckettand Heaney echo in its streets. Statues of wr iters stand in parks; their names have been given to bridges.Visitors can celebrate Joyces Bloomsday, take a literary pub crawl and see the Book of Kells at TrinityCollege. Literary Dublin is even one of Patricia Shultzs 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. But dont let thistempt you into thinking its all about dead guys. Contemporary writers l ike Joseph OConnor, Anne Enright andPaul Murray continue to carry the flame, as indeed, do Dubliners themselves, every time they utter theimmortal greeting: Whats the story?

CITY BY THE SEA ...With so much to do in the city centre, its easy to forget that Dublin is a city by the sea. But a short rideon the Dart is all it takes to get out along its sparkling necklace of seaside vill ages and beaches. Withinhalf an hour you could be bobbing along in a small boat on the way to Dalkey Island, eating Michelin-starred food in Malahide, or walking the Victorian pier at Dun Laoghaire. Double that, and you mightfind yourself eating snap-fresh seafood in Howth, building sandcastles on Portmarnocks VelvetStrand, or winding your way down wildflower-strewn cli paths to White Rock beach in Killiney. DublinBay even has its own resident dolphins. How many capital cities c an say that?

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Kilmainham Gaol has stories to tell

Merrion Squares Wilde man muses

8 Catching up at The Queens in Dalkey 9 Knock, knock on Georgian doors

10 Keep watch for the resident dolphins...

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9 OPENDUBLINS DOORS...Paris has its beaux art s. Dublin has its Georgian streets and squares. Beaming out from beneath theirfanlights, these brightly-painted doors are an iconic image of the city. But where did they come from? Theanswer lies between 1714 and 1830. In this period, four dierent Georges held the throne of England, Dublinentered an era of prosperity, and its medieval streetscape got one hell of a makeover. Grand buildings such asthe Custom House, stately spaces such as Stephens Green and sumptuous interiors like those at the GeorgianHouse Museum are just some of the results on view today. Download a Georgian iWalk, and experience thegorgeous eighteenth for yourself.

POP INTO A PUB...

Theres not much to say ABOUT Dublin pubs that hasnt already been said IN Dublin pubs. Thesetrusty littl e tabernacles are famous for their creamy pints, cosy snugs and quick-witted cr aic. Thinkof Mulligans, Kehoes, Toners or McDaids, all dripping with character, all dotted about the city l ike

time machines. In Dublin, youre never more than 20 paces from a pint, author JP Dunleavy oncesaid. But yesterdays pints of plain are today deliciously diverse. Gastropubs do great grub; hotel barsare shaking up the cocktail scene; quality music, wine and coee are mixing it up with flip-out fun inTemple Bar. Whatever your taste, theres a Dublin pub for you.

6 GO TO GAOL ...Dating from 1796, Kilmainham Gaol was famous as a machine for grinding rogues honest. Or perhapsinfamous is a better word the building stands empty today, but its thick walls, grim graffiti andforeboding atmosphere still evoke a shiver. Watch out for the striking Vic torian wing, where scenesfrom Michael Collins and The Name of the Father were filmed; an AV presentation and guided tourfurther tease out the jails place in Irish political and penal histor y. Robert Emmet, Charles StuartParnell and Eamonn de Valera were all imprisoned at K ilmainham, and the leaders of the 1916 Risingwere executed by firing squad in the stone-breakers yar d. Yikes.

For more info : dublincityofliterature.ie

For more info: visitdublin.com

For more info: visitdublin.com/iwalks

For more info : irishrail.ie

For more info: heritageireland.ie

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