Viking and Medieval Walking Tour in Dublin

This evocative walk will bring you by City Hall, before entering the courtyards and gardens of the historic Dublin Castle. Passing a medieval city wall, you will arrive to the West-End of Temple Bar to explore hidden streets and passageways.

Here, you will discover interesting period buildings and the more modern city, rubbing shoulders with the ruins of medieval towers, walls, gates, and the momentos of vast archaeological discoveries.

Follow in George Frederick Handel's footsteps and see the site where his Messiah was first performed under the shadow of the ancient Christ Church Cathedral.

This enchanting walk, starting from the Tourist Office, once the site of the old Viking parliament, will bring you through some narrow laneways until you reach a historic charitable building, before visiting the Georgian Splendour of City Hall. The next stop is the courtyards of the historic Dublin Castle. Mostly an 18th century complex, we will discover some of its medieval remains. The gardens of Dublin Castle reveal their own treasures before we walk to the west end of Temple Bar, the site of the very origins of Dublin.

You will now explore hidden streets and passageways where you will discover interesting period buildings and the more modern city, rubbing shoulders with the ruins of medieval towers, wall, gates and momentos of vast archaeological discoveries. An underground medieval town reveals an intriguing connection with a Wagnerian opera! Stand close to the River Liffey, where the Norse longboats sailed up over 1,000 years ago, to capture the early Christian village of Dublin.

They went on to build what was to become one of the most important trading towns in the Viking world. Follow in George Frederick Handel's footsteps and see the site where his Messiah was first performed, under the shadow of the ancient Christ Church Cathedral. The walk will then bring you to a stretch of Viking/Norman city wall still standing in splendid isolation on a street tourists rarely see. Enter the ancient gateway and pass up steps by an ancient church founded by the Normans in 1190. Find out why Dublin has two cathedrals of the same faith and why the tower of Christ Church Cathedral contains a world record.

Enjoy the opportunity after the walk to visit Dublinia, the Viking & Medieval Museum or the magnificent interior of Christ Church Cathedral, with its atmospheric crypt containing cathedral treasures and historic artifacts or St. Audoen's Church, founded by Normans, now the city's oldest parish church and still in continuous use. Many cafes and traditional bars then await you, including the Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub. This is an evocative journey into a past that stretches beyond two millennia.

All of the guides are enthusiast of their native city and have been trained by group of specialist. This tour will captivate the listener with vivid, engaging, and often amusing stories of Dublin City. Both old and new guides are guaranteed to make your city tour a memorable experience.

Note: Internal visits to Dublin Castle, the cathedrals and museums may be individually undertaken when tours end.