Visiting Dublin
Bentley’s Top Things to Do
Guinness Storehouse
GUINNESS Storehouse welcomes visitors to learn the history and story of GUNESS, as well as enjoy a pint or two at its on-site bars INand restaurant and is ranked as Ireland’s premier tourist attraction. It is situated in the world famous St. James’s Gate Brewery, home of GUINNESS since 1759. The tour explores GUINNESS’s origins to its growth as a global brand with exhibits including the original brewery lease and the world’s largest pint glass which can hold 14.3 million pints of GUINNESS. Visitors will gain an appreciation of GUINNESS’s ingredients, brewing raft, cooperage, transportation, advertising and sponsorship as well as its great taste when they pour their own pint. Fabulous 360 views of Dublin and beyond can be enjoyed from the GRAVITY Bar, perched 7 stories atop the GUINNESS Storehouse.
The National Museum of Decorative Arts & History
Dublin’s National Museum of Decorative Arts and History is housed in the renowned Collins Barracks, a former army barracks that reopened as a museum in 1997 and showcases an impressive collection of weaponry, furniture, silver, ceramics, glassware, costumes and folklife artifacts. The most popular and important exhibitions include the 1916 Rising exhibition, which explores the 1913 to 1923 decade of disturbance from the Dublin lockout to the end of the Civil War, as well as Soldiers and Chiefs which showcases military history from 1550 into the 21st century. The Way We Wore traces Irish fashion throughout the ages, while the Irish Silver Collection serves as one of the world’s largest collections.
Literary Pub Crawl
One of Dublin’s most popular tourist activities, the award-winning Literary Pub Crawl takes guests from pub to pub with professional actors performing from the works of Joyce, Beckett, Wilde and others of Dublin’s literary giants. The walking tour takes in four pubs and Trinity College and is famous for its fun, laughter and audience interaction.
Restaurants
Dublin’s great culinary establishments include Fire Restaurant which is situated in the heart of Dublin’s city centre. Housed in what originally served as the Lord Mayor’s Supper Room, guests dine amid vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and modern decor providing a feast for the eyes and senses as well as the palate. Its entree selections include centre-cut Irish Hereford Prime steaks, double pork chops with pecan and apricot crust with green beans, crispy crackling and red wine jus, wood-fired jumbo prawns with chorizo and crayfish stuffing, mixed leaf salad and homemade brown soda bread, and handmade mezzaluna pasta stuffed with truffle asparagus tips and cherry tomatoes with mushroom broth and aged parmesan. Rustic Stone believes in nutritious cuisine, using organic produce whenever possible and never using butter or cream in its dishes. The award-winning establishment features “on the stone” dishes served on hot volcanic stone that guests cook themselves, as well as “off the stone” selections and sugar-free cocktails and desserts. On the stone selections include halibut with walnut relish and beef filet with mushroom duxelle and hollandaise of olive oil, chervil and tarragon, while off the stone selections include fried pork pappardelle with onion, rosemary, pumpkin, honey and sage, and tagliatelle with truffle dressing, low fat yogurt, creme fraiche and nutmeg. Stylish and funky Brasserie Sixty6 specializes in modern European fare crafted with locally sourced ingredients. One of Dublin’s top restaurants, it serves such entrees as homemade chive and pork sausage with herb mash, garlic, lemon and thyme rotisserie chicken with herb stuffing balls, creamy mash potatoes, peas, broad beans, radish, pancetta and rich gravy, and yellowfin tuna loin marinated in balsamic and cayenne and served with warmed potato salad, spring onions, capers, tomatoes and torn fresh herbs. Ely Bar & Brasserie is frequented by lovers of food, wine and beer and serves a classic brasserie menu that reflects the best of seasonal Irish produce, with all meats sourced through the family farm. Entrees include wild mushroom gnocchi with artichoke barigoule, spinach cream and pecorino, aged filet with samphire, red onion jam, handcut chips and either garlic butter or port glaze, and pan fried brill filet with mustard puy lentil, baby spinach, crispy potato and caper and mussel butter.