Updated May 2025--If you want to get to know the real Dublin, in my opinion, it's best to take a walking tour with an experienced guide.
Below you'll find a list of the city's top 10 guided walking tours, bus tours and bike tours to get you started.
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the article for information on free walking tours and other additional tours that I have added.
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1. AB Tours
The best walking tours of any city are the ones where you are completely immersed in the history of the place and you can imagine that time period vividly based on the guide's retelling of it.
That's what you'll get on a walking tour of Dublin with native Alan Byrne of AB Tours, who has been leading groups of locals and international visitors for several years and getting them acquainted with his hometown.
Byrne holds a master's degree in history and is also an archive research assistant.
His tours are customized to suit the traveler, including tours that feature both historical and cultural elements.
2. Historical Walking Tours of Dublin
If you're eager to hear the history of Dublin, there's no better tour to take than the Historical Walking Tours of Dublin.
Led by Trinity College and National University of Ireland graduates, the 2-hour tour includes information on Ireland's Potato Famine and how it affected Dublin and its residents; the 1916 Easter Rising, which took place in 1916 in the heart of Dublin; the influence of the French and American revolutions on Dublin life and society; the Irish Civil War and partition from the Six Counties in Northern Ireland, and much more.
The company also offers other, more themed tours that you can take either privately or as part of a group.
Tours depart from the Trinity's College Green entrance.
Visit Many of Dublin's Must-See Attractions with the Go City Pass
3. Pat Liddy's Walking Tours of Dublin
This tour promises to help the visitor “experience Dublin in its own unique way, from the famous highlights to the hidden gems.”
Designed by Pat Liddy, a Dublin writer, illustrator, and historian, this is one of Dublin's most popular tours.
Guides use a combination of humor and expertise to tell the story of Dublin, taking tourists to both the well-known and hidden treasures of the city.
Scheduled tours include “The Best of Dublin – Highlights & Hidden Corners,” which is also available in German.
Others include a “Special Bloomsday Walk” in honor of the annual Bloomsday Festival which takes place every year in Dublin from June 15-16, Le Meilleur de Dublin – Les Incontournables et Recoins Insolites/Best of Dublin – Must-sees and Quirky Corners, an introduction to Dublin and its history entirely in French, as well as The Dublin Literary Tour.
Other tours are also available with themes that coincide with Halloween and Christmas in Ireland.
Private tours are also available and cover a range of topics related to Dublin city and its history. You can find several reviews of his tours on TripAdvisor.
4. Dublin City Tours
On a Dublin City walking tour with Alan Swaine of Dublin City Tours, you'll get a bit of everything, from an in-depth look into the lives of the wealthy in 18th-century Dublin to unraveling the weird and wonderful stories about Dublin's history.
Swaine is a teacher at heart, regularly leading school groups through his native hometown, but his love of guiding is evident in the enthusiasm that he shows both local guests and international visitors who are interested in finding out more about Dublin.
5. Dublin's Literary Pub Crawl
This company is a 2018 TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Awardee and another popular tour for visitors to Ireland's capital.
Led by two actors, this 2 1/2-hour tour/performance is well worth the money and will bring you to the pubs associated with Dublin's most celebrated writers.
This is an evening tour and includes some drinking.
The tour leaves from The Duke Pub located at 9 Duke Street at 7:30 p.m.
Discover Dublin's Dark History on the Dark Dublin Guided Walking Tour
6. 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour
If you have an interest in Ireland's turbulent history, specifically its fight to become an independent nation, you will thoroughly enjoy this tour, now in its 28th year and run by historian and author Lorcan Collins.
Collins brings to life the events of one fateful week in April when a group of Irish patriots tried to defeat the British forces in what would permanently shape Ireland's history.
The tour brings visitors to the relevant sites associated with the Rebellion.
It starts at the International Bar on Wicklow Street and runs for two hours.
The tour is available at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and at 1 p.m. on Sundays.
7. Taste of Dublin Bike Tour
There are no hills on this bike tour, just a leisurely jaunt through the city's streets where you'll avoid tour buses and other heavy traffic.
See Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, the Guinness Brewery, and much more on this enjoyable tour.
Tours last for close to three hours and are available only on weekends from October through April, and seven days a week after that.
Helmets and hi-visibility bibs must be worn by all participants.
The tour starts at the multi-story car park at Drury Street in the city center, a short walk from Stephen's Green.
A Dublin City e-Bike tour is also available.
8. James Joyce Walking Tours
The James Joyce Centre offers a number of walking tours based on Joyce's life.
They include “Introducing Joyce's Dublin Tour,” a stroll through Dublin's north inner city, where Joyce found real-life inspiration for his work.
The tour brings visitors to his alma mater, Belvedere College, the Gresham Hotel, the setting for the last scene in his short story, “The Dead,” as well as a stop at No. 7 Eccles Street, cited in his novel, “Ulysses.”
The tour is available on Thursdays and Saturdays at 11 a.m.
