Street in Dublin
Also known as Oconnell Street
O’Connell Street is Dublin’s widest and most historic boulevard, running from the River Liffey to Parnell Square. Free to walk. The Spire, a 120-meter stainless steel needle, stands at its center and serves as the meeting point for free walking tours. The General Post Office (GPO), where the 1916 Easter Rising was proclaimed, faces the street. Budget travelers start here, orient themselves by the Spire, and walk south across the Liffey to Temple Bar and Trinity College.
Practical
On foot
Free and low-cost routes that stop at O'Connell Street.
The Dublin Free Walking Tour Intro to Dublin (Southside) starts at the Spire on O'Connell Street and crosses the Liffey to cover Trinity College, Temple Bar, and St Patrick's Cathedral in 2.5 to 3 hours. Groups are capped at 5 people, running since 2012.
Nearby
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
The Book of Kells Exhibition at Trinity College displays the 9th-century illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels, one of the most famous medieval manuscripts in the world. Entry is paid (includes access to the Long Room, a 65-meter barrel-vaulted library of 200,000 books and marble busts).
The Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle is a museum of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, and rare books collected by Alfred Chester Beatty, an American mining magnate who made Dublin his home. Free.
Christ Church Cathedral is Dublin's oldest building (founded 1030), a medieval cathedral with a massive crypt (the largest in Britain and Ireland), the tomb of Strongbow (the Norman warlord who conquered Dublin), and a preserved cat and rat found in an organ pipe (known as "Tom and Jerry"). Entry is paid at a modest price.
Free formal gardens behind Dublin Castle featuring a Celtic knot pattern laid out in planting beds. The name recalls the "black pool" that gave Dublin its name.
Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland for 700 years, from 1204 until Irish independence in 1922. The exterior grounds and the Chapel Royal (with spectacular carved stone and oak interiors) are free.
Glasnevin Cemetery is Ireland's national cemetery, where Michael Collins, Eamon de Valera, Daniel O'Connell, and many other figures from Irish history are buried. Free to enter (guided tours are available for a fee).
Working out what Dublin costs?
The whole of Dublin