Dublinia

If you want to know what Dublin smelled like in 1050, this is the place. Dublinia is a hands-on museum dedicated to Viking and medieval Dublin, housed in the former Synod Hall of the Church of Ireland — a neo-Gothic building connected to Christ Church Cathedral by an elegant covered bridge that is one of the most photographed spots in the city.

The museum sits at the epicentre of Viking Dublin. Just outside, at Wood Quay, archaeologists in the 1970s and 1980s uncovered the largest Viking settlement ever excavated — over a hundred house foundations along what is now Fishamble Street, plus defensive palisades, streets, paths, and evidence of land reclamation into the river. The anaerobic soil had preserved an astonishing array of objects: furniture, toys, jewelry, tools, coins, even wooden gaming pieces. It was the most significant Viking archaeological find in Europe, and Dubliners fought bitterly (and ultimately unsuccessfully) to prevent the city council from building offices on top of it.

Dublinia displays many of these artifacts on permanent loan from the National Museum and recreates Viking and medieval life through interactive exhibits — you can try on armour, see a reconstructed Viking house, and experience the sights and sounds of a medieval fair. One gallery is devoted to the archaeological process itself, showing how these treasures were painstakingly extracted from Dublin's soil.

The museum tower offers panoramic views over the city, and the bridge to Christ Church means you can combine both visits. It opened in 1993 and was redeveloped in 2010. For anyone interested in the city's pre-Georgian layers, it's essential.