St Stephen's Green

A lush oasis in the city centre
Word to the wise: Dubliners simply refer to it as 'the Green'.

Noteworthy for: The park features many monuments of Irish notables, including a bust of James Joyce, a statue of Wolfe Tone and a Yeats memorial garden, which includes a sculpture by Henry Moore.
An essential part of the Dublin 'experience' is a stroll through St Stephen’s Green, a 22-acre public park in the heart of the city. Located in an elegant Georgian square at the southern end of Grafton Street, it is something of a Victorian showpiece – immaculately manicured lawns, year-round colourful flowerbeds, a fantastic children’s playground and a lake full of very well-fed ducks and swans.

Up to the 1880s, access to the Green was restricted to local residents, until brewing magnate Arthur Guinness persuaded Parliament to grant access to the public. Now, the park is open every day and, come a sunny lunchtime, is full of office workers with their sandwiches.