Guinness Storehouse

Guinness Storehouse review 5 Users say 4/5 Rate it

It may no longer be part of the active brewery but this 'visitor experience', housed in a six-storey listed building dating from 1904, has become the popular public face of what is undoubtedly Ireland's most recognisable brand. The building is designed around a pint glass-shaped atrium and incorporates a retail store, exhibition space, function rooms, a restaurant and two bars. Much of the vast floor space is taken up with presentations on the history and making of the humble pint, which, although self-congratulatory in tone, are magnificently realised.

Most entertaining, perhaps, is the advertising section - a testament to the company's famously imaginative marketing. The Storehouse tour includes a complimentary pint of the best Guinness you are likely to get, and there's nowhere better to drink it than in the Gravity Bar, at the very top of the building. This circular bar has a 360-degree window and offers the kind of spectacular view over Dublin that makes the rather steep entrance fee worthwhile. Despite the crowds, this really is a great place in which to linger.