Trinity College & St. Patrick's Cathedral Shore Excursion from Dublin

This half day Dublin tour is best for first time visitors with limited time in port. You enjoy a driving tour of the city, then visits to both Trinity College and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Your private guide meets you at the pier and starts with a driving tour past the main sights, including the Doors of Dublin, the River Liffey, the Custom House, O'Connell Street, the GPO (General Post Office), the Four Courts, and Georgian Dublin, including Merrion Square, Fitzwilliam Square, St. Stephen's Green, and Leinster House (National Parliament Building).

Your first stop is Trinity College, which along with the Old Library building makes up Ireland's oldest university. The Old Library houses one of Ireland's most treasured books, the 9th century Book of Kells, a lavishly decorated copy of the four gospels in Latin, and one of the major tourist attractions in Dublin.

Before viewing the Book of Kells, you pass through an exhibition on the book and other important writings from Ireland's monasteries. You'll see the Long Room, completed in 1732, once the principal library of the university and now home to over 200,000 of Trinity's oldest volumes. Brian Boru's harp, said to be the oldest harp in Ireland, is on display along with a copy of the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic, one of the most important documents in Irish history.

Next you visit St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ireland's largest church and the National Cathedral of Ireland, built on the site where St. Patrick is said to have made his first Irish converts to Christianity in the 5th century. The cathedral was damaged when Oliver Cromwell's forces stabled horses inside it during the 17th century occupation of Dublin. Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness personally funded its restoration between 1860 and 1865.

St. Patrick's is Gothic in style, with funeral monuments throughout its interior. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, was dean of St. Patrick's and is buried here. The Chancel is flanked by ornate stained glass windows, and the choir stalls beside the altar were once used by the Knights of St. Patrick. The massive west towers house a large array of bells that have become part of the character of Dublin.

At the end of the tour you are brought back to the pier.

Mobility: Folding wheelchair OK, some sites may be inaccessible (advance notice required).

• Interior visits to Trinity College and St. Patrick's Cathedral involve stairs and standing; a folding wheelchair can be accommodated with advance notice, but some interior areas may not be accessible.