One Of The Best Ranking Tourist Attractions In All Of Europe Is An Iconic Brewery

Drinks can be as integral to a country's culture as the food you eat along with them — think beer in Czechia or mango lassi in India, among others. Ireland is no different, and the Emerald Isle is synonymous with one famous tipple in particular. We're talking, of course, about Guinness. While Irish pub culture is beloved by locals and tourists alike, there is a special national pride when it comes to Guinness.

Ireland's capital city of Dublin is home to the Guinness Storehouse. This brewery takes its visitors through the process of making Guinness, from sourcing its ingredients to the all-important pouring technique. You can even take a photo of yourself and get it printed onto the foam top of a freshly poured pint, if you've ever wanted to drink yourself (sort of). Aside from learning about what goes into this iconic drink and tasting some samples, a visit to the centuries-old, seven-story Guinness Storehouse also provides the opportunity to pair a Guinness with classic Irish cuisine at its onsite restaurants. To top it all off, sip a pint at the storehouse's rooftop bar to enjoy a Guinness with a view.

Ireland understandably takes pride in the craft of making Guinness, and it has the awards to back that up. At the 2023 World Travel Awards, the Guinness Storehouse won the title of World's Leading Tourist Attraction and the World's Leading Beer Tour Visitor Experience. However, this was not the storehouse's first time being recognized for these awards, as it won the World's Leading Beer Tour Visitor Experience in 2022 and Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction in 2015. As far as breweries go, they don't come much better.

Over 1 million people visit the Guinness Storehouse each year, and the reviews back up the acclaim showered on the famous brewery. While sometimes you should think twice before trusting travel review sites, the overwhelmingly positive feedback on Tripadvisor suggests that the Guinness Storehouse is an experience you can't skip on your trip to Ireland. Reviewers specifically lauded the affordability, given all that a visit entails, not to mention the spectacular views from the top-floor bar. Even plenty of celebrities have made it a point to stop by, from Irish-born singer-songwriter Niall Horan to American actor and frequent Ireland visitor Paul Rudd. Other celebrity visitors include Conan O'Brien, Kylie Minogue, and Rita Ora.

If you are not a big fan of a traditional Guinness, check out what the ever-evolving Guinness Storehouse is getting up to at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery, just five minutes north of the storehouse. Here, you can try some of Guinness's experimental beers at the taproom's lively outdoor space that brims with traditional Irish charm. You might even get to taste some beers only made available at this taproom, a real once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The Guinness Storehouse is also located near some of the capital's quintessential and historic Irish pubs, so follow the River Liffey east from the storehouse to keep the Guinness and good times flowing. You'll find pubs like The Brazen Head (Dublin's oldest pub with a welcoming atmosphere that tourists love) and many, many more. The Brazen Head is less than a mile from the Guinness Storehouse, so you don't need to travel far for a fresh pint. Less than a mile further east is The Palace Bar, a beloved mainstay of Dublin's pub scene since opening its doors in 1823. Back when horses delivered Guinness to pubs, deliverymen would tie the horses to The Palace Bar's lamppost, and the interior of this bar remains the same as it ever was. The historic feeling in the Palace Bar (as well as the famous lamppost) attracts lovers of both Guinness and history, pilgrims searching for heritage and one of the best pints of the black stuff on the planet.