Stand by the River Liffey, observe where Norse longboats sailed up over 1,000 years ago to capture the early Christian village of Dublin. It was here they went on to build what was to become one of the most important trading towns in the Viking world. Follow in George Frederick Handel's footsteps and see the site where his Messiah was first performed under the shadow of the ancient Christ Church Cathedral and find out why Dublin has two cathedrals of the same faith and why the tower of Christ Church Cathedral contains a world record.
Next take the opportunity to visit Dublinia, the Viking & Medieval museum or the magnificent interior of Christ Church Cathedral with its atmospheric crypt containing cathedral treasures and historic artefacts.
Your walking tour will then bring you to a stretch of Viking/Norman city wall still standing in splendid isolation on a street tourists rarely see. Enter the ancient gateway and pass up steps by the St Audoen's Church founded in 1190 and now the city's oldest parish church still in use. Your tour will conclude at St Audoens, where many cafes and traditional bars await you including the Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub. Alternatively take a look around the St Audoens visitors cente.
Start this enchanting walk from the Tourist Office, once the site of the old Viking parliament. Traipse through narrow laneways until you reach an historic charitable building before visiting the courtyards of the historic Dublin Castle. Mostly an 18th century complex, you will discover the last remaining medieval tower. Next you'll see the Georgian splendour of City Hall before crossing into the west end of Temple Bar, the site of the very origins of Dublin. Next you will explore hidden streets and passageways where you'll see interesting period buildings and the modern city rubbing shoulders with the ruins of medieval towers.
