Top Attractions in Dublin

The most popular visit in town is this multimedia homage to Guinness in a converted grain storehouse that is part of the 26-hectare brewery.

Across its seven floors you'll discover everything about Guinness before getting to taste the brew in the top-floor Gravity Bar, with panoramic views

Trinity's greatest treasures are found within the Old Library, built by Thomas Burgh between 1712 and 1732.

The star of the show is the Book of Kells, a breathtaking, illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels of the New Testament, created around AD 800 by monks on the Scottish island of Iona, but more stunning still is the 65m Long Room, the library's main chamber, which houses around 200,000 of the library's oldest volumes.

The Dublin Writers Museum is located in a Georgian town house in close proximity to the Hugh Lane Gallery.

The museum is compact and aims to give a crash course in Irish literature that will also fascinate visitors who have not been exposed to Irish writers before.

Clear and concise wall panels introduce visitors to the main authors and events that shaped Irish literature and led to the creation of still popular masterpieces as different as 'Dracula' and 'Ulysses'.

The fully-guided Jameson Distillery Bow St. Experience brings the stories of Jameson's rich heritage and on-going innovations to life in an immersive, 40-minute tasting tour of the home of Ireland's best-selling Irish whiskey.

If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the long-running resistance to British rule – then a visit to this former prison is an absolute must.

A threatening grey building, built in 1796, it's played a role in virtually every act of Ireland's painful path to independence, and even today, despite closing in 1924, it still has the power to chill.

Dublin Castle was the stronghold of British power in Ireland for more than 700 years, beginning with the Anglo-Norman fortress commissioned by King John in 1204.

Only the Record Tower (1258) survives from the original; most of what you see was built from the 18th century onwards – but its best bits are still impressive.

This magnificent cathedral was designed to be seen from the river, so walk to it from the riverside in order to truly appreciate the size.

It dates from 1038, when Sitric, Danish king of Dublin, built the first wooden Christ Church here.

In 1171, the original foundation was extended into a cruciform layout and rebuilt in stone under the leadership of the Norman warrior Strongbow.

The tombstones at Ireland's largest and most historically important burial site read like a 'who's who' of Irish history, as most of the leading names of the past 150 years are buried here, including Daniel O'Connell and Charles Stewart Parnell.

It was established in 1832 by O'Connell as a burial ground for people of all faiths – a high-minded response to Protestant cemeteries' refusal to bury Catholics.

The selection of themed tours are all highly recommended.

The Phoenix Park is the largest enclosed park in Europe.

The park is also home to Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of the Irish president and Dublin zoo.