Temple Bar

Temple Bar is a neighbourhood rather than a building: about a dozen cobbled streets on the south bank of the River Liffey, bounded by the river to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west, inside the Dublin 2 postal district. Nothing is ticketed at the edge, because there is no edge to ticket. A visitor simply walks in off Dame Street or across the river and is in it. Monday–Wednesday 10:30–01:30; Thursday–Saturday 10:30–02:30; Sunday 12:30–02:30. Closing times are on the following calendar day. The operator lists hours for every day and no weekly closure day.

The quarter holds more institutions than its reputation suggests. The Irish Film Institute is one of only two arthouse cinemas in Dublin and houses the Irish Film Archive, from which free lunchtime screenings are drawn. Photo Museum Ireland shows rotating photography over two floors on a quiet square, with the National Photographic Archive, holding the National Library of Ireland's photographic collection, directly across from it. Vintage shops, Cow's Lane at the Christ Church end and the Gutter Bookshop fill the gaps between. Closing times are on the following calendar day. The operator lists hours for every day and no weekly closure day.

Allow two and a half hours. Visit Dublin publishes suggested visit durations for individual venues inside Temple Bar — Temple Bar Gallery + Studios is given as one to two hours — but publishes none for the quarter itself, so two and a half hours is this guide's judgement rather than a figure read off an official page. It is built from the shape of the place. General entry and the daily live-music programme are free; the operator states that there is no cover charge and no ticket is required. Food, drinks and separately bookable experiences cost extra.

Saturday is the fullest day. Meeting House Square is taken over every Saturday by the Temple Bar Food Market, which Visit Dublin describes as one of Dublin's oldest and longest-running outdoor food markets, established in 1997 by a group of Irish farmers and producers and still trading with many of its original stallholders. Monday–Wednesday 10:30–01:30; Thursday–Saturday 10:30–02:30; Sunday 12:30–02:30. The pub is at 47–48 Temple Bar. Luas identifies Jervis on the Red Line as the arrival stop for Temple Bar, approximately 450 metres or a six-minute walk away. A Dublin City Council planning record states that a ground-floor accessible WC was implemented.

There is no admission charge for Temple Bar, because there is nothing to charge admission to: the quarter is a network of public streets and two public squares, and every route through it is open to anyone on foot. Several of the things worth stopping for are themselves free. General entry and the daily live-music programme are free; the operator states that there is no cover charge and no ticket is required. Food, drinks and separately bookable experiences cost extra. A Dublin City Council planning record states that a ground-floor accessible WC was implemented.

Temple Bar is reached on foot, and effectively only on foot. The quarter sits immediately south of the Liffey in the centre of Dublin, and its own streets are cobbled with narrow footpaths, low traffic volumes and low speeds — conditions that make walking pleasant and driving pointless. The pub is at 47–48 Temple Bar. Luas identifies Jervis on the Red Line as the arrival stop for Temple Bar, approximately 450 metres or a six-minute walk away. The public-body documentation does not establish step-free access to every customer area. Temple Bar's historic streets include uneven surfaces that can impede wheelchair users.

The surface is the first thing to plan for. The steps can usually be bypassed and traffic is light and slow, which helps, but wheelchair access across the district is recorded as limited rather than full, and cobbles in rain are genuinely slippery. Flat shoes with grip, not heels, and not smooth soles. A Dublin City Council planning record states that a ground-floor accessible WC was implemented. Temple Bar's historic streets include uneven surfaces that can impede wheelchair users. No. The pub operates a no-reservations policy without exceptions. Live traditional Irish music runs daily from opening until closing.

The pictures here are made in lanes, which means the light is narrow and directional and the subject is usually a wall. Love Lane in Crampton Court is the most photographed spot after the pub frontages: a deconstructed heart mosaic with quotes and song lyrics, in an alley that is shaded almost all day, so it wants a still hand or a raised sensitivity rather than a flash, which flattens the mosaic completely. Two practical points. No. The pub operates a no-reservations policy without exceptions. Live traditional Irish music runs daily from opening until closing.