After breakfast in the hotel we took a bus out to Phoenix Park which is located north of the river, 3 km west of the city centre. It’s the largest enclosed park in Europe and was 350 years old in 2012.
We enjoyed a walk along the main avenues and left the park by a different exit in order to visit Collins Barracks nearby.
This building was a former army barracks and since 1977 the building has been home to the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History. The museum was extremely interesting and is definitely worth a visit if time allows.
It was now approaching lunchtime so we headed to Grafton Street, the home of Dublin’s upmarket shopping and full of life with shoppers, street entertainers and tourists.
We looked around Brown Thomas, the exclusive department store and then enjoyed lunch on the outer terrace of a rooftop restaurant along the street. The lunch was delicious and we enjoyed the added bonus of seeing some fluffy seagull chicks that were nesting by the balcony.
Contnuing to the end of Grafton Street we came to St Stephen’s Green, a Victorian city centre park with an ornamental lake and waterfall. As it was such a warm, sunny day the park was filled with office workers and families enjoying the Irish sunshine so we sat on a park bench and soaked up some sun a little while too.
Before returning to the Charles Stewart hotel to collect our luggage we took a look in Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, a glass roofed emporium containing 94 stores.
It was then back to the airport for our evening flight back to Edinburgh. To summarise, we had very much enjoyed our three days in Dublin, a city I could happily return to at any time.
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this got me excited. will be visiting Dublin in the next few weeks;)
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You will have a great time in Dublin there’s so much to see and do. Thanks for commenting, it’s much appreciated.
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Loved this! I will be in Dublin this Christmas so excited to see the places you recommended!
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Hello! Thanks for your lovely comment and for taking time to read my blog. Dublin is an amazing city, you’ll love it there, have fun!
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Been awhile since I’ve been to Dublin. I don’t recall going to Phoenix Park. Next time maybe.
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That lunch looks super yummy! I’m not a fan of seagulls but must say the chicks are cute 😀
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I agree, adult seagulls can be quite annoying, especially when they swoop down and steal your food!!
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Definitely looks like you “carpe diem”ed the heck out of Dublin! 🙂
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It was a lovely weekend away!
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Love Dublin!
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A lovely day out – the sun shining makes all the difference! Last time we were in St Stephen’s Green it was pouring with rain and freezing cold. We loved all the street performers on Grafton Street – a great mix.
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It really is a vibrant part of the city. It was our third visit and the best for weather!
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Lots of things to do in Dublin; I hope to visit soon:) Love the snap of the sea gull chicks..they look so cute!
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Yes, it was so lovely sitting out on that balcony and being able to watch the chicks.
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Lovely description! I went to Dublin for a few days several years ago, and it was so cold and rainy I had to go to one of those shops in Grafton street and buy a jumper and scarf!
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Oh dear! I hope you get a chance to visit again in warmer weather! Thank you for your kind words.
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