Pat Liddy’s Walking Tours

Pat Liddy's Walking Tours has been guiding visitors and Dubliners around the city for more than twenty years. The company is named after its founder, Pat Liddy, a historian, artist, author and campaigner who has spent many years leading people around Dublin, and its guides draw on that depth of local knowledge. It is a good choice if you want to understand how Dublin grew rather than simply tick off the sights.

The flagship public tour is The Best of Dublin, Highlights and Hidden Corners, which combines famous landmarks with less obvious corners of the centre and runs in English, with French and German versions also offered. Another regular public tour, The Houses of Guinness, explores the influence of the brewing family on the city. Through the year the company adds seasonal and themed walks, such as a Dark Dublin tour on Dracula author Bram Stoker and other horrors, a Halloween walk on the festival's Irish origins, a Dublin Literary Tour in November and a tour of Ireland's Christmas traditions in December.

Private tours can be arranged for families, companies and school groups. Themes include Dublin's Viking and medieval origins, Georgian Dublin, the Docklands and the historic Liberties, where a private tour can include a visit to a distillery or the Guinness Storehouse. Private tours are available in German, French, Spanish and Irish, subject to guide availability. Gift vouchers are sold too.

Walking tours suit most visitors, from first-timers who want an overview on their first morning to returning travellers looking for a particular theme. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a waterproof, since Dublin weather changes quickly. Families with older children usually enjoy the storytelling, and the private options make it easy to tailor the pace for younger children or less mobile walkers.

Check the website for dates, start times, meeting points and prices, which vary by tour, and book online through the booking buttons for each walk. For questions, contact the office by phone on +353 1 832 9406 or by email at [email protected]; the office is staffed from Monday to Friday, 09:30 to 16:00. If you have a special interest, such as architecture, family history or a particular period, ask about a private tour built around it.