How to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin [3 Day Itinerary]
When you think of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is one of the first things that comes to mind. Visiting Dublin on March 17th has been a bucket list item for me, and in 2025, I got to cross it off. I spent 3 days in Dublin with my dad. We’d been to Ireland before back in 2007 but hadn’t spent much time in Dublin, so most of the trip was brand new to us.
I’ll also caveat this itinerary by telling you that I don’t drink much alcohol (especially not beer) and pubs/bars/parties aren’t my scene. Thankfully, Dublin has so much more to offer than parties and pub though! I had a truly fantastic time and learned so much about Irish history.
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How to Get to Dublin From the Airport
Dublin doesn’t have a mass transit system like New York or London. The only ways to get from the airport to the city are by bus or car. Uber exists in Dublin, but it can be expensive because the airport is about 30 minutes from downtown.
The best way to get from the airport to the city is the Dublin Express bus. Tickets are €8 one-way. You can purchase tickets online or at the stand right by the buses. The tickets are timed, but in reality, people were just lining up and getting on the next available bus.
Side note on the city buses: you need exact change or a Leap card. They don’t have tap-to-pay yet. Click here for fare information.
Where to Stay in Dublin
We stayed at the Hyatt Centric The Liberties Dublin because I have Globalist elite status with Hyatt and prefer to stay at Hyatts where I can. I spent 48,000 points to book our room for 3 nights. It’s a Category 4 property and two nights were the standard 15,000 points per night and the third night was a peak rate of 18,000 points per night.
The Hyatt Centric is right near St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but not in the heart of the touristy part of the city. This meant we had to do a little more walking, but the upside was that our hotel was very quiet.
If you want to stay more central, here are some great options:
The Morrison Dublin, Curio Collection by Hilton
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin
Day 1
Kilmainham Gaol Prison Tour
This former-prison-turned-museum is the place where many political prisoners were held and killed in the years leading up to Irish independence from Britain. This tour is heavy but worth doing if you have the time and want to delve into Irish history, both the good and the bad.
Tickets to the museum are €8, but they can be difficult to get. Some tickets are released 28 days in advance with the remaining tickets being released day-of.
EPIC Museum
EPIC is the Irish Emigration Museum, telling the stories of the millions of people who left Ireland over the centuries and how that’s shaped Irish culture domestically and abroad. It opened in 2016 and is a great tour, but I especially recommend it for anyone of Irish descent. My great-grandparents moved from Ireland around the turn of the 20th century and going through this museum made me feel more connected to my personal family history.
You can purchase tickets in advance online or day-of on site. However, they are a bit cheaper if you purchase them online.
Temple Bar
Although iconic, The Temple Bar Pub is just one pub (with great marketing) in the area known as Temple Bar. This entire area is the most touristy section of the city and a great place for those who do want to participate in the nightlife that Dublin has to offer.
If you want to get an authentic Irish meal in Temple Bar, our tour guide recommended Lundy Foot’s.
Day 2
The Portal
The Portal is an art installation in Dublin and a handful of other cities around the world. It’s a live steam of one city to another, connecting the world on essentially a giant FaceTime call (without audio). It’s located right near the Spire in the north side of Dublin. When we were there in the morning, it was showing us the portal in Poland, but later in the afternoon it switched to Philadelphia.
Free Walking Tour
I love free walking tours wherever I travel. They are a great way to get oriented to the city and get great recommendations from a local. “Free” is a bit of a misnomer because while you typically don’t pay to sign up (or maybe just a small processing fee), you are expected to tip your guide at the end of the tour. I generally aim for a tip between $10-25/person depending on the quality and length of the tour.
Dublin has 2 companies that operate free walking tours: Yellow Umbrella Tours and SANDEMANs. We went with Yellow Umbrella based on our schedule but both sell out in advance for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The guide accepted both cash and credit cards for tips.
We did the Southside tour, which started at the Spire just north of the river before crossing the river and exploring the areas around Temple Bar, Trinity College, and Christ Church. There was a small break halfway through the tour to use a restroom at a local pub and the entire tour lasted about 2.5 hours.
