South Dublin

Ireland's most ancient college was founded in 1592, and to this day, it remains its most prestigious and highest-ranked academically. Trinity College - also called the University of Dublin - was constructed outside the city walls, but today is located right in Dublin´s urban heart. Counted among its alumni are Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, and Samuel Beckett. The campus's library is one of Europe's greatest, a repository for a wealth of research material and historical documents, as well as about 5 million books.

Located on the north bank of the River Liffey in the northwestern part of Dublin city centre, Phoenix Park is Ireland's famous park. The park was originally built by the then Governor of the Duke of Ormonde, and was intended to cater to the glory of Charles II and the city of Dublin. After centuries of change, it still retains the characteristics of the 17th century deer park.

When you arrive in Ireland, if you want to try fresh Guinness beer, be sure to visit the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. See for yourself the brewing process. The Guinness Storehouse was completed in 1904 and appears the architectural style of Chicago. The entire building was made of steel. Exquisite lighting design makes the entire exhibition hall shine. The beer exhibition hall has a total of eight floors and systematically introduces the beer brewing process.

A fortified castle has stood on this site since at least 930, and it's easy to see why: it stands on the highest ridge in the vicinity, at the junction of the River Liffey and the now-underground River Poddle, so it was a strategic place to defend. And indeed, occupants of the site had to defend it frequently: The Danish Vikings that occupied a fortress here in the 900s were defeated by the Irish the next century. By the 1100s the Irish were defeated by the Normans. The next century the English set up shop here. And so on. Thanks to all these ransackings and a few disastrous fires, little remains from those early times. Most of the current castle dates to the 1700s. Today, the 44,000 square meter castle complex contains two museums, two cafes, two gardens, government buildings, a conference center and state apartments.