Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
€6, Tue-Sat 10:00-17:00, closed Sun-Mon, last entry 30 minutes be-
fore closing, tours daily at 15:00, tel. 01/702-6165,
www.esb.ie/no29
.
Once filled with noisy traffic, today's Grafton Street is Dublin's liveliest pedestrian shop-
ping mall and people-watching paradise. A decade ago, when the Celtic Tiger economy
was in mid-roar, this street had the fifth-most expensive retail rents in the world, behind
Tokyo, London, New York, and Moscow (rents have since declined). A 10-minute stroll
past street musicians takes you from Trinity College to St. Stephen's Green (and makes
you wonder why some American merchants are so terrified of a car-free street). Walking
south from Trinity College, you'll pass a buxom statue of “sweet” Molly Malone (also
known as “the tart with the cart”). Next, you'll pass two venerable department stores: the
Irish Brown Thomas and the English Marks & Spencer. Johnson's Court alley leads to
the Powerscourt Townhouse Shopping Centre, which tastefully fills a converted Georgian
mansion. The huge, glass-covered St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and the peaceful
green itself mark the top of Grafton Street. For fun, gather a pile of coins and walk the
street, setting each human statue into action with a donation. Consider stopping at the re-
commended Bewley's Café for coffee with a second-floor view of the action.
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St. Stephen's Green
This city park was originally a medieval commons, complete with gory public executions.
It was enclosed in 1664 and gradually surrounded with fine Georgian buildings. Today, it
provides 22 acres of grassy refuge for Dubliners. At the northwest corner (near the end
of Grafton Street) you'll be confronted by a looming marble arch erected to honor British
officers killed during the Boer War. Locals nicknamed it “Traitor's Arch,” as most Irish
sympathized with the underdog Boers. On a sunny afternoon, this open space is a won-
derful world apart from the big city. When marveling at the elegance of Georgian Dublin,
remember that during the Georgian period, Dublin was the second-most important city in
the British Empire. Area big shots knew that any money wrung from the local populace
not spent in Dublin would end up in London. Since it was “use it or lose it,” they used
it—with gusto—to beautify their city.
A fun, two-room labor of love just north of St. Stephen's Green, this collection was
donated by local Dubliners and focuses on life in the city since 1900. An engaging mix
of history and pop culture, this museum also sponsors the City of a Thousand Welcomes
