Once the second capital of the British Empire, Dublin is a city of monumental architecture with a history both glorious and tragic. But it's also a city brimming with humanity: home to a friendly, gregarious people, who love to hear and tell stories. The combination has arguably produced more great writers per capita than any other place on earth. And yet, as any Dubliner can tell you, the great writers didn't know the half of it. This unique guide leads you behind the granite facades and postcard-perfect pictures to explore the heart and soul of the city through all its eccentricities and foibles. Encounter a whiskey-soaked windmill guarded by St. Patrick or visit a shrine for lovers with the relics of St. Valentine; pay your respects to the grave of a much-decorated four-legged war hero or stop in for a pint at a haunted pub called the Gravediggers; discover a House of the Dead on an island you can reach on foot or explore a literary micro-museum where everybody buys soap. 111 Places in Dublin takes you on an intimate, insider's tour of the Hibernian metropolis, at the end of which, you'll be an insider too.
I had started binging books from this series and was a little disappointed with some of the other titles from the U.K., but this one delivered. It was full of odd places, interesting historical stories, and wonderful photography.
Unlike many guidebooks that try to give you everything, this guidebook focused on 111 different things in and around Dublin. Interestingly if you track where everything is (especially in relation to a single starting point) then you get a good spatial feel for where things are. I found this process a great intro to the town. Make sure that you read the end note after the address on the picture page of each item. For trivia buffs it is a must.