3 Days in Dublin: Medieval Core, Kilmainham, Georgian Museums and Howth Peninsula

Three full days in Dublin give you enough time to explore both sides of the River Liffey, visit the capital's revolutionary and literary monuments without rushing, and ride the DART train out to the cliffs of Dublin Bay. Before starting this itinerary, reserve your timed slots for Kilmainham Gaol (released 28 days ahead) and the Book of Kells Experience, and pick up a TFI Leap Card on arrival.

Day 1: Collegiate quads, Viking foundations and the Liffey bridges

• Morning at Trinity College Dublin: Enter through the Regent House archway on College Green into Parliament Square and Front Square. View the ninth-century illuminated gospel manuscripts at the Book of Kells Experience and walk the 65-metre oak-vaulted Long Room of the Old Library. Step across College Green afterward to admire the curving colonnade of the 1729 former Parliament House (now Bank of Ireland) and the Molly Malone statue on Suffolk Street.
• Midday at Dublin Castle and Chester Beatty: Follow Dame Street west into Upper Castle Yard at Dublin Castle. Tour the State Apartments and the medieval Undercroft beneath the thirteenth-century Record Tower, then spend an hour inside the free Chester Beatty Museum behind the Chapel Royal, whose rooftop Silk Road Cafe makes an ideal lunch stop overlooking the Dubh Linn Garden.
• Afternoon at the medieval cathedrals: Walk past City Hall along Lord Edward Street to Christ Church Cathedral to inspect the twelfth-century stone crypt and Strongbow's tomb. Continue south along Nicholas Street to St Patrick's Cathedral and St Patrick's Park, pausing if time allows at adjacent Marsh's Library, opened in 1707 by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh as Ireland's first public library.
• Evening across the Ha'penny Bridge: Stroll down Parliament Street through Temple Bar's cobbled Meeting House Square, cross the 1816 cast-iron Ha'penny Bridge at dusk, and return to the southside for dinner and a traditional music session away from the busiest tourist strip.

Day 2: Kilmainham Gaol, Phoenix Park and The Liberties

• Morning at Kilmainham Gaol and IMMA: Take the Luas Red Line or bus routes G1, G2, or 13 west to Inchicore for the first guided tour of Kilmainham Gaol, tracing Irish history from the 1798 Rebellion through the 1916 Easter Rising executions in the Stonebreakers' Yard. Walk five minutes east through the formal seventeenth-century gardens and courtyard of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).
• Midday in Phoenix Park and Collins Barracks: Cross the River Liffey at Heuston Station into Phoenix Park to see the 62-metre Wellington Testimonial obelisk, the Papal Cross, and the park's herd of wild fallow deer. On your way back east on the Luas Red Line, stop at Museum station for the National Museum of Ireland Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks, or continue one stop to Smithfield Square.
• Afternoon in The Liberties and Guinness Storehouse: Cross back south of the Liffey into The Liberties. Tour the Guinness Storehouse at St James's Gate, ending with a panoramic view over Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains from the seventh-floor Gravity Bar, or book a pot-still whiskey tour at Teeling Whiskey Distillery on Newmarket Square or Pearse Lyons Distillery inside restored St James's Church.
• Evening traditional dinner: Order traditional Irish lamb stew or Dublin coddle in a Victorian pub around Thomas Street or Camden Street.

Day 3: Georgian museums and the Howth Cliff Walk

• Morning around St Stephen's Green and Merrion Square: Walk down pedestrian Grafton Street, pausing inside Bewley's Oriental Cafe (opened in 1927 with Harry Clarke stained-glass windows), and enter St Stephen's Green through Fusiliers' Arch. Continue along Kildare Street to explore the Bronze Age gold and early medieval treasures at the free National Museum of Ireland Archaeology, followed by Caravaggio and Vermeer masterpieces at the National Gallery of Ireland on Merrion Square West.
• Afternoon DART excursion to Howth Head: Walk ten minutes from Merrion Square to Pearse Station and board a northbound DART coastal train to Howth (roughly thirty minutes). Eat fresh Irish Sea seafood chowder or fish and chips along the West Pier, then hike the six-kilometre Green Cliff Path Loop above the Nose of Howth and Baily Lighthouse before riding the DART back to central Dublin for your final evening.