Temple Bar District, Dublin

ϳԹ

Temple Bar District, Dublin

Temple Bar District, Dublin (must see)

Wedged between the River Liffey and Dame Street, Temple Bar is Dublin’s flamboyant comeback kid — once rundown, now a nightlife legend and cultural hotspot, buzzing with tourists, buskers, and the occasional lost Viking spirit. Its cobbled lanes — yes, those charming, ankle-twisting 18th-century originals — are narrow, partly pedestrianized, and soaked in both Guinness and history.

You can wander in from Dame Street, or better yet, glide through the Merchants Arch — a photogenic stone portal opposite the Ha’penny Bridge — and step into the thumping heart of Temple Bar Square. Around here, between the arch and the fortress-like Central Bank, you’ll find a vibrant mess of art centres, souvenir-heavy shops, pubs on a mission, and eateries slinging everything from Irish stew to vegan tacos.

Keep walking and you’ll hit Eustace Street and Meeting House Square, where Dublin’s brainier side comes out to play. The Irish Film Institute screens arthouse flicks, foreign gems, and the occasional cinematic head-scratcher — all served up with excellent coffee, a bar, and a gift shop full of film theory and stylish posters. A few cobbles away, Photo Museum Ireland captures Dublin in frames past and present, while the National Photographic Archive next door lets you deep-dive into Ireland’s collective memory — or just browse a moody exhibition and pretend you're curating it.

Art fans, head to the Project Arts Centre on East Essex Street. It’s got edgy exhibitions, a theatre upstairs, and just enough blue lighting to make you feel like you’re in a European indie film. Around the corner, the Button Factory pumps out live music and late-night basslines, while Jam Art Factory lets you bring home some top-tier Irish creativity — minus the hangover...

And just when you think Temple Bar has given you all its goods, look south to Dame Street. There stands the Olympia Theatre, a Victorian dazzler complete with stained-glass canopy and more red velvet than your granny’s sitting room. Across the way, City Hall shows off with its Corinthian columns, and just a stone’s throw west, Dublin Castle reminds you that even in this city of pints and performance, the past still holds court.

Welcome to Temple Bar: come for the chaos, stay for the culture!

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Dublin. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "ϳԹ: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The ϳԹ App

Temple Bar District on Map

Sight Name: Temple Bar District
Sight Location: Dublin, Ireland (See walking tours in Dublin)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Dublin, Ireland

Create Your Own Walk in Dublin

Create Your Own Walk in Dublin

Creating your own self-guided walk in Dublin is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
A Walk with Famous Irish Writers

A Walk with Famous Irish Writers

Albeit a small country, Ireland has given the world a plethora of remarkable writers and poets, many of whom were born, lived, and studied in Dublin. Needless to say, as an epicenter of Ireland's literary scene, Dublin boasts a myriad of hallowed locations closely associated with the luminaries of Irish literature, such as James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett, and many of their...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.5 Km or 2.8 Miles
A Walk Along Liffey River

A Walk Along Liffey River

The River Liffey — Dublin’s liquid backbone — slices through the Irish capital like a great shimmering bookmark, separating the Northside from the Southside in a civil yet longstanding sibling rivalry. Stretching around 125 kilometers, this body of water is indeed a living archive, a story that never quite ends. Stroll along its banks, and you’ll find yourself time-traveling without the...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
Pub Crawl

Pub Crawl

The Irish in general and Dubliners in particular are known for their passion for whiskey and beer. As you embark upon a beguiling odyssey through the spirited streets of the Irish capital, you can't help noticing the reverberating vibrancy coming from its enchanting pubs. A tapestry of libation-laden lore awaits those who traverse the path of the Dublin pub crawl, guided by the siren call of...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles
Dublin Literary Pubs

Dublin Literary Pubs

The three Ps of Dublin – the pub, the poet, and the pint – have always distinguished the Irish capital as home to some of the most literary pubs in Europe. Indeed, Dublin's public houses, where writers traditionally sharpened their wit, today encapsulate the enchantment of the written word and play a significant role in preserving and celebrating this legacy.

Among these revered...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles
Dublin Introduction Walking Tour

Dublin Introduction Walking Tour

The Irish capital, Dublin, is a city where history has a pint in one hand and a smartphone in the other. Sitting snugly on Ireland’s east coast, straddling the River Liffey like it owns the place, Dublin is a heady mix of medieval charm, Georgian swagger, and modern-day buzz. The name itself, Dubh Linn (the Celtic expression for “black pool”) sounds mysterious enough — and yes, it refers...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.8 Km or 2.4 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip


16 Distinctively Irish Things to Buy in Dublin

16 Distinctively Irish Things to Buy in Dublin

The birthplace of many artistic talents, such as Jonathan Swift and Oscar Wilde, Dublin is the show-window of Ireland, a small country renowned for its rich cultural scene encompassing music, writing, poetry, dance, craftsmanship and more. The food & drink scene of Dublin (much as the whole of...