2 Best Sights in The Liberties and Around, Dublin

Ever wanted a chance to put your head in the stocks? Dublin's Medieval Trust has set up an entertaining and informative reconstruction of everyday life in medieval Dublin. The main exhibits use high-tech audiovisual and computer displays; you can also see a scale model of what Dublin was like around 1500, a medieval maze, a life-size reconstruction based on the 13th-century dockside at Wood Quay, and a fine view from the tower. Dublinia is in the old Synod Hall (formerly a meeting place for bishops of the Church of Ireland), joined via a covered stonework Victorian bridge to Christ Church Cathedral. An exhibition on "Viking Dublin" consists of a similar reconstruction of life in even earlier Viking Dublin, including a Viking burial. There's a guided tour at 2:30 pm every day.

Housed in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the Irish Museum of Modern Art concentrates on the work of contemporary Irish artists along with regular international exhibitions. Artists such as Richard Deacon, Richard Gorman, Dorothy Cross, Sean Scully, Matt Mullican, Louis le Brocquy, and James Coleman are included in the collection. The museum also displays works by some non-Irish 20th-century greats, including Picasso and Miró, plus recent hotshots like Damien Hirst, and regularly hosts touring shows from major European museums. The café serves light fare including soups and sandwiches, and has a cool kids' play area. It's a short ride by taxi or bus from the city center and there is a LUAS stop nearby.