where to Explore and eat in dublin
Merrion Square, a Georgian garden square, was home to fashionable and aristocratic types of the day including novelist Oscar Wilde who lived at number one. He is commemorated by a statue in a corner of the park opposite his former home.
There’s no better place to enjoy a dose of sea air than pretty Howth village, just outside the city. This upmarket suburb has a working harbour and glorious cliff walks, ideal for blowing away those cobwebs. In the grounds of Lutyens-influenced Howth Castle is the National Transport Museum of Ireland and a foot golf course. In simple terms, foot golf is where participants kick a football around a specially adapted golf course – it is surprisingly popular. The Castle’s restored Georgian kitchens are home to the Kitchen in the Castle Cookery School where courses range in length from an afternoon to one week.
There’s no better place to enjoy a dose of sea air than pretty Howth village, just outside the city. This upmarket suburb has a working harbour and glorious cliff walks, ideal for blowing away those cobwebs. In the grounds of Lutyens-influenced Howth Castle is the National Transport Museum of Ireland and a foot golf course. In simple terms, foot golf is where participants kick a football around a specially adapted golf course – it is surprisingly popular. The Castle’s restored Georgian kitchens are home to the Kitchen in the Castle Cookery School where courses range in length from an afternoon to one week.
Experience Dublin differently when you climb onboard a Routemaster to enjoy a Vintage Tea Tour while tapping along to a soundtrack of 1950s jazz. The one and a half hour trip takes you past many of Dublin’s sights including the Guinness Brewery, St Patrick’s Cathedral and it goes through Phoenix Park, one of Europe’s largest, home to herds of fallow deer and the Irish President’s official residence. The afternoon tea itself is top class - a generous selection of finger sandwiches, fruit scones with cream and jam and more pastries and desserts than the average person can handle. Various dietary requirements are catered for and they even give you a box so that you can take away what you can’t eat.
EAT
Talking of food, Fallon & Byrne is a Food Hall, restaurant and basement wine bar in the heart of Dublin. Menus include delights such as Carlingford Lough oysters served on ice with shallot and sherry vinegar, toasted spelt and mushroom stroganoff, while charcuterie boards offer selections of cheeses, cured hams and salamis served with cornichons and caperberries.
The Oar House, an old stone fisherman’s cottage in Howth, serves irresistible fishing net fresh food. Queues of diners testify to its popularity.
Avoca Handweavers is a family owned craft design company dating back a couple of hundred years. They produce gorgeous woven fabrics and signature throws and knits which are the company’s hallmark. Avoca Malahide in the grounds of Malahide Castle provides a merry hub of shopping opportunities and has a lovely café/restaurant on site. Everything here is homemade from delicious soups and desserts to breads and gorgeous cakes.
Talking of food, Fallon & Byrne is a Food Hall, restaurant and basement wine bar in the heart of Dublin. Menus include delights such as Carlingford Lough oysters served on ice with shallot and sherry vinegar, toasted spelt and mushroom stroganoff, while charcuterie boards offer selections of cheeses, cured hams and salamis served with cornichons and caperberries.
The Oar House, an old stone fisherman’s cottage in Howth, serves irresistible fishing net fresh food. Queues of diners testify to its popularity.
Avoca Handweavers is a family owned craft design company dating back a couple of hundred years. They produce gorgeous woven fabrics and signature throws and knits which are the company’s hallmark. Avoca Malahide in the grounds of Malahide Castle provides a merry hub of shopping opportunities and has a lovely café/restaurant on site. Everything here is homemade from delicious soups and desserts to breads and gorgeous cakes.