Location and Accessibility

Located on the northern banks of Dublin, just a short walk from O’Connell Bridge, the GPO Museum is easily accessible from various city landmarks, including Trinity College, Temple Bar, and the Molly Malone Statue. This prime location makes it a convenient stop on your Dublin journey.

Operating Hours and Admission

The GPO Museum welcomes visitors from Wednesday to Saturday, operating between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm, with the last admission at 4:00 pm. During July, August, and September, the GPO 1916 tour runs on Tuesdays at standard times. Keep an eye on the official website for the most up-to-date opening hours.

Ticket prices for the GPO Museum vary, with options for adults, children, and seniors. Additionally, there’s a family ticket available for those looking to make it a memorable outing for everyone.

A Brief History of the GPO

The GPO’s history is deeply intertwined with Dublin’s own. Its construction began in 1814 and was completed in 1818, boasting an impressive neo-classical design with Ionic columns and statues inspired by both Greek mythology and Irish culture. Inside, a sculpture by Oliver Sheppard depicting the death of Cú Chulainn, a legendary Irish hero, adds to its artistic significance.

The GPO gained its prominent place in modern history during the 1916 Easter Rising. It served as the headquarters for Irish leaders, and it was here that Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Though the building’s interior was destroyed during the rebellion, the granite façade remained. In 1929, the interior was rebuilt, and a copy of the proclamation is displayed within the museum.

Today, the GPO Museum stands as a powerful symbol of Irish nationalism and independence, continuing to inspire visitors from around the world.

The GPO 1916 Museum Experience

A visit to the GPO 1916 Museum promises an immersive and educational journey through time. The upper floor of the General Post Office serves as the starting point, where you’ll be surrounded by natural light streaming through beautiful windows. As you descend to the lower levels, the atmosphere transforms, transporting you to the heart of the 1916 Easter Rising.

Interactive displays and realistic sound effects create an engaging experience for visitors of all ages. You can explore the museum at your own pace, reading informative plaques, watching videos, and gaining a deep understanding of the events that shaped Ireland’s history.

Nearby Attractions

The GPO Museum’s central location places it near several other notable Dublin attractions:

1. The Spire (1-minute walk): This stainless steel monument, known as the Monument of Light, stands 120 meters tall and glistens in the Dublin skyline. Its elegant design captures the changing light throughout the day.
2. The O’Connell Monument (3-minute walk): Featuring the imposing figure of Daniel O’Connell, this statue acknowledges his pivotal role in Irish history as an abolitionist and advocate for tenant farmers.
3. The Ha’penny Bridge (5-minute walk): Also known as the ‘Liffey Bridge,’ this pedestrian bridge made of cast iron has been an iconic Dublin landmark since its construction in 1816.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long is the GPO tour? A: Plan for at least 45 minutes to fully explore the GPO 1916 Museum. It’s a self-guided tour, so you can take your time and soak in the history.

Q: Is the museum in the GPO in Dublin worth visiting? A: Absolutely! The GPO 1916 exhibition offers an immersive experience that vividly tells the story of this historic period through interactive displays.

Q: How much is it to visit the GPO visitor centre? A: Ticket prices for the GPO Museum vary, with options for adults, children, seniors, and families. Be sure to check the latest pricing on the official website.

Conclusion

The GPO Museum in Dublin is more than just a historical site; it’s a gateway to Ireland’s past and a tribute to the resilience of its people. With its prime location, engaging exhibits, and nearby attractions, a visit to the GPO Museum promises an enriching experience that will leave you with a deeper appreciation for Irish history and culture. Don’t miss the opportunity to embark on this fascinating journey through time.

The post Exploring the GPO Museum in Dublin appeared first on TwoW-GT.

Try Unique and Fun Activities For Adults That Will Show You a Different Side Of the City 

In any city, it might be difficult to find entertaining things to do for adults if you are unfamiliar with the area, especially if you wish to engage in activities that are not frequently advertised or that don’t appear on recommendation cities about the city. Fortunately, many web articles that offer details about various experiences and attractions are valuable resources for tourists and travelers. For instance, if you were looking for thrilling activities in New York City, you would find that these fun activities in New York for adults offer the perfect blend of excitement and culture that will make you fall in love with the city when visiting. The article discusses a variety of NYC excursions and attractions, including going to the Modern Museum of Art and flying over the city’s skyline in a helicopter. Similarly, the following six activities in Savannah are sure to delight you. 

Enjoy a Nightcap At One Of Savannah’s Many Rooftop Bars

Visiting one of Savannah’s many rooftop bars affords you the opportunity to take in the city’s breathtaking views while sipping on a sundown cocktail. Peregrin, which is located on the top floor of the Perry Lane Hotel, is one of Savannah’s most popular rooftop bars, with its exotic, unique drinks and its signature dishes like the crispy fried chicken wings, sweet and spicy sake glaze that diners rave about on social media and review sites. Other rooftop bars like Rocks on the Roof feature live entertainment and a communal firepit to enjoy on chilly nights—making it the perfect place to visit all year round. 

