Sample trip · made by Prologue
Cal & Marnie do

Dublin.

A long weekend of Georgian doors, wet cobbles, one very good library and a great deal of stout.

6–8 NovemberMerrion Square2 travellers
Friday 6 November

Doors, rain
& the first pint

In from the airport, straight into a snug. It'll be raining. That's the point.

  1. 17:10

    Land at Dublin

    Airlink or the 16 bus into the centre, about 30 minutes. No train from this airport, so don't go looking for one.

  2. 18:30

    Georgian doors, Merrion Square

    The famous ones — four sides of a square, every door a different colour under a fanlight. Ten minutes, and the best photograph of the weekend.

  3. 20:00

    Dinner — Etto Booked

    Tiny room on Merrion Row, big flavours, excellent wine list. Book or don't eat.

  4. 22:00

    Kehoe's, then The Long Hall

    Two of the last proper Victorian pubs in the city — snugs, mahogany, no television. Order stout and let it settle properly before you touch it.

    Dublin in November is 4–10°C and wet in a fine, horizontal way that laughs at umbrellas. Bring a coat with a hood.
Saturday 7 November

The Long Room,
then the Gravity Bar

One of the most beautiful rooms on earth in the morning, and the best view in the city at sunset.

  1. 09:00

    Book of Kells & the Long Room Booked

    First slot, before the coaches. The Book of Kells is small and behind glass — the Long Room upstairs is the thing you'll remember. Two hundred thousand books under a barrel vault.

  2. 11:30

    Trinity, then Grafton Street

    Cut through Front Square and out past the campanile. Buskers all the way down Grafton Street to St Stephen's Green.

  3. 13:00

    Lunch in the Liberties

    Walk west into the oldest part of Dublin — Christ Church, the markets, and the good pubs the tour groups don't reach.

  4. 16:00

    Guinness Storehouse Booked

    Yes it's the touristy one. Go anyway, and time it so you reach the Gravity Bar at the top for sunset — 360° over the whole city with a pint you poured yourself.

  5. 21:30

    Trad session, The Cobblestone

    Smithfield, ten minutes' walk. Musicians in the corner, no stage, no microphones, and nobody claps until it's finished.

Sunday 8 November

Out to the sea

Thirty minutes on a train and you're on a cliff. This is Dublin's best trick.

  1. 09:30

    DART to Howth

    The coastal train from Connolly, about 30 minutes, and the last ten run right along the water. Sit on the right.

  2. 10:15

    The cliff loop

    Two hours round the head — gorse, gulls, the lighthouse, and the Irish Sea doing something dramatic. Proper shoes, it gets slippy.

  3. 13:00

    Seafood on the pier Booked

    Chowder and brown bread by the harbour, watching the seals work the fishing boats for scraps.

  4. 16:30

    Back in, and out

    DART to the centre, collect the bags, bus to the airport. Allow a full hour — the 16 gets busy on a Sunday.

Slán go fóill.

Three days, one library you'll think about for years, and a stout that genuinely does taste different here.

A sample trip, made by Prologue.