Three Days in Dublin, Without a Car
Three days in Dublin on foot and by DART. What to book weeks ahead, what to skip, and the coastal escape that takes 25 minutes from the city centre.
- Days
- 3
- Getting around
- On foot and by DART
- Best months
- Year-round
- Route
- Trinity College → Howth Head
The half-mile that holds most of it
Dublin's centre is small. From Trinity's front gate you can walk to everything on this day in under fifteen minutes, and you should. The traffic is bad, the taxis are slow, and walking is how the city makes sense.
Start at Trinity College with a timed ticket for the Book of Kells and the Long Room. Book it before you fly, because walk-ups queue for an hour in summer. Take the earliest slot of the day and you will have the library to yourself for about ten minutes, which is worth the alarm.
Then Grafton Street and the lanes running off it. The National Museum on Kildare Street is free and holds Iron Age gold and four bog bodies that most visitors never hear about. Dublin Castle is five minutes further west.
For the evening, skip the pub actually called Temple Bar, where a pint costs what a meal should. The Palace Bar, Kehoe's and The Long Hall are all within a few minutes' walk and none of them are pretending.
On this stretch Trinity College · Dublin Castle
Whiskey, stout, and the gaol that made a country
Kilmainham Gaol is the most affecting hour in Dublin and the hardest ticket to get. They release in batches, the batches go in minutes, and there is no walk-up queue to fall back on. Set a reminder for the release date before you book flights.
Fourteen leaders of the 1916 Rising were executed in the stonebreakers' yard here, the last of them tied to a chair because his ankle was too badly wounded to stand. Standing in that yard reframes most of what you will see for the rest of the week.
Walk back east through the Liberties to the Guinness Storehouse. It is a brand experience and makes no secret of it, but the Gravity Bar at the top earns the ticket on its own: a 360-degree view over a city otherwise too low-rise to see properly.
If whiskey suits you better, Roe & Co is across the road and Teeling is ten minutes south. Teeling is a working distillery rather than a museum, and it is the better tour.
Spend the evening in Stoneybatter or Smithfield, which is where Dublin's nightlife quietly relocated.
On this stretch Guinness Storehouse · Kilmainham Gaol
Twenty-five minutes to a cliff path
Take the DART north from Connolly or Tara Street. Twenty-five minutes later you step off at a working fishing harbour with seals in it, and the city is gone.
The Howth Cliff Path loops around the head in about two hours on a well-made trail. There are four waymarked versions of it; the purple route is the full loop and the green one cuts it in half if the weather turns. You pass the Baily lighthouse, look across to Ireland's Eye, and on a clear day you can see the Mourne Mountains in County Down.
Eat at the harbour afterwards. The seafood here is landed a few hundred metres from where it is served, which is not true of anywhere in the city centre.
Back in Dublin by six, with an evening left for whichever pubs you missed on Monday. If you would rather stay in town on your last day, the alternative is a Boyne Valley tour to Newgrange, though that means a coach and most of the day gone.
On this stretch Howth village · Howth Head
Questions people actually ask
Is three days enough for Dublin?
Comfortably. The centre is walkable end to end in half an hour, and three days covers the museums, the distilleries, Kilmainham and a day on the coast. If you have a fourth, spend it in Wicklow or on the train to Belfast rather than on more of Dublin.
Do I need a car in Dublin?
No, and you actively do not want one. Parking is expensive, the one-way system is punishing, and everything in this itinerary is walkable or on the DART. Pick a car up on the day you leave the city, not before.
What do I need to book before I arrive?
Kilmainham Gaol first, because tickets release in batches and sell out within minutes. Then the Book of Kells, which is timed entry. The Guinness Storehouse can be booked on the day but costs less in advance.
Is Temple Bar worth visiting?
Worth walking through, not worth drinking in. The area itself is pretty and has good galleries and a Saturday food market. The pubs on the main strip charge tourist prices for an ordinary pint, and the good ones are five minutes away.
What is the best time of year to visit Dublin?
Dublin works year-round because so much of it is indoors. May, June and September give you the best weather and the longest evenings. December is lovely and the pubs are at their best. Avoid the week of St Patrick's Day unless the parade is why you are coming, because prices roughly double.
How do I get from Dublin Airport to the city?
There is no rail link. The Airlink and Aircoach buses run every ten to fifteen minutes, take about half an hour to the centre and cost around €8. A taxi is roughly €30 and no faster in traffic.
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