A short introduction to cultural Dublin

share | tweet | MORE |

 

Dublin is a city with so many faces: from its picturesque architecture to its famous nightlife, Dublin never ceases to amaze tourists. The Irish pubs have reached an incredible degree of popularity, which makes Dublin’s pubs and the tasty Guinness beer one of Ireland’s major attractions. But apart from its tormented history and traditions, Dublin can also offer a deep insight into the Irish culture. Let’s not forget, this is the city that bred universal talents like James Joyce, G.B. Shaw or Samuel Becket.  Not to mention that, as any respectable capital, Dublin hosts an incredible number of concerts, street festivals, literary cafes and art galleries. So when you finish up visiting Dublin’s top attractions and pubs (which, by the way, you can find listed in this Dublin Travel Guide), take a few days to enjoy cultural Dublin. Here’s a short list to start you off:

On the steps of Leopold Bloom

With Ulysses, James Joyce has created one of the most monumental novels in the history of literature. Although Joyce hated Dublin and chose to live in Paris, when following Leopold Bloom’s footsteps through the city, he creates the most vivid portrait of early 20^th century Dublin. He even declared that his ambition had been to “give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book.”  To honor Joyce and his work, each year on the 16^th of June, Dubliners celebrate the ‘Bloomsday’ with public readings, street manifestations and concerts.

Crawling the literary pubs

Yes, there are literary pubs in Dublin and yes, in here you can still enjoy the coffee scented atmosphere and the effervescence of the literary debates. There a top rated walking tour that takes visitors through Dublin’s literary pubs, in the company of two cheerful actors. Ranked no. 4 in the list of word’s best walks, the tour costs around 12 euro and it’s available all year long.  If you’re one of those adventurous fellas who like to explore a city by themselves, here are some of the most famous writer’s meeting places in the capital of Ireland: Mc Daid’s, Toner’s, the Stag’s Head, Davy Byrne’s and the Breazen Head.

Have a sip of pure culture in Temple Bar

Temple Bar is a district located in central Dublin and it represents the core of Dublin’s cultural life. The majority of Dublin’s cultural organizations are located here (the Irish Film Institute, Temple Music Bar Centre, Gaiety School of Acting or Arthouse Multimedia Center are only few of the 50 cultural institutions that have established their headquarters around Temple Bar). If you are in search for the latest artistic trends, most innovative underground artists and experimental multimedia installations, then here is the place for you. Another great thing about Temple Bar is that, despite its animated nightlife, it is very children friendly. There is an Ark Children’s Cultural Center that organizes event for kids throughout the year, as well as some other manifestations that you can attend with your family, like the ‘Circus Festival’ or the ‘Chocolate Festival’.

You might also like

share | tweet | more |

 

Leave a comment on A short introduction to cultural Dublin

Enter your comment below, or Trackback from your own blog. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS
 

Leave a comment:

* your name

* your email address (will not be published)

your website

 

*=required