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Garden for the Blind
The centre of St Stephen's Green has a garden for the blind, complete with signs in Braille and plants that can be handled. There is also a statue of the Three Fates, presented to Dublin in 1956 by West Germany in gratitude for Irish aid after WWII. In the corner closest to the Shelbourne Hotel is a monument to Wolfe Tone, the leader of the abortive 1798 invasion; the vertical slabs serving as a backdrop to Wolfe Tone's statue have been dubbed 'Tonehenge'.
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Garden Of Remembrance
This rather austere little park was opened by President Eamon de Valera in 1966 for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. It is still known to some Dubs as the 'Garden of Mature Recollection', mocking the linguistic gymnastics employed by former favourite for president, Brian Lenihan, who was caught out lying in a minor political scandal and used the phrase to try and wiggle his way out of it.
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General Post Office (GPO)
Imagine trying to post a letter at the country's main post office, only for a bunch of armed and most serious men interrupting your chore by declaring an Irish republic from the doorways before barricading themselves inside in anticipation of a week-long bombardment by the British Army?
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Glasnevin Cemetery
Make sure your visit coincides with one of the free tours ( Wednesday and Friday), which are provided by Dublin's most entertaining, informative and irreverent tour guide, the inimitable Lorcan Collins, who'll bring you around all the most interesting sights in Ireland's largest cemetery - sometimes referred to as 'Croak Park'.
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Government Buildings
This gleaming Edwardian pile was the last building (almost) completed by the British before they were booted out; it opened as the Royal College of Science in 1911. When the college vacated in 1989, Taoiseach Charlie Haughey and his government moved in and spent a fortune refurbishing the complex. Among Haughey's needs, apparently, was a private lift from his office that went up to a rooftop helipad and down to a limo in the basement.
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Guinness Storehouse & St James' Gate Brewery
Like a Disneyland for beer lovers, the Guinness Storehouse is an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza combining sophisticated exhibits with more than a pintful of marketing hype. The best part of the Storehouse tour is the rooftop Gravity Bar, where you can kick back with a pint of the black stuff.
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Henrietta Street
Henrietta St dates from the 1720s and was the first project of Dublin's pre-eminent Georgian developer, Luke Gardiner. It was designed as an enclave of prestigious addresses (Gardiner himself lived at No 10), and remained one of Dublin's most fashionable streets until the Act of Union 1801. It's looking a little forlorn these days after spending much of the 20th century as tenement housing, where up to 70 tenants were crammed into each four-storey house. Some of the residences are in disrepair, yet it's still a wonderful insight into the evolution of Georgian residential architecture, and features mansions of varying size and style.
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Hugh Lane Gallery
Whatever reputation Dublin may have as a repository of top class art is in large part due to the collection at this magnificent gallery, which is not only home to works by some of the supernovas in the Impressionist firmament, but where you'll find one of the most singular exhibitions to be seen anywhere: the actual studio of one of the 20th century's most famous artists, Francis Bacon.
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Irish Writers Centre
While the Dublin Writer's Museum focuses on the dearly departed, the Irish Writers Centre next door provides a meeting and working place for their living successors.
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Irish-Jewish Museum
Housed in an old synagogue, this museum recounts the history and cultural heritage of Ireland's small but prolific Jewish community. It was opened in 1985 by the Belfast-born, then-Israeli president, Chaim Herzog. The various memorabilia includes photographs, paintings, certificates, books and other artefacts.
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Iveagh Gardens
Our favourite gardens in Dublin may not have the sculpted elegance of the other city parks, but they never get too crowded and the warden won't bark at you if you walk on the grass. They were designed by Ninian Niven in 1863 as the private grounds of Iveagh House, and include a rustic grotto, cascade, fountain, maze and rosarium.
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James Joyce Centre
More study centre than museum, casual Joyceans may be disappointed by the small cache of Joyce-related items in this beautifully restored Georgian home. But the centre has more than just texts and papers for Joycean scholars; there's a regular programme of events, films and lectures, walking tours of Joyce's haunts, photographs, relics and fascinating facts.
