St Patrick's Cathedral, Book of Kells and Dublin Castle Tour
Description
Embark on a privileged journey through Dublin's historic center on this exclusive priority timed access tour. Gain entry to iconic landmarks, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, where you'll have ample space to admire its architectural wonders. Next, you'll enter Trinity College Library to witness the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of unparalleled beauty before visiting Dublin Castle & Gardens. Packed full of incredible insights and up-close historical visits including a visit to the must-see St Patrick’s Cathedral & Garden Park. Learn about Ireland’s patron saint and his incredible life story while your expert first-class local friendly guide offer a fully guide tour of this Dublin top landmarks. This tour continues to the Trinity College established in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth 1. Enjoy priority timed access ticket entry to the Book of Kells. Next, continue this fascinating walking tour to explore the 13th century Dublin Castle and Gardens.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Enjoy Skip the Line access and avoid the long lines for a fully comprehensive tour of Ireland's most famous Cathedral and Gardens where you will learn about the works of Johnathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral as well as Bram Stoker, author of Dracula and student of the 16th century Trinity College.
Continue on this fascinating fully guided tour to Dublin Castle. Originally built in the 13th century on a site previously settled by the Vikings it functioned as a military fortress, a prison, treasury, courts of law and the seat of English Administration in Ireland for 700 years. Rebuilt in the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, Dublin Castle awaits to enthrall all who enter her gates. On this fully guided exterior tour, see the original 13th century Record & Octagonal Towers, the Upper & Lower State Yards and their architectural highlights. Led by an expert local English-speaking guide who will unveil incredible secrets including tales of intrigue and mystery, this tour is a "must do" for anyone interested in the history of Ireland. Enjoy and added bonus on this magnificent tour of the 13th century Castle to visit the Castle Gardens, which is the very location where the first Vikings landed in Dublin in 795 AD. Today it is a magnificent Celtic inspired landscaped lawn.
Visit Dublin's mascot 'Molly Malone Statue' where your local guide will introduce you to Dublin's heroine and her famous song. The song's tragic heroine and her barrow have come to stand as one of the most familiar symbols of the capital. As well as being known and sung internationally, the popular song 'Cockles and Mussels' has become a sort of unofficial anthem of Dublin city.
Visit the 9th century Book of Kells, described in the 1007 Historical records off Ulster as 'the most precious object in the western world'. The cultural and historical value of the Book of Kells has only increased in the millennium since - this exquisite work of art has stood for 1,200 years as the greatest example of medieval illumination. This tour starts by delving into its rich ornamentation and explores its dense symbolism and meaning and its merit as an artistic masterpiece.
After your visit to the Book of Kells and Library enjoy 10 minutes at the venues souvenir shop.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please wear comfortable shoes as this tour involves a fair amount of walking, including over uneven surfaces, cobblestones, hills, inclines, declines and stairs.
- Participants should be in good health - consult first with your doctor if you have any medical condition or are not used to regular exercise.
- Wheelchairs, motorised scooters or any other device to assist mobility are not recommended, as we cannot guarantee: that all footpaths/sidewalks/curbs will have suitable ramps.
- Anybody under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by somebody aged 18 years or older.
- Not recommended for travellers with limited mobility
Reviews(1,279)
Highly recommend the tour. Specifically, Miriam was fantastic. Learned a lot of random information along the way just by walking the city with her.
Our family of 4 did the historical tour with Fergus. It was everything we wanted and more. He was knowledgeable and answered every question from Trinity College student makeup to Dublin’s actual national Blue Color to the reason only a handful of statues in The Library are dedicated to women to the lettering process and missing alphabet in the Book of Jells to the oldest merchant store in Dublin with bonus chocolate. Wanna have a fantastic intro to Dublin with a big dose of fun- take this Tour for sure and ask Fergus as your guide!
Miriam was excellent and engaging. I highly recommend this tour
The book of Kells and the library were gorgeous. Also loved the cathedral and the choir sounded amazing.
Samantha was a wonderful guide. Kind and knowledgeable, and she made a point to engage with everyone and make them feel special - all the more challenging since it was a large group.
Fergus was our guide and he was fantastic! Super knowledgeable and fun. Our family really enjoyed visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College and Book of Kells. Fergus provided us with a ton of information while keeping it interesting and fun. And, he got my son singing of the street next to Molly Malone! It was a great day!
Our tour guide walked way too fast for a group of 20 on a Saturday afternoon. We understood that there would be a bus ride and were told to have a ticket for the bus before arriving. The actual tour of the locations was great.
If you’re lucky enough to get Fergus as your guide, you’ve already won half the battle. We took the St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Book of Kells tour, and Fergus was the perfect mix of historian, comedian, and storyteller. He made centuries of Irish history feel like you were listening to a friend tell the best stories at the pub. We learned a ton and laughed the entire time. The only thing he couldn’t do was convince the EU Presidency to reopen Dublin Castle for us, but honestly, we don’t blame him. He pivoted like a pro, shared great stories about the castle anyway, and made sure we still had a fantastic experience.
Maura was fantastic! Great tour! The only downside was the castle being closed off. Otherwise excellent!
Comprehensive tour of St. Patrick cathedral, amazing Book of Kells experience. Andrew was a great guide. We enjoyed every minute.
