When the sun comes out, in July and August, Dublin’s streets are alive with cafés and blooms. But if you don't mind a spot of rain, Dublin offers year round festivals and sporting events. Dublin is divided by the river Liffey separating Northsiders from Southsiders connected by the O'Connel Bridge. The area is often thought of as the spiritual heart of the city.

MUSICAL PUB CRAWL
You can join in a traditional Irish musical pub crawl. It takes place every night from April to October and is run by two professional musicians who perform tunes and songs while telling the story of Irish music. It's a great opportunity to visit famous pubs and bars where private spaces are pre-booked, in the Temple Bar area and all within walking distance from each other.

PHOENIX PAR K
This 1,760 acre park it is the largest enclosed public park in Europe. Its walled circumference is 16km. It is home to Dublin Zoo - dating back to 1830 and is the oldest in Europe, the President of Ireland's residence and the American Embassy. This is a haven of fabulous gardens and wilderness where wild Fallow deer have been roaming around since the seventeenth century. The name of the park means "clear water" and refers to a spring that once existed here. Inside is the 90ft (27m) stainless steel Papal Cross stands tall on the sport where Pope John Paul celebrated Mass in 1979. More than a third of Ireland's population attended the mass.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND
For an appreciation of Irish Celtic culture that has no connection to England, this is the place to come. Ireland's finest treasures are here that date back to the Celtic golden age before the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1170. The ground floor displays an impressive range of Ireland's prehistoric gold sometimes shaped as war trumpets and spare parts for chariots and jewellery. Upstairs is the Viking exhibition.

HAVE A DRINK AT THE HORSESHOE BAR AT THE SHELBOURN HOTEL
The Horsehoe bar at the Shelbourn and its appealing art nouveau decor is a cosy corner to have a drink in this most stylish five star hotel. It is so named because of bar's horseshoe shape it has long been one of Dublin's favoured drinking venues. Politicians drink here regularly and writers such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce (who mentioned it in Ulysses), George Moore and Elizabeth Bowen all enjoyed a tipple here. This is also where writer, Brendan Behan, was supposedly sick in several of the bar's plant pots that are still in use today. Also, it was in this refined environment that the Irish band The Chieftains was formed.

DUBLIN CASTLE
Built by Norman King John, this was the British seat of colonial power in Ireland for 700 years up to the early 20th Century. The Easter Uprising led to 50 defeated insurgents being executed with the castle's walls. In 1938 the first President of Ireland was sworn in and today it is used as a government office. Architecturally it looks more like an eccentric palace than a castle with hardly a turret in sight. There is a tour you can do that highlights the castle's history, showing the state apartments where Nelson Mandela, Maggie Thatcher and other personalities stayed. It takes in the various room with their gorgeous furniture an exquisite throne room, takes you underground to the moat and the oldest most ancient part of the castle. The tour puts 800 years of Irish history into context in just 30 minutes.
The castle is also home to The Chester Beatty Library which houses Europe's greatest collection of ancient oriental manuscripts.

GUINNESS STOREHOUSE
You can't leave Dublin without having visited this excellent attraction - even if you don't like Guinness. That's because this dark brooding world famous beer is very much part of Dublin's history - in fact 250 years of history thanks to Arthur Guinness who began brewing on this site back in 1759.
Placed at the centre of St James's Gate Brewery, a listed building, visitors can take in the brew's story by entering via a pint glass-shaped atrium and touring the seven floors. The tour ends at the Gravity Bar with a free pint and spectacular 360 degree views across the city.