Dublin Highlights Guided Bike or E-Bike Tour

St Stephen's Green and the start of the ride

The tour starts at Whitefriar Place, a quiet street just off Aungier Street and about five minutes' walk from St Stephen's Green. The Green is Dublin's best-loved park: 22 acres of lawns, flower beds, a duck pond and Victorian bridges in the middle of the city, opened to the public in 1880. During the 1916 Easter Rising it was one of the positions held by the rebels, and your guide shares this dramatic chapter as you set off.

Before the ride you are fitted with your bike or e-bike, a helmet and a high-visibility vest, and the guide gives a short safety briefing. The group then rides at a comfortable pace with regular stops, so there is plenty of time for photos and questions. This Dublin bike tour is ideal for a first day in the city, because it shows you how all the main districts connect.

Georgian Dublin

In the eighteenth century Dublin was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Europe, and its aristocrats built elegant squares of red-brick townhouses that still define the south side of the city today. Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square are famous for their uniform terraces, tall sash windows and colourful front doors topped with delicate fanlights, which have become a symbol of the city.

Cycling is one of the best ways to explore Georgian Dublin, because the squares and wide streets are spread over a large area that would take hours to cover on foot. Your guide explains how the houses were built, who lived in them and how the area came to house museums, government buildings and the Irish Parliament. It is also a great area for photographs, especially in autumn when the trees in the squares turn golden.

The canals and the River Liffey

Dublin has two historic canals, the Grand Canal on the south side and the Royal Canal on the north, built in the late eighteenth century to link the city with the River Shannon and the Irish midlands. Today their tree-lined towpaths, old stone locks and calm water make some of the most peaceful cycling routes in the city, popular with locals walking and rowing.

The route also follows the River Liffey, which divides Dublin into its north and south sides. Riding along the quays you pass historic bridges, including the elegant cast-iron Ha'penny Bridge, and grand riverside buildings such as the Custom House and the Four Courts. Your guide explains how the river shaped the city from its Viking beginnings to the modern docklands, and where to come back later for the best views.

Medieval Dublin: castle and cathedrals

The oldest part of Dublin lies on the gentle hill south of the Liffey, where the Vikings founded their town over a thousand years ago and the Normans later built their walls and churches. The tour takes you past Dublin Castle, for centuries the centre of British rule in Ireland, and to the two medieval cathedrals of the city, Christ Church Cathedral, first founded in the eleventh century, and St Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191.

You see these landmarks from the outside on this bike tour, with stops for photos and stories, so you can decide which ones you want to visit inside later in your trip. Your guide also points out places of revolution and war from Dublin's turbulent history, as well as traditional music venues where you can hear Irish music in the evening. The ride ends back at Whitefriar Place.