Feature · Dublin
Dublin, the classic and the new
A Georgian capital that has turned to its docks and its bay, and a city of writers that still reads aloud in its pubs. By the ULTIMATE Dublin Editorial Team.
Updated October 2026
Grand hotels, old and new
Dublin’s grand hotels began on its Georgian squares. The Shelbourne has looked over St Stephen’s Green for more than two centuries, in its own words, and its Horseshoe Bar has been a haunt of musicians and writers since 1957; The Merrion joins four Georgian townhouses on Upper Merrion Street, around Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.
The newer city has moved east to the water. Anantara The Marker rises over Grand Canal Square beside Daniel Libeskind’s theatre, and the InterContinental keeps two acres of gardens in Ballsbridge.
The docks reborn
Downriver from the Custom House, the Docklands have become a new quarter: EPIC tells the stories of Irish emigration in the old CHQ warehouse, the Samuel Beckett Bridge crosses the Liffey, and the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre fills Grand Canal Square with musicals and ballet.
A city of words
Trinity keeps the Book of Kells, and Marsh’s Library has kept its books since 1707. MoLI brings Ireland’s writers to life in manuscripts and installations, the National Library holds more than 12 million items, and the Abbey, the national theatre, still plays on Abbey Street. Delahunt, on Camden Street, is a Victorian grocer’s that appears in Joyce’s Ulysses.
Arts & Culture in Dublin Literary Dublin
At the table
In the 2026 MICHELIN Guide, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen and Liath hold Two Stars; Glovers Alley, Bastible, D’Olier Street, Forest Avenue and Variety Jones hold One; and seven Bib Gourmands, from BIGFAN to Spitalfields, keep good cooking within reach.
The best restaurants in Dublin
Pubs and music
The Cobblestone in Smithfield has traditional sessions seven days a week; O’Donoghue’s on Merrion Row dates back to 1789 and keeps music in its bar; Doheny & Nesbitt has stood on Baggot Street since 1828. For cocktails, ring the bell at the Vintage Cocktail Club in the Powerscourt Townhouse.
The bay
The DART runs the length of Dublin Bay. North, Howth has its harbour and a cliff path round the head; south, Dún Laoghaire has its granite piers, Sandycove the Forty Foot and the James Joyce Tower, and Dalkey the climb up Killiney Hill.
Questions and answers
When is the best time to visit Dublin?
Summer for the bay and the cliff paths, December for the theatre and the Christmas season.
Do I need a car in Dublin?
No: the Luas, the DART, Dublin Bus and your feet cover the city and the bay.
Sources: theshelbourne.com, merrionhotel.com, anantara.com, intercontinentaldublin.ie, epicchq.com, marshlibrary.ie, moli.ie, nli.ie, abbeytheatre.ie, delahunt.ie, guide.michelin.com (2026), cobblestonepub.ie, odonoghues.ie, dohenyandnesbitts.ie, vintagecocktailclub.com (checked 28 October 2026).