There are two options for the fascinating Best of Dublin - Heritage Walking Tour: an English version and a German version. This tour takes you past many of Dublin’s most important and historic features, which you will view from the outside.
For the Best of Dublin - Heritage Walking Tour (English) you should meet your guide at 37 College Green (at corner with Grafton Street opposite to Trinity College outside Tour & Ticket Office) at 1430h (2:30pm).
For the Best of Dublin - Heritage Walking Tour (German) you should meet your guide at the same rendezvous point at 1400h (2:00pm). Both versions of the tour follow the same route through Dublin.
Starting off, your guide will lead you past many of the city’s iconic sites including the Bank of Ireland (former 18th century Houses of Parliament) and 16th century Trinity College, the hallowed halls of Ireland’s oldest university.
Next is Grafton Street, once ranked as the fifth most expensive main shopping street in the world. Still a shopping mood, visit Powerscourt Townhouse Centre, an 18th century Georgian mansion that is now Dublin's strangest shopping mall. Created by combining old buildings and a glass-covered backyard area, it has to be seen to be believed.
Turning to romance, visit St Valentine’s Casket in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, dating from 1825. The golden casket contains the remains of a martyr from the late 3rd century who, through various twists and turns, has inspired the worldwide craze of sending greeting cards on February 14.
Next on the tour is towering St Patrick’s Cathedral, founded in 1191. This is the National Cathedral of Ireland and is one of two cathedrals in Dublin, the second being Christ Church Cathedral (another stop on this tour).
At the Old City Walls, part Viking deterrent and part medieval boundary, you can literally walk up to a piece of history and run your hands along centuries-old stones.
Stroll past the Dublin Castle Courtyards and Gardens, then proceed to the Castle’s Chapel Royal. This was the official Church of Ireland chapel of the Household of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1814 until the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922.
Turning from churches to art, you will walk past the Chester Beatty Library Galleries. This art museum and library houses the great collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts assembled by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968).
Dublin City Hall, an outstanding example of the Georgian architecture for which the city is world famous, is next. Then proceed to the 11th century Christ Church Cathedral, for another lesson in Dublin’s ancient history. Founded after the then king of Dublin made a pilgrimage to Rome, the cathedral was built close to a Viking settlement. After touring the cathedral, you’ll wander through the nearby Viking and Medieval Quarter.
Your tour concludes in the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, Dublin’s “cultural quarter, “which saw the first performance of Handel’s “Messiah” in 1742. Today, Temple Bar has a lively nightlife and houses several Irish cultural institutions.
From Temple Bar, you will need to make your own arrangements for getting back to your accommodation.