Grand Canal Square

Dublin


This modern square was designed by American landscape artist Martha Schwartz and opened in 2008. Its most distinctive feature is the red 'carpet' made of bright red resin-glass paving covered with red glowing angled light sticks.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dublin attractions

1. Samuel Beckett Bridge

0.22 MILES

Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's second Dublin bridge (his first is the James Joyce Bridge; 2003) is this wishbone-design structure (2007) in the…

2. Convention Centre

0.29 MILES

The angled, tube-like Convention Centre was designed by Kevin Roche in 2011. It looks its best at night, when it is lit up.

3. Jeanie Johnston

0.36 MILES

One of the city's most original tourist attractions is an exact working replica of a 19th-century 'coffin ship', as the sailing boats that transported…

4. Luke Kelly Bust

0.46 MILES

An eye-catching 2m marble bust of folk singer Luke Kelly by award-winning German artist Vera Klute stands on the street where Kelly was born in 1940…

5. Irish Family History Centre

0.46 MILES

Discover your family history with interactive screens where you can track your surname and centuries of Irish emigration. The ticket price includes a 15…

6. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

0.47 MILES

This is a high-tech, interactive exploration of emigration and its effect on Ireland and the 70 million or so people spread throughout the world who claim…

7. Art Market

0.47 MILES

If you fancy picking up a piece of local art directly from the artist, the Sunday art market, where the work of 100 odd artists is hung on the railings of…

8. Merrion Square

0.48 MILES

Merrion Sq is the most prestigious and, arguably, the most elegant of Dublin's Georgian squares. Its well-kept lawns and tended flower beds are flanked on…