I'd like to visit the following attractions when we're in Dublin in late April. Can you tell me approx how long to allow for each one? TIA.
Dublin Castle
Christchurch Cathedral & St Audeon's Church
Dublinia
St Patrick's Cathedral
Kilmainham Goal
Guinness Storehouse
The Old Jameson Distillery
National Museum of Ireland or National Gallery of Ireland
Kimainham Gaol is a tour. The tour itself was about 1 hour. They do recommend that you arrive a few minutes early. Make sure to buy tickets on the web before you leave.
Dublin was a few hours for us but we did have a 8 and a 11 year old with us so definitely spent more time than had it been just my husband and I. We also took the tour or St Patrick's cathedral and were there about 1 hour.
For the churches/cathedrals, it really depends on whether you want to do a tour and how long you want to spend there. Plan for maybe an hour, but more or less depending on your interests.
An hour sounds about right for Dublin Castle, we did the tour there.
The Gaol tour was about an hour - don't miss this, it was fantastic, and do buy your tickets in advance as the previous poster noted.
Guinness is up to you too. It can be relatively short, or you can spend several hours there. You get one or two free pints with the price of admission (I can't remember if it's one or two), but there are restaurants/cafes, museums, other experiences and things to do. The day we went (a Sunday) they had live music in the pub, so we wound up having lunch and a few more pints and listening to the music for a while.
The National Gallery is good, but not massive. Maybe two hours if you really want to linger. The National Museum is great. About the same.
Thanks. That helps a lot since we have limited time in Dublin. We'll be there 4 nights total but part of it will be taken up by our tour group activities so really only a couple of days.
National Museum - do you mean the Archaeology or the Decorative Arts & History (Collins Barracks)? My visit was a stop on a multiday guided tour, for about 1-1.5 hours and I went back for another couple of hours after the tour ended. It's in the heart of the city, takes no time to get there. Collins Barracks is more extensive but focuses mainly on the struggles against England and the military; it takes more time to get there.
There's a combined ticket for Dublinia and the cathedral. Start at Dublinia, then go across the bridge to the church - at least 2 hours. Dublinia is very hands-on so it's easy to spend lots of time there.
If you have a free evening, you might enjoy a play at the Gate or the Abbey.
The Guinness Storehouse takes around 3-5 hours.
I would definitely recommend going to Wicklow National Park, it is just outside of the city. The true beauty of Ireland is in her countryside.
Wow 3 hours sounds like a long time to me. Hmmm. Will have to decide if its worth it since our time is limited. Loved your blog though. We're going to some of the same places that you did. I'm so excited.
Guinness Storehouse isn't worth your limited time, in my opinion. It is not like a regular brewery tour - you don't see anything of the brewing process. It's basically a lot of shopping opportunities to buy the same Guinness souvenirs you can buy all over Ireland - oh, and that expensive "free" pint at the end. Jameson is much the same, in Dublin. It is not a working distillery (you have to go to Midleton, near Cork, for that). I would definitely recommend the archaeology museum! Haven't been to Dublinia, but I have heard from others that it is kind of a tourist trap. I honestly don't know, though. Allow time at Kilmainham to see the museum there, too, either before or after your tour.
