Tours

Dublin is a walker's city, and it's a city full of storytellers. Put two and two together, and it's little surprise that Dublin is a particularly good place for guided walking tours.

Bus Tours

Dublin Bus. Three- and four-hour tours of the north and south coastlines take in sights such as the James Joyce Tower and the Casino at Marino. The one-hour city tour takes in Trinity College, the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Phoenix Park, and other city-center sights. The one-hour city tour, with hourly departures, allows you to hop on and off at any of the main stops. Tickets are available from the driver or Dublin Bus. There's also a continuous, guided, open-top bus tour, which allows you to hop on and off the bus as often as you wish and visit some 23 sights along its route. The company also goes to Glendalough on a day trip, and conducts a north-city coastal tour, going to Howth, and a south-city tour, traveling as far as Enniskerry. 01/873–4222; www.dublinsightseeing.ie. From €18.

Love Ireland. City-center tours cover the main Dublin itineraries. 01/898–0700; www.loveireland.com. From €22.

Viking Splash Tours. This is a big hit with kids. The amphibious ex–U.S. military vehicle tours the city center before launching onto the water by the IFSC (International Financial Service Center, near the Custom House). Kids get a helmet to wear and love terrifying native pedestrians with the "Viking roar." It runs year-round (less frequently from November to January). 01/707–6000; www.vikingsplash.com. From €25.

Pub and Musical Tours

Dublin Discover Ireland Centre has a booklet on its self-guided Rock 'n' Stroll trail, which covers 16 sights with associations to such performers as Bob Geldof, Christy Moore, Sinéad O'Connor, and U2. Most of the sights are in the city center and Temple Bar.

Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. Loveable rogue Colm Quilligan arranges a highly enjoyable evening Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, where "brain cells are replaced as quickly as they are drowned." 01/670–5602; www.dublinpubcrawl.com. From €15.

Traditional Musical Pub Crawl. Led by two professional musicians who perform songs and tell the story of Irish music, the tour is given April through October, daily at 7:30 pm, and from Thursday to Saturday, at 7:30 pm, the rest of the year. It begins at the Oliver St. John Gogarty and moves on to other famous Temple Bar pubs. 20 Lower Stephens St., Southside, Dublin, Co. Dublin, 2. 01/478–0191; www.musicalpubcrawl.com. From €16.

Walking Tours

Historical Walking Tours of Dublin. Run by Trinity College history graduate students, these are excellent two-hour introductions to the city. The Tourism Ireland–approved tours take place from May to September, starting at the front gate of Trinity College, daily at 11 am and 3 pm, with an extra tour on weekends at noon. These tours are also available October and April daily at 11 am and November to March, Friday through Sunday at 11 am. 087/688–9412; www.historicaltours.ie. From €14.

1916 Rebellion Walking Tour. This exciting walk outlines the key areas and events of the violent Dublin rebellion that began Ireland's march to independence. The guides are passionately political and the two-hour tour never flags. They meet at the International Bar on Wicklow Street and operate March through October, Monday to Saturday at 11:30 am and Sunday at 1 pm. In February and November tours run Friday to Sunday. 086/858–3847; www.1916rising.com. From €15.

Trinity Tours. This company organizes walks of the Trinity College campus daily from February to early December. The half-hour tour includes the Book of Kells exhibit; tours start at the college's main gate every 40 minutes from 10:15 am. There are generally nine tours a day. www.tcd.ie/visitors/tours. From €15.