Guinness House and Brewery Tour, Walking Tours of Dublin (Free), and Irish Music & Dance Shows - Ireland
Destinations > Europe > United Kingdom > Ireland > Dublin Historical Walking Tour, Guinness Storehouse, and Irish Music & Dance Shows
1 Day Dublin Itinerary
Start off your trip to Ireland with a walking tour of Dublin (free), an afternoon at the Guinness House - by doing a Guinness brewery tour, followed by some amazing traditional Irish food, music, and even an Irish dance show in the evening! You can fit all of these things into a single day in Dublin, so if you’re looking for a 1-Day Dublin Itinerary, this is the one! Read about each of these items below.
We also recommend continuing on with the Irish Explorer 7-day Tour, something we didn’t know about prior to our trip to Ireland, but after spending nearly a whole month in Ireland - from Dublin, to Northern Ireland, to Southwestern Ireland, we can honestly say that we wish we had taken this “Irish Explorer 7-day Tour” instead of trying to plan it all on our own.
During our time exploring Ireland, we learned what things we should have done after going to these places, and while we made it to many of these locations - we really missed out on some of it because we didn’t know about all of the special things at these spots until we didn’t have time to book them or fit them into our schedule.
“we can honestly say that we wish we had taken this “Irish Explorer 7-day Tour” instead of trying to plan it all on our own.”
Walking Tours of Dublin: Free
Regardless, we were lucky enough to find this free historical walking tour of Dublin anyway… even though neither Bradley nor I are big history buffs, we are both learning to enjoy and appreciate history more during our travels. While in Dublin, we happened to see a flyer for a historical walking tour offered by history graduates of Trinity College. It looked interesting, so we signed up online.
Ireland has been on the top of our travel "bucket list” since watching all of the incredible films and shows that were filmed here, like Leap Year, P.S. I Love You, Star Wars – The Last Jedi (Skellig Michael), and Game of Thrones (N. Ireland). The landscapes are breathtakingly beautiful, and there is also a rich history embedded in the Irish people and culture.
It was fascinating to learn more about Dublin and Ireland as we walked around the city on one of the best walking tours of Dublin (especially because it was technically free). Even though the walking tours are “free” - it is still expected that you give a donation to the guide for their time.
We met the tour guides at the front gate of Trinity College. The guides were standing right by the front gate and holding a handful of the advertising flyers.
If you don't want to pay online or sign up in advance, you can just show up on the day and pay the guide a tip in cash at the end of the tour.
Qualified History Guide
Our guide, Tim, had just completed his PhD in History at Trinity College and was full of historical information about Dublin and Ireland as a whole. During our walk through Dublin we made quite a few stops on this 2.5 hour tour including Christ Church Cathedral, City Hall, and Dublin Castle.
The history of Dublin
Starting from the Vikings, to the Romans, to the English, and up to current day – was fascinating. Our guide did a great job detailing stories so that you could really imagine what the city must have looked like back in each of those different time periods. We really enjoyed the tour and felt it was well worth the cost at €12/person.
In case you missed it – hover over the photos for more information about the places we visited on our tour. We recommend going on the tour yourself if you're in Dublin.
What should you do after your morning Walking Tour of Dublin?
Because it’s a well known destination in Dublin, and something everyone is going to ask you about when you get home, we recommend enjoying your afternoon at The Guinness Storehouse. Yes, if you’re taking the the Irish Explorer 7-day Tour, it will start off with a with a Guinness at a local pub - but, it won’t be at the Guinness Storehouse - which is so much more than just a pub (see below). So, it’s important to keep this day separate from that trip even though you probably can’t all of the amazing highlights from this tour off of your mind at the moment!
We couldn’t recommend it more! We really wish we had done this tour instead of going through the complicated process of renting a car in Ireland and then driving ourselves all over Ireland! The roads are a bit crazy if you’re not used to driving on the left, and it’s hard to look at all of the beautiful scenery if you are the one driving! Plus, we wouldn’t have had to figure out all of our accommodations by ourselves either - and it isn’t even expensive! Again, it’s a live an learn…
Guinness House and Brewery Tour
While you’re in Dublin, you’ll have to stop in for 3-5 hours at the Guinness Storehouse - where all tickets come with a complementary pint of Guinness!
