3 days in dublin - what to do?
 

I am planning a three day trip to Dublin next summer. Any tips? What must I see? How easy is it to travel from the city to the countryside? Any guidance will be appreciated.

I recommend taking a tour of the city. We took the Viking Splash Tour and it is one of the best city tours I have ever taken. The bus is in fact a World War Two landing craft that seats about 30 people. The floating part of the tour includes a trip in the Grand Canal Basin. You can buy tickets in their office near Christ Church.

Take a trip to the Dublin Zoo. It is a beautiful zoo set in a very beautiful park. I work at a zoo and visit zoos wherever I go and Dublin Zoo is a very nice zoo. The National Museum is worth a visit. Visit Trinity College. The pubs are fun. I loved Dublin. The Irish are among my favorites. Enjoy your trip.

Dublin is quite a small city and most everything you'll want to see is within easy walking distance of the centre.

IMHO the best sights are:

Dublin Castle
Trinity college/Book of Kells
Walk through Temple Bar - and do dinner or a couple of pubs

Do try to get to the theaater. Seeing one of the Irish Masters (esp Wilde or Shaw - we saw a performance of the Importance of Being Ernest - fantastic!) in a local theater is a great experience.

Don't forget to have Fish & Chips at Bishoff's and Tea and Scones at Bewley's. Stroll Grafton Street and St. Stephens Green. Visit the Art Museum, and check out St. Patrick's and Christchurch. Sample the pubs and ride the LUAS, and don't miss the Jameson and Guinness breweries.

nytraveler is right on. There are a number of other things I might add:

1.The Walk of the 1916 Rebellion conducted twice a day from the International Pub near the tourist bureau-cost is modest 10 euros, time about 45 minutes
2. Visit Kilmainham Jail and learn how dreadfully the British treated the Irish.
3. If you are a reader I believe there are more quality bookstores in Dublin per capita than any other European city I have visited. Bookstore staffs are incredible-so much better than Barnes & Noble, Borders in the States.
4. I second the theater; also classical concerts and ballet.

In my opinion, the Irish are the most hospitable people on earth. I am a fourth generation New Yorker, of Irish and Italian ancestry.

(You can best see the countryside only with a car--you might visit Dingle, Kinsale, Galway, etc.)

Anthony

I second the recommendations of Trinity College/Book of Kells, Kilmainham Gaol, and the National Museum. You could do one of the circle bus tours on your first day, they both make stops at all the above sights. I haven't been there, but lots of people also enjoy the tour of the Guinness Brewery (also a stop on the same city bus tours).