Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is the older of Dublin's two medieval cathedrals and stands in the oldest part of the city. It was founded some time after 1028 under Sitric Silkenbeard, the Hiberno-Norse king of Dublin, as a wooden church. In the 1180s Strongbow and other Norman lords helped pay for a rebuild in stone, and the crypt survives from that era.

The crypt is the highlight for many visitors. Built in 1172 and 1173 and more than 60 metres long, it is the largest cathedral crypt in Britain or Ireland, and it was renovated in the early 2000s to display the cathedral's treasures and curiosities. Among them is the famous pair known as the Cat and the Rat, found trapped in an organ pipe and now displayed with an explanatory note. Upstairs, the nave holds the reputed tomb of Strongbow, a replacement for the original destroyed when the nave roof collapsed in 1562. The cathedral also keeps a relic of the heart of St Laurence O'Toole, which was stolen in 2012 and recovered six years later.

Much of what you see above ground dates from the 1870s, when the architect George Edmund Street carried out a sweeping restoration funded by the whiskey distiller Henry Roe. Street also built the covered bridge across Winetavern Street to the former Synod Hall, now home to Dublinia, an exhibition on Viking and medieval Dublin that pairs naturally with a visit here.

Self-guided tours run daily, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. Reduced rate tickets are only available online, and disabled visitors and their carers go free. On Sundays visiting is split into two afternoon sessions around worship, so weekdays are easier. Allow an hour, or longer if you add Dublinia. Check the cathedral's access guide if you need step-free routes, as the crypt is below ground.

Christ Church sits on Christchurch Place. Temple Bar is a few minutes away, St Patrick's Cathedral is about ten minutes' walk south, and the Liberties and the Guinness Storehouse lie to the west.

Buying tickets online also saves time at the door, and it is the only way to get the reduced rate for seniors and students.