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Kilmainham Gaol
One of Dublin's most sobering sights, Kilmainham Gaol oozes centuries of pain, oppression and suffering from its decrepit limestone hulk. The scene of countless emotional episodes along Ireland's rocky road to independence, the jail was home to many of the country's political heroes, martyrs and villains.
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Kilmainham Gate
The Kilmainham Gate was designed by Francis Johnston (1760-1829) in 1812 and originally stood at the Watling St junction with Victoria Quay, near the Guinness Brewery, where it was known as the Richmond Tower. It was moved to its current position opposite the prison in 1846 as it obstructed the increasingly heavy traffic to the new Kingsbridge station (now Heuston station), which opened in 1844.
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King's Inns
Home to Dublin's legal profession, King's Inns occupies a classical building on Constitution Hill, which was built by James Gandon between 1795 and 1817, with Francis Johnston chipping in with the cupola. In 1541, when Henry VIII staked his claim to be King of Ireland as well as England, the country's lawyers took the title the Honourable Society of King's Inns and moved into a Dominican Monastery on the site of the modern-day Four Courts.
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Leinster House - Irish Parliament
All the big decisions are made - or rubber- stamped - at Oireachtas na Éireann (Irish parliament). It was built by Richard Cassels in the Palladian style between 1745 and 1748, and was considered the forerunner of the Georgian fashion that became the norm for Dublin's finer residences. Its Kildare St façade looks like a town house (which inspired Irish architect James Hoban's designs for the US White House), whereas the Merrion Sq frontage was made to resemble a country mansion.
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Mansion House
Built in 1710 by Joshua Dawson - after whom the street is named - this has been the official residence of Dublin's mayor since 1715, and was the site of the 1919 Declaration of Independence and the meeting of the first parliament. The building's original brick Queen-Anne style has all but disappeared behind a stucco façade added in the Victorian era.
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Marsh's Library
Marsh's Library is the oldest public library in Ireland, opening in 1707 - it has changed little since then. Its collection numbers over 25,000 books, as well as maps, Latin manuscripts and incunabula (books printed before 1501).
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Merrion Square
Merrion Square, with its immaculately trimmed central park, dates back to 1762 and has the National Gallery on one side, while the other three sides are lined with stately Georgian buildings whose doors, peacock fanlights, ornated door knockers and foot-scrapers epitomise the elegance of the era.
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National Archives
The National Archives are a potential source of genealogical information.
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National Botanic Gardens
This 19.5-hectare treasure is a delightful blend of exoticism and tousled gentility. Although only established in 1795, the area was used as a garden long before it was christened so, and the area of Yew Walk (Addison's Walk) features trees dating back to the first half of the 18th century.
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National Gallery
A stunning Caravaggio and a whole room full of Ireland's pre-eminent artist, Jack B Yeats, are just a couple of stand-out highlights from this fine collection, amassed by the state since 1854. Its original collection has grown, mainly through bequests, to around 12,500 artworks, including oils, watercolours, drawings, paints and sculptures.
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National Library & Genealogical Office
Next door to Leinster House, the suitably sedate National Library was built from 1884 to 1890, at the same time and to a similar design as the National Museum, by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane. Its extensive collection has many valuable early manuscripts, first editions, maps and other items of interest. Parts of the library are open to the public, including the domed reading room where Stephen Dedalus expounded his views on Shakespeare in Ulysses .
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National Museum - Archaeology & History
The National Museum is home to a fabulous bounty of Bronze Age gold, Iron Age Celtic metalwork, Viking artefacts and impressive ancient Egyptian relics. The Palladian-style Victorian building is a fine setting for the collection, with its 18m (62ft) domed rotunda, marble columns and mosaic floors.
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National Museum Of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History
No wonder the British army were so reluctant to pull out of Ireland, when they were occupying this magnificent space, the oldest army barracks in Europe. The building - the museum bit can wait - was completed in 1704 according to the design of Thomas Burgh, whose CV also includes the Old Library in Trinity College and St Michan's Church. Its central square held six entire regiments and is a truly awesome space, surrounded by arcaded colonnades and blocks linked by walking bridges.
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