The Docklands: Grand Canal Dock and the Silicon Docks
The Samuel Beckett Bridge, a red-paved square by the water, and the quays U2 made famous. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. The Samuel Beckett Bridge
Start at Santiago Calatrava's harp-shaped bridge across the Liffey — cables fanned from a single curved spar, meant to read as an instrument turned on its side. Walk out to the middle for the view down the river toward the bay. It swings open for boats, occasionally, if you're lucky.

2. The Convention Centre and the north quays
The glass drum of the Convention Centre tilts out over the quay beside the bridge. Cross to the south side and walk upriver past the regenerated office blocks — the 'Silicon Docks', where the European headquarters of half the internet ended up. The architecture is corporate, but the scale of the change is the story.

3. Grand Canal Square
The red-paved square by Daniel Libeskind, planted with angled light-stick poles glowing red and a 'green carpet' of planting toward the water. The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre fronts it. Stand in the middle at dusk when the red sticks come on; it's pure theatre, which is the point.

4. Grand Canal Dock basin
The wide water basin where the Grand Canal meets the Liffey, once the cargo terminus, now ringed with cafés and full of kayaks and paddleboarders in summer. Walk the basin edge; this is the heart of the whole redevelopment and the best place to feel the water in it.

5. Windmill Lane
Inland a short way, Windmill Lane — the street where U2 recorded their early albums at the old studio, and where the graffiti wall became a fan pilgrimage for decades. The original wall is gone and the studio has moved, but the name still carries the weight.

6. Hanover Quay and the DART
Loop back to the dock and along Hanover Quay, past the spot where U2 had a later studio on the water. Grand Canal Dock DART station is right here. End with a drink on the basin if the evening's warm; the whole square fills up after work.

The Docklands: Grand Canal Dock and the Silicon Docks