Dublin began as a Viking harbour, spent seven centuries as the seat of English and then British rule, and became the capital of an independent Ireland in 1922. Two medieval cathedrals and a castle sit within a few minutes' walk of each other, and almost every street has a writer attached to it. Here are the facts and stories behind the city.
10 curiosidades sobre Dublín
- Un nombre de una charca negra: Dublín viene del irlandés Dubh Linn, charca negra, por una poza oscura donde el río Poddle se unía al Liffey. Los vikingos fundaron aquí un asentamiento en 841.
- A Viking king's cathedral: Christ Church Cathedral was founded around 1030 by the Norse king Sitric Silkbeard. Its crypt is one of the largest medieval crypts in Britain and Ireland.
- Un gato y una rata congelados en plena persecución: en la cripta de Christ Church se exponen los cuerpos momificados de un gato y una rata que, según se cuenta, aparecieron atascados en un tubo de órgano. James Joyce los menciona en Finnegans Wake.
- Gulliver's dean: St Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was its dean from 1713 until his death in 1745 and is buried inside, next to his companion Stella.
- Siete siglos de poder: el rey Juan sin Tierra ordenó construir un castillo en Dublín en 1204. El 16 de enero de 1922 el castillo de Dublín se entregó a Michael Collins y al Gobierno Provisional del nuevo Estado irlandés.
- Justice with her back to the people: the statue of Justice above the castle's main gate faces into the castle yard, turning her back on the city, and unusually she wears no blindfold.
- A very long lease: in 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on a small brewery at St James's Gate.
- A bridge named after its toll: the cast-iron Ha'penny Bridge opened in 1816. Its nickname comes from the halfpenny toll once charged to cross the Liffey.
- A spire where a pillar stood: the Spire on O'Connell Street, completed in 2003, is 120 metres tall. It stands on the site of Nelson's Pillar, which was blown up in 1966.
- Una ciudad de escritores: Dublín es Ciudad de la Literatura de la UNESCO desde 2010. Cada 16 de junio los aficionados celebran el Bloomsday, el día de 1904 en que Joyce situó su novela Ulises.
La Puerta de la Reconciliación
In 1492 two powerful Irish families, the Butlers of Ormond and the FitzGeralds of Kildare, were feuding over who would hold the office of Lord Deputy. After a skirmish outside the city walls, the Butlers fled into the chapter house of St Patrick's Cathedral and barred the door. Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, followed and called on them to come out and make peace, but they feared a trap. To prove his good faith, he had a hole cut in the door and pushed his arm through it, offering his hand. Instead they shook it, came out, and the families made peace. The battered old door now stands in the cathedral, and the story is the origin of the Irish expression to chance your arm.
El castillo de Dublín, explicado
For about 700 years Dublin Castle was the centre of English and later British government in Ireland. Little of the medieval fortress survives above ground apart from the Record Tower; most of what you see is Georgian. Irish presidents are inaugurated in its St Patrick's Hall. Behind it, the Dubh Linn Garden lies roughly where the original black pool was, and the Chester Beatty library and museum stands in the castle grounds.
Qué comer en Dublín
- Dublin coddle: a slow-cooked stew of sausages, bacon, potatoes and onions, the city's own comfort food.
- Irish stew: cordero o carnero con patatas, cebolla y zanahoria, que sirven muchos pubs junto a las catedrales.
- Guinness: the stout has been brewed at St James's Gate since 1759. The Gravity Bar at the top of the Guinness Storehouse has views across the city.
- Pan moreno de soda: un pan denso y algo ácido hecho con suero de mantequilla y bicarbonato en lugar de levadura.
- Seafood chowder: una sopa cremosa de pescado y marisco del mar de Irlanda, a menudo con pan moreno.
Antes de ir
- Para ver el Libro de Kells en el Trinity College, reserva con antelación una entrada con hora. La Old Library y su Long Room cerrarán por restauración a finales de 2027, según lo previsto.
- St Patrick's and Christ Church charge an entry fee for sightseeing. Services are free.
- Los patios del castillo de Dublín se pueden cruzar gratis; los State Apartments requieren entrada y pueden cerrar por actos oficiales.
- Para un día junto al mar, toma el tren DART hacia el norte hasta Howth, con su sendero de acantilados y su puerto pesquero, o hacia el sur hasta Dún Laoghaire y sus largos espigones.
Descubre Dublín con World City Trail
Our Dublin scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 59 minutes of walking. Along the way you visit St Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and Dublin Castle.
En cada parada resuelves un acertijo y escuchas una historia breve, a tu ritmo. Puedes empezar cuando quieras.
Juega a la búsqueda del tesoro de Dublín →
Datos comprobados en octubre de 2026.