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You can also book the “The Footsteps of Leopold Bloom Walking Tour,” which follows a journey that Bloom takes in one of the chapters of “Ulysses“
The tour is well suited for fans of the book and for those who want a truly immersive Joycean experience.
9. Do Dublin Sightseeing Tours
DoDublin Tours offers various bus tours, including a Hop-on, Hop-off tour, a Ghostbus Night Tour, a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, the Jameson Distillery, and much more.
The company's most popular one is the Dublin Freedom Pass Tour, which allows you to hop on and off and see the city's main attractions for up to 72 hours. All tour guides are Fáilte Ireland-trained.
There is no charge for children under 5 with a fare-paying adult on any of the DoDublin tours.
10. Mostly Medieval Walking Tour of Dublin
Have you ever wondered what Medieval Dublin might have looked and felt like?
Tour guide Ruth Kelly, who has been guiding since 2010, is an expert in Dublin history, particularly the period during the 1300s when Dublin residents, like others across Europe, were victims of the Black Death.
On her walking tours, Kelly delves into the nitty-gritty of the period, when children worked around the clock, when the living quarters were confined to one room and when life spans were a lot shorter than they are today.
Her 90-minute tours meet on Dublin's Cows Lane in the Temple Bar area (you'll find out more about that on the tour). Book her tour on the Airbnb Experiences website.
Free Walking Tours in Dublin
The Dublin Free Walking Tour company, also known as Yellow Umbrella, offers two free tours each day, one focused on the northside and another focused on the southside of the city, aka The Free Dublin Highlights tour.
Dublin Walking Tours offers the free Walking Tour of Dublin City Center, uncovering the hidden stories behind iconic places like St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and more.
Generation Tours Dublin offers an “unrivaled insight into city,” delving into a history in a free walking tour that spans from “turbulent times, revolutions, and rebellions to charming folktales, real-life legends, literary greats, and hidden secrets.” You'll stop at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College, Viking sites of interest, and much more.
Original Dublin offers several fee-paying tours, but if you're really watching your wallet, its Free/Original Walking Tour of Dublin will give you a good introduction to the city.
Included in the itinerary are many Dublin landmarks, including Trinity College, Viking Dublin sites, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and much more.
Their Spanish-speaking tour is also free.
Unearthed Tours – while many of their tours are fee-based, the Free Walking Tour of Dublin provided by Unearthed Tours will give you an insight into 12,000 years of Dublin history while seeing popular sites like St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College, the Molly Malone statue, Christ Church Cathedral, and much more.
Since first publishing this article, I have found additional resources for guided walking tours in Dublin. They include the following:
– In Our Shoes Walking Tours – award-winning tours of the Liberties (the oldest part of Dublin) and Dublin 8;
– Dublin City Walks with Liam Greene – private, bespoke and on a demand basis;
– Dublin Walkabout Tours – private tours only;
– Dublin Decoded Walking Tours – tours specializing in a mix of architecture and history;
– Tailteann Irish Tours – Antóin Ó Lochraigh, who speaks Irish, English and Dutch, brings Dublin to life for visitors, showing the attractions that make it rank among the world's great cities;
– A Spasso A Dublino – Italian Tours in Dublin. Signature tours include Our Dublin/La Vostra Dublino and The Life of U2/La Vita Degli U2;
– Tours de Dublin en Français – offers a two-hour walking tour of Dublin city center, beginning south of the River Liffey and finishing in Temple Bar; and
– Haunted History Tour of Dublin – walk through the eerie cobbled streets of Dublin and hear tales like the one about Darkey Kelly, the tragic tale of the Green Lady, and how Dublin’s “hell” got its name, among others.
Here are some additional bike tours if you are interested.
– Cycle Dublin – Bike and eBike Tours – see local landmarks ranging from the Samuel Beckett Bridge and the Oscar Wilde Memorial to Dublin Castle, and learn about Dublin's history through the ages from your guide’s commentary;
– E-Bike & Bike Tour with a Local Guide in Dublin – explore Dublin by bike with a small group and the help of a knowledgeable guide, who leads you to both major city sights and off-the-beaten-path locations. Choose from a standard or electric bike;
– Private Dublin Historical and Heritage Tour by Bike – see Dublin's highlights as well as lesser-known hidden gems, get local recommendations and a souvenir video with captioned photos from your adventure;
– Bike Tour Along The Historic Waterways Of Dublin – tour the city center and the outskirts of Dublin on this cool bike tour that covers Dublin's historic waterways as well as other local landmarks;
– Dublin Highlights 3-Hour Private Tour by Foot or Bike – learn about the ancient and more contemporary history of Ireland's capital, from its Viking settlements to Irish independence. Perfect for first-time visitors to the city; and
– Dublin Panoramic e-Bike Tour with Howth Adventures – get out of the city center and see some popular landmarks such as the Summit, the Howth Cliffs, the Baily Lighthouse, Martello Towers, and others. This tour goes on off-road trails, so you must have prior cycling experience. To get to Howth from the city center, take the DART.
Have you taken any of Dublin's Top 10 tours mentioned above? Let me know in the comments below.
