Georgian Dublin: Merrion Square to the Grand Canal: a walk in Dublin

The Georgian south side: Merrion Square and the National Gallery, the Georgian house museum at 29 Fitzwilliam Street, the small private Fitzwilliam Square, the Pepper Canister church and Huband Bridge on the Grand Canal, ending at the Patrick Kavanagh statue on the towpath.

Best time: Afternoon light on the brick terraces; Merrion Square Park is a public park, while the centre of Fitzwilliam Square is private to keyholders.

The route, stop by stop

1
National Gallery of Ireland
On Merrion Square West; start here or come back later. 15 min
The national collection of Irish and European art, founded in 1854 and opened ten years later, strong on Irish painting, Italian Baroque and Dutch masters. Free, with entrances…
2
Merrion Square
Georgian garden square; walk through the public park in the middle. 25 min
One of Dublin's largest and grandest Georgian squares, with Georgian houses on three sides and Leinster House and two national museums on the fourth. Plaques mark the homes of…
3
Number Twenty Nine
Georgian House Museum at 29 Fitzwilliam Street Lower (OSM); opening not verified 2026. 10 min
4
Fitzwilliam Square
Last and smallest of Dublin's five Georgian squares; the park is for keyholders only, so walk the railings. 10 min
The last and smallest of Dublin's five Georgian squares, ringed by brick houses with 18th-century doors, fanlights and knockers that have featured in the city's tourism campaigns.
5
St Stephen's Church (Pepper Canister)
Church of Ireland church begun in 1821 on Mount Street Crescent, nicknamed for the shape of its spire. 10 min
6
Huband Bridge
Stone bridge over the Grand Canal beside the Pepper Canister. 5 min
7
Patrick Kavanagh statue and seat, Grand Canal
Seated statue of the poet of 'On Raglan Road' on the canal bank at Wilton Terrace; end of the walk. 10 min
A bronze of the poet sitting on a bench by the Grand Canal, after his poem 'Lines written on a Seat on the Grand Canal'; nearby on Mespil Road is the seat his friends put up in…

Walking directions

Georgian Dublin: Merrion Square to the Grand Canal

The route, stop by stop

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