Dublin

The capital of Ireland is a bustling city of museums pubs, and fun

The Vikings established most of Ireland's great cities—the Celts tended more toward loosely affiliated tribal clusters—and Dublin is no exception.

Dublin was founded in AD 841 by Vikings invaders at the confluence of the River Liffey and the (now-vanished) River Poddle by the shores of a dubh linn (Irish for "black pool").

(There was a small Celtic Christian monastery nearby at the time, and the area is referred to in ancient Celtic texts as Baile Átha Cliath, or "Town of the Hurdled Ford"—since it lay close to the best place to cross the River Liffey, roughly where Father Mathew Bridge crosses today, a descendant of Dublin’s first, 11th century bridge.)

Dublin has been the capital of Ireland since medieval Norman times, growing into a modern bustling city of 1.8 million.

Dublin is a fine place to spend a day or three exploring the city's varied facets, from 900-year-old pubs to post-modern architecture, from fabulous museums and historic libraries to a lively theatre and arts scene.

From the student bustle around Trinity College and pub-crowded Temple Bar neighborhood to the staid Georgian architecture, the pocket-sized parks, and the leafy streets around St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, Dublin is a friendly, lively, literary, and altogether relaxing place to explore.

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