Activities to Enjoy Alone in Dublin
![Jack Nealons Pub, Dublin](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/20x11/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/nealons-e1499874118132.webp)
If you are checking out Ireland’s capital solo, you’ll be happy to learn that Dublin’s a famously social city, and you’ll have no problem getting involved in the pubs, coffee shops and restaurants whilst travelling on your own. If you prefer some quiet time, though, there are plenty of activities that lend themselves to finding a bit of peace too. Here are a few of the best options for those going stag in the city of Wilde and Joyce.
1. Spend a day in Phoenix Park
Park, Zoo
![1. Spend a day in Phoenix Park](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/pr8mdt.webp)
2. Check out Temple Bar's art galleries
Art Gallery
![Exterior view of Temple Bar Gallery + Studios (TBG+S), an artists community in the heart of Dublin city centre. Founded in 1983, the building houses thirty artists’ studios s in which professional visual artists make their work and gallery space that presents a cross section of contemporary Irish and international visual arts practice. (Photo: Kasia Kaminska)](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/temple-bar-gallery-studios_side-door_photo-credit-kasia-kaminska.webp)
3. Lounge in Fumbally Cafe
Cafe, Pastry Shop, Irish
![](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/images/default_location.webp)
Tucked away to the south of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Fumbally Cafe is an organic, hippie-leaning café where the menu changes regularly, and it is one of the best spots to slow down in the city. Think unusual drink combinations, colourful salads, healthy breakfasts and fiercely varied roasts in the coffee grinder. Their policy insists that no table belongs to any one group, making the ‘share tables’ a perfect place to go it alone.
4. Uncover Marsh's Library
Library
![4. Uncover Marshs Library](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/cp525g.webp)
Take the Musical Pub Crawl
It can be hard to find good trad pubs in Dublin – some locals preciously guard their favourites, and most of the ones recommended in the guide books will be noticeably absent of actual Irish people. They’re there, though, and this musical pub crawl is a good way to get a glance at a few of them whilst meeting some new people and hearing some tales. You’ll be exploring both Irish music and the national pastime, drinking, which is a little frowned upon to do alone. It’s a great way to dig in.
Join a casual Dublin running group
There are several groups that meet regularly on various evenings, inviting strangers to plod around the city streets at various degrees of pace and ability. Most of these events – in typical Irish fashion – close with sociable pints and are a great way to get to know a few people and explore the city at the same time. A good way to learn about the groups (and plenty of other sociable events) is through the MeetUp website. We particularly like this one, which is impressively multinational.
Try walking Dublin’s only (known) pub-free route
There’s a map commonly sold in Dublin marking the city’s greatest evils. According to that map, those evils are pubs, and what it makes painfully apparent is that there are a lot of them. So many that James Joyce joked in his classic Ulysses that it would be impossible to cross the city without passing one. It turned out that problem took 89 years and a software developer to solve (finally, in 2011), but it makes for a unique alternative stroll across the city – followed by a pint, naturally.
![McGowan’s Pub, Phisboro, Dublin](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/mcgowans.webp)