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More than 800 fine wines to choose from here.

An extremely popular pub with seafood dishes to absolutely die for.

Guilbaud’s philosophy is “modern classic cuisine using Irish produce in season”, but he does more than just dress up potatoes. He uses Ireland’s bountiful fresh fish, meat and game to create savoury Gallic dishes. The restaurant is set in one of the brick townhouses that make up the Merrion Hotel (see The Merrion). Furnished in 18th-century style, it makes a great setting for this timeless cuisine.

“Rajdoot” translates as “ambassador”, and this multi-award-winning restaurant near Grafton Street has been a fine ambassador for tandoori cuisine since its establishment in 1966 as the first such restaurant in Europe. With chefs regularly sent back to India to train, the food is authentic north Indian, with a variety of inspired Moghlai presentations.

Wholesome bar food is served up in the cosy, authentic pub area, but for the more adventurous palate the George Room Restaurant’s à la carte menu comes up trumps.

A “modern Irish” restaurant with a Spanish name intrigues celebrities and local movers and shakers alike. The candlelit tables, modern art and mirrored dining room help too. The food, a combination of European dishes with a subtle dash of exotic Eastern flavours, keeps them coming back. Book ahead – the restaurant serves more than 1,800 meals a week and it may be difficult to get your hands on one.

Sophisticated and understated bar-restaurant beside the river. The excellent cooking is modern Irish.

A seafood restaurant set in a redbrick terrace house, the service and the cuisine are delightfully old-fashioned. As the name suggests, the chef uses as much fresh Irish sea catch as possible to produce favourites such as Kilmore crab and prawn bisque.

A pint of Guinness could be the country’s national symbol. This fascinating exhibition at the Guinness Brewery ends with a welcome free pint of the famous black stuff in the sampling bar.

The elder statesman of Ireland’s universities, Trinity is also one of the oldest in Europe. Its buildings and grounds are a landmark in the heart of the city.

James Gandon designed the striking Custom House in 1791. There are four decorated façades, with finely balanced end pavilions and recessed Doric columns facing the River Liffey. The exceptional statuary around the building is the work of Edward Smyth. A fire gutted the building in 1921 during the War of Independence, but it was restored in the same decade. The latest superb restoration work was carried out in the 1990s.

Built to accommodate the Irish House of Lords and House of Commons, the building is almost as magnificent as its English counterpart. Three architects were involved in its creation: Sir Edward Lovett Pearce designed the Palladian central block, with temple and portico flanked by colonnaded wings, in 1729; James Gandon contributed the portico to the east in 1785; and Richard Parkes added the western Ionic portico. In 1803, the building was taken over by the Bank of Ireland.

Known colloquially as the “People’s Cathedral”, this is one of the earliest Christian sites in the city and is the Protestant community’s main place of worship in the capital.

A competition was held in 1768 to select the designer of what was then to be the Royal Exchange, and Thomas Cooley’s plans were the preferred choice. One of Dublin’s most sophisticated Georgian buildings, it marked the introduction to Ireland of the Neo-Classical style of architecture, with its lofty dome supported by 12 columns and its 12 elegant circular windows.

The great pride and play area of Dubliners, this is the largest city park in Europe. Historic monuments and Dublin Zoo are only a few of its delights.

After a sobering tour of the onetime prison, lighten the mood at the former hospital, which now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Originally rectangular in shape, Dublin Castle was designed as a “keepless castle”, involving four circular corner towers and, midway along the south wall, a fifth tower. However, much of the medieval castle was destroyed by fire. The remodelling we see today began at the turn of the 18th century.

West of Custom House is James Gandon’s other magnificent edifice. Designed six years earlier in 1785, the Four Courts has a grand pedimented centre with arcaded screens and triumphal arches, topped with a colonnaded rotunda and a Neo-Classical dome. The five statues by Edward Smyth on the central block represent Moses, Wisdom, Authority, Justice and Mercy.

Striking Norman, Gothic, Romanesque and Victorian features jostle for attention in this former Viking church.

A surprisingly peaceful area, the castle was built into the medieval walls of the city and originally protected by the River Liffey to the north and the now underground River Poddle.