5 Must Dos For a Short Weekend Break in Dublin

I'm very excited to be going away to Dublin over Easter, my first holiday of the year and one sorely needed after the incredibly busy few months I've had at work. We'll only be in the Irish capital for just over three days but we have a jam-packed itinerary to make the most of a flying visit, carefully researched and mapped out (though, I'll let you know afterwards if we managed to stick to all of our plans). I know I'm not the only one juggling limited holiday days and a full-time job but still wanting to get the most out of weekend breaks, so I've rounded up my top 5 plans for this getaway to help inspire other globetrotters with limited travel time.

1. Visit the touristy haunts

We have only a little over three days in the city of Guinness and Leprechauns (I'm not stereotyping here there is in fact a Leprechaun Museum and Guinness Brewery in Dublin) but we've been told the centre is quite compact and easy to navigate on foot, so I have faith we'll be able to tick of the majority of the tourist locations on our schedule, if not all. Our list of musts includes: Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library, Trinity College and the Book of Kells Exhibition, Christ Church Cathedral, Ha'penny Bridge, Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Writer's Museum, National Wax Museum, Temple Bar, Old Jameson Distillery and Guinness Storehouse.

2. Join ALL of the tours

Helping us on our mission to see all of Dublin in our very limited time there are some excellent tours that we're planning on joining during our stay. We're starting the evening we arrive with a spooky Ghost Bus Tour followed by a free walking tour that lasts 3 hours (ticking off most of the more obvious tourist attractions that can be enjoyed without going inside) the next day. The evening of our first full day there I've also been invited to join a Literary Pub Crawl, which sounds like fun and right up this bookish blogger's street! Combined, these tours should really help us tick off a lot of our must-sees while at the same time allowing us to explore the city and get to know our way around without getting lost, win/win.

3. Explore Dublin's literary side

As I've done for cities like Edinburgh, Oxford and Paris in the past, I'm planning to write a Book Lover's Guide to Literary Dublin, so needless to say I'm knee-deep in bookish research to find as many relevant links as possible I can include. With literary greats such as Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, Jonathan Swift and William Butler Yeats all making their mark on the city, I'm confident there will be plenty for me to explore and include.

4. Shop 'til I drop

I mean, I'm bringing a full-sized suitcase that for a stay of less than four days isn't going to be very full when I arrive so I feel it's my obligation to fill it up as much as possible. I don't have too many shopping plans just yet beyond a desire to visit the flagship Eason store on O'Connell Street based purely on the fact that they have awesome social media channels to promote YA books and events, but I'm sure I'll find plenty of great shops to check out. I've been told Grafton Street and its surrounding area are especially great for a spot of shopping, I'll report back!

5. Make a coastal day trip

While I do love a city trip, my heart lies with scenic holidays and Ireland is an absolutely stunning country to explore. Having not been before I feel I cannot just stay in the city but I should make a trip to the coast as well and so we're planning to do just that. By DART train it's less than 30 minutes to the fishing village of Howth, which has a beautiful coast line to hike along (with the potential of spotting seals!) as well as a castle. It's also known for its fresh seafood so that's lunch sorted! Time permitting we'd also love to take the train further up to Malahide, another idyllic village to wander through. The only potential dampener on our plans is the weather, so far it's supposed to bucket it down with rain during our entire stay in Ireland which doesn't sound very promising. So if you can all keep your fingers crossed for some sunshine, especially during our day trip to the coast, it'd be much appreciated!

And that's it for our plans for a long weekend in Dublin... so far. As you can see it's a very packed itinerary as I always like to make the most from a short getaway, especially when it's to a country I've never been to before like Ireland, but I feel that this is doable.

If you have any other tips to add for places we must see/visit, somewhere we should go for dinner or general advice on what we should be planning on the same days, please leave them in the comments below!


🎵 Listening to: My Chemical Romance – Sing
🔹 Mood:Productive