2-Hour Historical Walking Tour from Dublin

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Tours leave from the Grattan statue, College Green, opposite Trinity College front gate and enter the campus where we outline its history as Ireland's oldest university (1592) & its most valuable artefact, the Book of Kells, an 8th century manuscript of the four Gospels, written in Latin.

   20 min

2. Originally Ireland's colonial parliament, built in 1729, abolished by the Act of Union in 1800, symbolic of 'Protestant Ascendancy', particularly in the 18th century & of the period's neo-classical architecture.

   10 min

3. Originally ear-marked for demolition, this area of narrow streets was repurposed as 'Dublin's Cultural Quarter' in the 1990s.

   10 min

4. Wood Quay was the site of extensive archaeological excavation in the 1980s of the Viking city, who had founded the city in AD 840.

   10 min

5. Ireland's legal headquarters, where a Civil War started in June 1922, between those who supported, and those who opposed, the Treaty of December 1921, which had brought to an end the War of Independence 1919-21.

   20 min

6. Dublin's oldest cathedral (1030), rebuilt in stone in the 1170s by Strongbow, who was central to the original English invasion of the 1170s.

   10 min

7. Inside is a statue of Daniel O'Connell, Dublin's first Catholic Lord Mayor (1840). He led a successful campaign for Catholic Emancipation (1829), the end of all anti-Catholic laws, hence he's known as 'The Liberator'.

   10 min

8. Originally built by ('Bad') King John in 1204, it was the seat of British administration until 1922. Also the location of the Dubh Linn (Black Pool), from which Dublin gets its name.

   10 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 1,027 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Dublin

• Its from-price is 95% below the median of the 1275 experiences we list in Dublin.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 49 of 1275.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Dublin

Dublin is Ireland's friendly, literary capital on the River Liffey, a city of Georgian squares, historic pubs, live music and a gift for storytelling.

Trinity College holds the illuminated Book of Kells and the soaring Long Room library, while Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral trace the city's medieval and colonial past. Georgian squares such as Merrion Square, with their brightly painted doors, and the green expanse of St Stephen's Green provide elegant calm.

Top-ranked sights in Dublin: Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College Dublin.

See all 1275 experiences in Dublin