Grafton Street
Dublin's busking corridor runs gently downhill from one green to another, tracing the path of a river buried underground since the 1700s.
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Grafton Street has been the city's upmarket shopping spine since 1708, its alignment dictated by the culverted River Steyne flowing beneath it. Named after an illegitimate grandson of Charles II, it endured 19th-century dilapidation before becoming known for Bewley's coffee house, mid- to high-end retail, and street performers. It is assessed as one of the most expensive retail streets in the world to rent.
What to look for
- Bewley's, the coffee house that defined 20th-century Grafton Street culture
- Buskers — the street became a popular pitch for street performers during the 20th century
- The downhill slope from south to north: St Stephen's Green is the highest point, College Green the lowest, both ends marking the route of the hidden River Steyne
Runs directly between St Stephen's Green (south) and College Green (north), serving as a natural pedestrian spine through the city centre.
Grafton Street is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Dublin, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Dublin pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Dublin
- Aviva StadiumOne 51,711-seat bowl jointly owned by rugby and football — two governing bodies, one ground, no separate home for either.
- Dublin CastleThe river that gave Dublin its name still flows beneath your feet — and the building above it ran Ireland for 750 years.
- Croke ParkThe fourth-largest stadium in Europe holds 82,300 people — almost entirely for sports most of the world has never watched.
- National Library of IrelandIreland's paper memory — manuscripts, photographs, and newspapers free to open on the spot.
- St Patrick's CathedralIreland's national cathedral has never had a bishop — that role belongs to the rival church 400 metres up the road.
- Spire of DublinA 120-metre stainless-steel pin planted on the exact spot where an IRA bomb in 1966 — and a controlled demolition six days later — erased Nelson's Pillar.