A weekend in Dublin
20 h route4 stopsBest: May to SeptemberUpdated July 2026
The coast is so close it would be strange not to go: the DART commuter line runs along Dublin Bay north to south, hugging the water, and in half an hour drops you at fishing villages, cliffs and beaches.
So a weekend organises itself with the city on Saturday and the sea on Sunday. And there’s Kilmainham Gaol, the hardest and most necessary visit for understanding the country, which must be booked well in advance.
The route, stop by stop
4 STOPS- 01
Saturday: the city
The one-day route, without the squeeze. With two days there’s also room for the EPIC museum, on Irish emigration, which is very well done and explains why there are more people of Irish descent outside Ireland than in it.
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Saturday afternoon: Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham locked up prisoners from 1796, and nearly every leader of Ireland’s rebellions passed through its cells. In May 1916, after the Easter Rising, fourteen of its leaders were shot in the yard. One of them, James Connolly, was so badly wounded that he was tied to a chair to be executed: it’s the episode that, by almost every historian’s account, turned Irish public opinion towards independence.
The visit is guided and very sober. The Victorian east wing, with its tiers of cells under a skylight, has been used in several films.
Serious practical warning: tickets sell out weeks ahead and are sold online only. Without a booking you don’t get in.
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Sunday: Howth
Howth closes the bay on the north side with a working fishing harbour, half an hour from the centre on the DART. Grey seals wait at the pier beside the boats for the fishermen to clean the catch, and you see them close up with no tour and nothing to pay.
What you come for is the cliff path: a signposted loop around the edge of the head, the sea below, the Baily lighthouse and, on a clear day, the Wicklow mountains behind. There are versions from one to three hours. You come back to the harbour and eat fish.
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Sunday alternative: the south of the bay
If you prefer the south, the DART hugs the sea down to Dalkey, a village with a medieval castle and a well-heeled air, and Killiney, where you climb a hill for a view of the bay that in the nineteenth century was compared to Naples: hence the Italian names of some streets. The ride itself is worth it: the train runs along the cliff edge for several stretches. It’s a quieter plan than Howth, with less walking and more village.
Frequently asked
Do you need to book Kilmainham Gaol?
Yes, and well in advance: tickets are sold online only and sell out weeks ahead, especially in summer. The visit is guided and you can’t get in without a booking. It’s the visit that best explains Ireland’s recent history.
What half-day trip can you do from Dublin?
Howth, to the north: half an hour on the DART commuter train, with a fishing harbour, seals at the pier and a one-to-three-hour cliff loop. To the south, Dalkey and Killiney, with the train hugging the sea and views over the bay.