Ireland is a country full of awe-inspiring natural beauty and incredible landmarks. If you are looking for an unforgettable experience, then visiting Ireland's famous locations should be at the top of your bucket list. From the magnificent Cliffs of Moher to the majestic Giant Causeway, these sites will leave you feeling awestruck and will make it feel like a dream come true. With its emerald green hillsides and stunning coastline, Ireland is sure to provide you with an experience of a lifetime. So don't miss out on the opportunity to visit these must-see locations in Ireland!
The magnificent architecture of The Long Room
Exploring Dublin - The Capital of Ireland
Travelers have various reasons to visit Dublin, mine was only one – to finally set my eyes on The Old Library in Trinity College. The architectural brilliance with its arched ceilings, marble busts, and huge volume of books arranged neatly transports you to a completely different vibe.
We landed in Dublin around noon, had our lunch in a Xian Street Food Dublin, loved their noodles!
Xian's Specialty Noodles
Xian's Specialty Noodles
We travelled on foot to explore Dublin; we walked over to Trinity College. Unfortunately, it was an open day for the college, and it was extremely crowded. There were signs indicating locations of the Trinity Trail and how to get to The Old Library, so it is definitely easy to find the place. Due to the crowd, we did ask around to find the entrance of the exhibition.
The only option to purchase the entrance tickets was via online, QR codes were available on site. But I strongly recommended to purchase beforehand via their official site The Book of Kells. You will select the date and timeslot prior to your visit. We had to purchase on site, and the tickets were only available for later slots. But it was good that we didn’t get tickets immediately too, we had a change to walk around the grounds of Trinity College, with the excellent weather and historically-significant building architecture – we had plenty of location for beautiful insta-worthy photos!
Trinity College Grounds
Stunning architecture of Trinity College Building
Stunning architecture of Trinity College Building
Once it is nearing your timeslot, you will need to queue up at the entrance, there are no time limitations on how long you can spend inside, but for us it took almost 40 minutes. Do remember to download the Visit Trinity app, audio tour is included when you purchase the tickets – plus you get 10% discount on all items in the souvenir shop if you have the app too😊! We took our time listening to each audio stops, it is impossible not to feel awestruck and humbled in the presence of such a magnificent history. The Book of Kells was in a separately room by itself, and the Long Room was the last stop of the tour.
The soft glow of the dimly lit space and the hushed silence that permeates throughout the room add to the historic atmosphere. I was a little disappointed as the crowd made it impossible for me to even get a single shot of the Long Room. Regardless of how long we waited, we still didn’t manage to get good photographs. If you are looking into getting good photos, you will really need to plan on non-peak visitation slots. But the longer I stayed there the more I felt the brilliance of the breathtakingly magnificent space. The marble busts, aligned with the long pillars of the library, it is an awe-spiring grandeur view – the closest I saw to a Beauty and the Beast library type for now 😊
We spent the rest of the evening exploring Dublin city, we walked over to George's Street Arcade and shopped around the local made souvenirs. We ended our stop in the famous Temple Bar, as it was a Saturday night, it was packed with locals and tourists. The environment was so happening, like you are in the middle of one of the liveliest places on earth. I totally understood the whole fuss about Temple Bar few minutes immediately after reaching there. You might need to reserve the restaurants and bar if having dinner in that area.
Lively Temple Bar
George Street Arcade
Dublin City Walk
We could not find any place to eat, and it was packed, ended up walking over to this Vietnamese restaurant for dinner, Pho Kim as this was nearer to our hotel. We got a great night view of the Dublin city crossing the bridge with the beautiful reflection. Dublin is an amazing city to explore with foot, and it was an incredible experience spending the day in the city.
We spent the next two days on day tours from Dublin. Do check out the Cliffs of Moher Day Tour and Giants Causeway & Belfast City Day Tour from Dublin blog for details!