Not just a Brewery
The Guinness House is also a huge Guinness Museum, complete with over 250 years of history! You can learn about the steps involved in brewing Guinness, the history of their advertising campaigns, enjoy the tasting rooms - a multi-sensory tasting adventure - and explore the top floor Gravity Bar with some of the best views of Dublin!
Restaurants on site
Yes, there are even 4 different restaurants on site that are open between 12pm -4pm:
1837 Bar & Brasserie
Brewers’ Dining Hall
Arthur’s Bar
Cooperage Cafe
Upgrade your experience
Learn to pour your own perfect pint of Guinness with the Guinness Academy or Enjoy samples of the four most popular Guinness beers with an expert beer specialist at the Connoisseur Bar by making advanced experience upgrades.
Tickets run between €19.50 and €26.00, depending on the time that you choose to arrive (arrival time is important!). Otherwise, you could just grab a “skip-the-line” pass for €26.00.
Compare prices:
Guinness Storehouse tickets via the official website
Guinness Storehouse tickets included with the DublinPass
Skip-the-line access to the Guinness Storehouse with GetYourGuide
Skip-the-Line Guinness Storehouse Signature Package
Parking: Free parking is available at the Crane Street car park (this lot can fill up quickly!)
Hours: Open daily 9.30am - last admission 5pm
JULY & AUGUST: Open daily 9.00am - last admission 6pm
CLOSED: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, St. Stephen’s Day
Irish Music & Dance Shows in Dublin
Here are some of the best Irish Music & Dance Show locations near Dublin, Ireland:
The Merry Ploughboy
This one tops our list of the best music & dance shows - with amazing traditional Irish meals - near Dublin. It is a little closer to Dublin than Johnnie Fox’s Pub, and for this reason it is almost always completely booked up. However, the good news is that it is included with the Irish Explorer 7-day Tour, that we very highly recommend. Honestly, why haven’t you checked it out yet? It’s very affordable! Alternatively, the Dublin Pass has special offers and discounts at the Merry Ploughboy Irish Music Pub as well.
Johnnie Fox’s Pub
This place not only has an amazing music & dance show (called the “Hooley Show”), but they also have quality traditional Irish meals at a reasonable price. It’s just south of Dublin. We enjoyed a night here - along with the traditional Bacon & Cabbage - after recommendation from our Local Airbnb Hosts (did you think the traditional dish was Corned Beef & Cabbage? We thought so too!). You can also grab an Express Round-Trip Bus to this Pub from many Dublin locations.
Celtic Nights
Acclaimed as “The Best Irish Show in Dublin” and required reservations. It includes a 3-course Traditional Irish Dinner, an All-Ireland Winning Musicians & World Championship Irish Dancers, and it’s open 7 nights a week! This one is in the heart of Dublin at the Arlington Hotel near O’Connell Bridge. Seating for dinner starts at 7pm and the show starts at 8.30pm.
O’sheas Merchant & Ned O’Sheas
This one has traditional Irish food and live music 7 nights a week, but Irish dancing is set only on Monday nights. The meals are acclaimed to be the best Irish BBQ in Dublin.
Dublin Heritage Pubs
Dublin: Traditional Pub Tour
The Grand Central Cafe Bar: A Historical Former Bank that was damaged during the 1916 Rising. Bullet holes are still visible on the outside of the building.
The Stag’s Head: This is the first Dublin Pub to have electrical light. It has live traditional music and food every day.
Kehoe’s: A Victorian Shrine that has been kept as it was over 100 years ago - and a pub to the stars!
The Quay’s Temple Bar: Music sessions occur here day and night in the heart of Temple Bar area. The bar stays open late and there is an Irish restaurant upstairs.
The Gin Palace: Food served here 7 days per week and over 100 choices of Gin - the largest selection in Ireland!
Thank you VERY much for reading our article. We actually created this website to help people reach financial independence. Did you know that by having a remote job and traveling endlessly, or living in a country that has low costs of living, you can actually reach retirement quicker? Plus, retirement abroad is up to 75 percent cheaper as well! Learn more by exploring our website: EatWanderExplore and REmotiFIRE.
See our Thank You page to sign up for our free weekly newsletter - you’ll receive only 1 email per week letting you know about our latest travel articles, remote-work life, and amazingly affordable destinations!
Found this post useful? Buy us a coffee to help support this site’s running costs OR share this article with a friend.
