FOR anyone thinking of making the most of the new flights available from Teesside to Ireland, here are some highlights from the county's capital.

The Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI)

Housed in a former Georgian town house, overlooking St Stephen’s Green, MoLI opened last year to explore Ireland’s long and rich history of literature. The space retains its historic features but the exhibition is modern. The curators have made a real effort to bring less well known authors into the public eye, as well as encourage visitors to engage with the exhibition.

They even have a whole room dedicated to putting the work of James Joyce, who actually studied in the building when it was used by University College Dublin, into context and making his famously difficult novel Finnegan’s Wake more accessible.

Roe and Co Distillery

Another recent attraction to the city, Roe and Co is a very stylish whiskey distillery next door to the St. James’s Gate Guinness Brewery. The Roe and Co name actually dates back to the nineteenth century, but the distillery, which at one point was the largest in Europe and was Ireland’s biggest whiskey exporter, closed in 1926.

It opened last year and offers visitors the chance to tour the distillery, taste their signature whiskey and even make a cocktail. It finishes in their incredibly stylish bar, where visitors can drink even if they haven’t done the tour.

St. James’s Gate Guinness Brewery

From something new to Ireland’s most visited attraction. Guinness is probably Ireland’s best known export and the place where it’s made attracts people in their millions. It’s spread over seven floors, including the top floor Gravity Bar, with its panoramic views of the city. If you're going to have a pint of the black stuff, where could be a better place?

Dalkey

Just a quick train ride from the city centre, Dalkey is a pretty little seaside destination, full of cute cottages and lust-worthy homes with a view of the Irish Sea. It has a busy high street with plenty of little shops and restaurants. If the sun is shining (or not!) there’s a great gelato shop where you can get an ice cream before a wander along the seafront. If you fancy more of a hike, there’s a nice little climb to the top of Killiney Hill, with sweeping views of the Wicklow Mountains

St Stephen’s Green

St Stephen’s Green is one of the prettiest public parks I’ve ever been to. Full of little nooks and crannies, there are plenty of places to wander and get lost and some lovely little corners to sit down for a breather. In the warmer months, it’s a great place for a picnic or to sit down with a book.

Trinity College

Book lovers will not want to miss Ireland’s oldest university, most famous for its incredible 18th century library. As well as shelves, upon shelves of volumes, it is also home to the Book of Kells. Intricately decorated, its one of the world’s most famous medieval manuscripts and is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure. Star Wars fans might think they recognise the library’s Long Room from Attack of the Clones - and it certainly has a remarkable resemblance. Lucasfilm denied the Long Room was the basis for the Jedi archives and in the end, Trinity decided not to take legal action.

Have tea at Bewley’s

Bewley’s is to Dublin what Betty’s is to Yorkshire. You can drink Bewley’s tea all over the country but the premier spot is its café in Dublin’s bustling Grafton Street. It was Samuel Bewley who broke the East India Shipping Company’s monopoly on tea, when he decided to ship 2,099 chests of the stuff from China to Dublin in 1835.

Luckily, the Irish soon developed a taste for a wee cup of tea and he never looked back.

Temple Bar

One of the most famous parts of the city, the area is mostly popular with tourists. If you don't mind a pricey pint then pull up a bar stool and enjoy the traditional live music on offer in this picturesque part of Dublin.

Chester Beatty

Most people probably don't know that this free museum, next to Dublin Castle, has one of the largest collections of copies of the Koran, as well as earliest surviving Christian artefacts.

It has collections from all over the world, from Egyptian Books of the Dead to contemporary Chinese woodblock prints and is one of Dublin's most outward-looking museums.

The Dead Zoo

Other cities have natural history museums, but Dublin has its own Dead Zoo, stuffed full of Victorian exotica. More formally known as the National Museum of Ireland, it has more than 10,000 exhibits. One of my fondest memories of visiting the city as a child is exploring the collection, which includes everything from giant Irish deer skeletons to Spoticus the giraffe, and a 20 metre long whale skeleton.

Dublin Zoo

Dublin Zoo, in Phoenix Park, opened in 1831 and is one the city's oldest attractions. One of its claims to fame to the original MGN lion was born there in 1919. Cairbre, renamed Slats for the Hollywood film studio, is long gone, but there are more than 400 animals at the Phoenix Park venue, including lions.

Eat some Tayto crisps

Everyone knows Ireland for its potatoes and its crisps are (probably) the best in the world. Tayto invented the flavoured crisp production process back in the 1950s and has never looked back. If you really like them, you can even go to Tayto Park, a spud and adventure lover’s theme park in County Meath, a short drive from Dublin.

Fact box:

Fly: Eastern Airways from Teesside International Airport to Dublin - www.easternairways.com

Stay: Iveagh Gardens Hotel, 72/74 Harcourt St - www.iveaghgardenhotel.ie

Eat: Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street - www.fallonandbyrne.com