High Tea at the Morrison Hotel
High tea may be more quintessentially British, but Dublin has some great afternoon teas too. I chose The Morrison Hotel’s afternoon tea because they had a wheat free option (I’m gluten free) and it was incredible. The Morrison Hotel is also centrally located on the north side of the River Liffey.
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is a 1200-year-old ornately decorated copy of the 4 gospels of the Bible. It was hand-crafted by monks using local pigments on vellum made from 185 calf skins. The intricacy of the designs is astounding and the fact that it’s survived all these centuries is incredible. It’s been housed at Trinity College in Dublin since 1661.
You can buy a ticket to view the Book of Kells and the Long Room in the library. During a busy weekend like St. Patrick’s Day, be sure to book these in advance as it’s a very popular exhibit. The audio guide and museum do a great job of teaching you about this famous text. No photos are allowed of the book itself and they rotate which page is displayed every few weeks.
After viewing the Book of Kells, you enter the Long Room, which is an iconic part of Trinity College. When I visited, most of the books had been removed for cleaning and preservation, but the room is stunning regardless.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
You can visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral for free by attending mass there. Tours cost €11 and include an audio guide. We went through in about 90 minutes.
One thing that may surprise you is that both St. Patrick’s and Christ Church Cathedrals (the 2 largest churches in Dublin) are Anglican churches, despite the country being overwhelmingly Catholic. This is due to hundreds of years of British oppression of Catholics in the country.
Dinner at The Millstone Restaurant
We finished day 2 with dinner at The Millstone Restaurant. The cozy bistro is reasonably priced and has great salmon. I definitely recommend making reservations in advance.
Day 3
Parade
St. Patrick’s Day parades actually began in the United States, as the flood of Irish immigrants looked to celebrate and honor their roots. In Ireland, this day was a true saint’s feast day where the pubs were closed and people went to church. That’s no longer the case, as the Irish have fully embraced the American traditions of St. Patrick’s Day. The parade in Dublin sees 500,000 spectators attend!
The parade is free to attend if you line up along the fences, however, you’ll need to get there early and be prepared to stand for hours. I opted for the more comfortable (but more expensive) option and purchased grandstand seats for €130/person. These came with private restrooms, commentary during the parade, and a chance to win prizes. I recommend the Christ Church grandstands because they face the church and are right in front of Leonardo’s Hotel, which has more restrooms and sells beer, coffee, and hot chocolate during the parade.
Even if you’ve been out partying the night before, the Irish make it easy to attend the parade because it doesn’t start until 12PM. Plan to walk everywhere and allow extra time on parade day because so many streets are blocked off and there will be crowds.
Need something green to wear for the parade? Carroll’s Irish gifts has the best selection at reasonable prices.
Guinness Storehouse
Guinness is one of the most iconic symbols of Ireland around the world and you can learn all about the company’s history, how it’s made, and more at the Guinness Storehouse at St. James’s Gate in Dublin. I don’t drink beer and I still had a great time on this tour. In fact, this is the only thing in Dublin we revisited from our trip in 2007 (a lot has changed since then!). The building is shaped like a giant pint glass with the museum spanning 7 floors. However, this architectural feature is harder to discern now that they’ve expanded the museum so much since we were last there.
Tickets vary in price, but standard tickets start as low as €20/adult for off-peak times. The ticket includes either a Guinness or a soft drink at the end of your tour (sadly the price is not discounted if you get a soft drink). Other tickets include getting your face printed on the beer foam or learning how to pull your own perfect pint.
Dinner at the Ivy Dawson Street
The Ivy is an upscale chain of restaurants based in the UK, but they do have one location in Dublin. The beautifully decorated space really showcases the delicious food. Given it was St. Patrick’s Day, we had to order the Shepherd’s Pie and we were not disappointed! The crème brûlée for dessert was also one of the best I’ve ever had.
Final Thoughts
When we’d mentioned to people that we were going to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day, many warned that Ireland doesn’t make a big deal of the day. I think that’s outdated advice. Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is now bigger than Chicago’s and the city has fully embraced the celebrations.
Due to other conflicts, we only had 3 days in Ireland and didn’t get a chance to go beyond Dublin on this trip. However, if you have more time, Ireland is full of beauty in every corner of the country. If you have a week, consider a road trip around the country (but just remember, they drive on the left!).
Be sure to pin this post for future planning!
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