The Guinness Storehouse is Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction with over 1.6million visitors in 2016. With Dublin full of wonderful things to do, I want to help you decide if it is worth your while.

My first impressions of Guinness storehouse was that it was an overly commercial venture with little cultural and educational value. Indeed, I have not changed my mind on that score but my view has been tempered somewhat by both my own experience visiting it and by chatting with others who have been there.

Now my view is that it is an incredible place. It is an ode to our modern culture of branding and commerce. It is living proof of the expression “nothing succeeds like success”. Commercial branding is, of course, a hall of mirrors and the Guinness storehouse is effectively that. It is a mirror to our society and culture. The brand is legendary because it is successful, successful because it is legendary. And the Guinness storehouse is opulent and translucent in its depiction of all this. Come and look at the legendary advertisements it tells us. Admire our marketing genius and sink a pint of the legendary black stuff after, it intones with a knowing wink and mischievous smile. Guinness is the magician who can’t resist telling you how it’s done and knows that you will love him for it anyway. Guinness knows that even though you have seen the magicians trick you will still be seduced by the magic.

For all this chuzpuh, marketing brilliance and pychological double bluff Guinness deserves a visit. It does make a perfect foil for a morning spent exploring a museum or art gallery. The exhibits on advertising are excellent but the sections on brewing are pretty ordinary and standard for this kind of thing. There is also the opertunity to learn how to “pull a pint” which celebrates the art of creating “the perfect pint” from the tap and there is also the Gravity  bar on the top floor which has wonderful views across the city. It also has an excited and  almost skittish atmosphere that is as intoxicating as the brew itself. It is, of course, a bar full of hard working people on their holidays.

And really why not come here? It’s where everyone goes, isn’t it ?

Getting there:

Bus no. 13, , 40 from college green (outside Trinity), 123 from O Connell street or college green.

For a real luxury tourist experience you can share a jarvey (horse and cart) ride back to the city center after !

Cost.:

20Euro if you turn up (13.50Euro) for children. Over 18’s get a free pint.

Online discounts available in advance from as low as 14 Euro @ https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/tickets.

Alan is a Travel Director with Trafalgar Tours based in Ireland.