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Private Dublin Art Trail: Classic to Contemporary
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From €350 per person
Dublin’s artistic tradition runs deeper than most visitors realise, and this private three-hour trail gives you a proper sweep through it - from Old Masters right up to contemporary design, with a medieval cathedral woven in along the way. Because it’s just you and your own local guide, you can stop for as long as you like, ask every question that comes to mind, and hear the kind of context you’ll never find on a wall panel.
You’ll begin at the National Gallery of Ireland, then move on to the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre to browse contemporary Irish craft and design. From there it’s on to Christ Church Cathedral and its treasury of religious art and manuscripts, before finishing at the Hugh Lane Gallery - home to the world’s first known public collection of modern art and the fully reconstructed studio of Francis Bacon, transported piece by piece from London.
Your guide will adapt the route if opening hours or availability shift on the day, so you’re not left standing on a doorstep.
Meeting point: Outside the entrance to the National Gallery of Ireland.
The National Gallery is free to enter and genuinely worth knowing about even beyond this tour. The Millennium Wing on Clare Street is the modern extension - the contrast with the Victorian rooms through the back is striking, and people often spend longer than they planned.
Powerscourt Townhouse sits on South William Street, which has become one of the liveliest streets in the city centre over the last decade. If you want coffee before the tour starts, Clement and Pekoe on South William Street is a local favourite - good loose-leaf tea too if that’s your thing.
The Hugh Lane Gallery is free, which catches a lot of visitors off guard. Francis Bacon’s studio alone justifies the visit - everything from paint-encrusted floors to torn magazine clippings was catalogued and moved from his actual London studio. There are around 7,500 items in there. Give yourself time to take it in properly.
Christ Church is older than it looks from the outside. The crypt is one of the longest in Britain or Ireland and runs the full length of the building. You’ll often find it quieter than the main nave, and your guide will know what’s worth seeking out down there.
If the weather is with you, the walk between stops is genuinely pleasant. The route passes through some of the most historically layered streets in the city, and your guide can point out things along the way that wouldn’t appear on any official itinerary.