Picnicking in the park
After the bustle of Grafton Street shops and several busy museums, St. Stephen’s Green is the perfect place to take a break. Pick up provisions for a picnic in nearby supermarkets and sandwich shops and retreat to the heart of this green oasis. You’ll find Dubliners do the same thing, from local office workers and shoppers to Trinity College students. Lunch by the lake, lounge on the lawns, and explore the network of paths dotted with busts and statues of Irish heroes such as James Joyce, Robert Emmett, and Constance Markievicz; monuments to the Great Famine; and a sculpture by Henry Moore.

Feeling the sea air on your face
Howth is a seaside village that feels worlds apart from downtown Dublin, so it’s hard to believe it’s just a short 25-minute hop on the DART from Connolly Station. Take something to keep you warm if you fancy walking along the coastal path around Howth Head as there can be a bracing wind gusting off the Irish Sea. But there’s something soothing about returning to Howth’s marina-side restaurants for fresh, hot seafood chowder served up in a soda bread bowl.

Enjoying the black stuff in an Irish pub
Even non beer drinkers get curious when it comes to Guinness. People say it tastes better in Ireland, and there are endless discussions about which pub serves up the best pint. Whether you opt for traditional Dublin watering holes like The Stag’s Head or Guinness Storehouse’s own Gravity Bar, don’t rush it. Relax and wait for your pint to settle, then enjoy its creamy, almost metallic flavor as you soak up the atmosphere, take in the view, and enjoy the craic.

Listening to the Christchurch Cathedral choir
You don’t have to be a music connoisseur to appreciate the atmosphere that Choral Evensong brings to Christchurch Cathedral each Thursday and Sunday. Feel the hair on your arms stand on end as the pitch-perfect, pure tones of the adult choir echo off the fan-vaulted ceiling of one Dublin’s oldest buildings.

Whiling away a Sunday morning in Phoenix Park
As most attractions open at lunchtime on Sundays, what better place to go than the park? One of the largest city parks in Europe (it used to be a royal deer park), Phoenix Park is popular for jogging, cycling, or even for gentle drives. In fact, you could spend the day visiting Dublin Zoo, hire a bicycle or take a two-wheeled Segway Tour, and then finish at the Visitor Centre tea rooms for refreshment.

Entering into the hurly burly of the Gaelic games
Hurling and Gaelic football are little known outside Ireland, but these games are a national pastime. Fast, fierce, and played entirely by amateur teams, Gaelic games give you access to the heart of Irish identity, and Croke Park takes pride of place. The GAA Museum and Stadium Tour are a good introduction, but there’s nothing like going to a Sunday afternoon match, hearing the Soldier’s Song sung in Gaelic as everyone faces the tricolor, and then joining the crowd as they roar their team on.