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Dublin Medieval Walking Tour with a Guide
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From €55 per person
Dublin’s medieval history runs right beneath the modern city, and this three-hour walk brings it to the surface. Starting in Dubh Linn Gardens behind Dublin Castle, your guide takes you through some of the most historically significant ground in the country - Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle itself (dating to the 13th century), Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral with its Viking-era stones, St Audoen’s Church, Cook Street and its medieval fortifications, and Isolde’s Tower.
The tour is available as a private booking or in a small group, and the team can help you book tickets for the sites you want to go inside. The route can be customised to suit your interests - if there’s a particular period or site you want to spend more time with, mention it when you book.
Meeting point: Your guide will be waiting in front of Forbidden Planet International’s main entrance, wearing a black hat.
Chester Beatty Library is one of Dublin’s most underrated institutions and it’s free to enter, which makes it one of the best-value cultural stops in the city. Sir Alfred Chester Beatty was an American-born mining magnate who donated his extraordinary collection to Ireland and became the country’s first honorary citizen. The collection spans thousands of years and dozens of civilisations - give yourself time here if the itinerary allows.
Christ Church Cathedral’s medieval crypt is the oldest surviving structure in Dublin, dating from around 1172. It runs the full length of the cathedral above it and now houses a small museum including Strongbow’s tomb - though historians debate how much of what’s there is original. Your guide will give you the full picture, which is more interesting than the cleaned-up version on the information boards.
St Audoen’s deserves a slower look than it usually gets. There are actually two St Audoen’s churches side by side on High Street - the Church of Ireland one from the medieval period and a Catholic church built in the 19th century. The older one has Ireland’s oldest surviving ring of bells, still hanging where they’ve been since the 15th century. The gate in the churchyard is one of the last surviving pieces of the old city wall.
Cook Street and the surrounding area is where Dublin’s Viking and medieval layers are most visible at street level. The stretch of old city wall here is one of the most intact sections remaining, and the Liberties neighbourhood around it has been continuously inhabited since the medieval period. If you’re interested in the Viking period specifically, the Dublinia museum on the corner of High Street and Christ Church Place is worth adding to your day.
The tour meets at Forbidden Planet International on Jervis Street - it’s on the north side of the Liffey, so plan your route across one of the central bridges. The Ha’penny Bridge and O’Connell Bridge are both easy walking distance if you’re coming from the south city.