Visit a Brewery To Enjoy the Unique Savannah Taste

Savannah has a number of fantastic breweries that offer brewing tours and tastings to its patrons. Booking is essential, especially during the busy seasons like the third weekend of September when Jekyll Island hosts a grand Shrimp and Cereal Festival. Festival times and the summertime are some of the best times to visit Savannah because the warmer weather encourages more outdoor activities and tons of entertainment for adults to enjoy. 

The Paris Market Is a Hidden Gem In Savannah 

For a truly unique shopping experience, visit the Paris Market in Savannah. You’ll find all kinds of products and wares from French-inspired gifts and home decor to vintage clothing and jewelry. The store is located in the heart of Savannah’s downtown district and its charming interior houses a carefully curated collection of trinkets and souvenirs from all over Europe. 

The store’s charm is its unique decor as well as the treasures that are for sale. There are two floors each with a unique theme—the ground floor is a sunlit café where delicious pastries, coffee, and sandwiches are served daily, and the lower level is dark and mysterious which adds to the store’s mystery and intrigue. 

Old Town Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour

The Old Town Hop-On Hop-Off Tour allows you to see all the major attractions in the city like Forsyth Park, the Bonaventure Cemetery, and the Riverfront conveniently and at your leisure. You can get on and off the trolley at any time and stay at each location for as long as you like because another trolley will pick you up again along its route. This means you don’t have to pay any expensive taxi fares or worry about being stranded somewhere. 

Visit the Ghosts and Graveyards Tour with Low House Entry

If you find supernatural and eerie things interesting then taking the Ghosts and Graveyards Tour is the ideal excursion for you. Your guide takes you to some of Savannah’s most popular spooky sites like Andrew Low House and the Bonaventure Cemetery, and will also give you a thorough historical background on the city’s dark history and eerie local occurrences. Be sure to take a fully charged camera with you to capture all the gothic attractions. 

Take a Riverboat Cruise Down the Savannah River

The Savannah River is a 316-mile-long tidal river that flows through the city. There are several boat cruises you can take including sightseeing cruises, dinner cruises, and brunch cruises which take you past many major tourist attractions like the Talmadge Memorial Bridge. The dinner cruises are the longest—lasting about 2 hours and 30 minutes and include live entertainment and delicious dishes that capture the culture and heritage of Savannah. Reservations are essential because of the popularity of these cruises. 

Take a Cooking Class and Learn To Cook Like the Locals

Savanah has an eclectic culture and cuisine, which is why visitors to the city enjoy so many of the local diners and dives. Taking a local cooking class will teach the techniques and flavor combinations you can use to make delicious dishes like shrimp and grits, pralines, and crystal crab stew when entertaining friends and family at home. You’ll also meet new people who share your love for cooking and eating. At the end of the cooking lesson, you’ll be able to sit down and enjoy the meal you cook while also savoring other dishes that have been prepared. 

Conclusion 

Visiting Savannah will open up a whole new world of experiences like no other. Whether you enjoy touring old gravesites and haunted mansions, sailing down the river sipping cocktails, riding the trolley while touring the city, having a nightcap under the stars at a rooftop bar, beer tasting at breweries, shopping for curios at The Paris Market, or learning to cook local cuisine—Savannah is a city with unique culture and history that you’ll want to visit time and again.

The post Savannah’s Secret Charms: Hidden Adult-Friendly Activities in Georgia appeared first on TwoW-GT.

Fort McAllister was built in 1861-1862 in response to Union operations to capture the Confederate port city of Savannah. Although initially of little interest to Union military planners (they did not even know it existed until June 1862), McAllister soon gained attention after the fall of nearby Fort Pulaski in April of that year. This was due to the fact that even after the fall of Pulaski, Savannah still had an impressive system of fortifications that protected it from attack from the sea, so the plan to take it from the “soft” side of the land seemed more acceptable. The Ogechi River to the south was a convenient avenue for this land attack on the city. If the troops could be moved up the river far enough, they could be landed for a direct attack on Savannah from the west. To make it happen,

Soon after they discovered this, the Union Navy took its first aggressive steps against McAllister. The first attack took place on July 1, 1862, when the Union gunboat Potomac opened fire on its earthen fortifications in a rather feeble attempt to test the strength of the forts. The gunboat was vastly outgunned and quickly driven back. Later that month, another attack occurred when three Union ships, pursuing a Confederate raider called the Nashville, came within range of McAllister’s guns. The exchange was heated, but again, the small naval force could not withstand the guns of the forts for long. In November 1862, the fort was again attacked in two short bursts, but they were also somewhat half-hearted. In 1863, Union efforts to reduce Fort McAllister became somewhat more serious. On January 27, February 1, and February 28, Union gunboats led by the armored Montauk arrived to smash McAllister’s earthen walls. Don’t think that the fort’s defenders didn’t just sit back during these attacks. One battle with Montauk, which lasted over five hours, saw the fort’s artillerymen fire 15 direct hits on the battleship, although little damage was done. These battles culminated in the Union Navy’s most aggressive attack against Macalester on March 3, 1863. On that day, Montauk approached the fort again, but this time it was accompanied by three more battleships “Passaic, Nahant, and Patapsco. For eight hours, the Union ships hurled their 15-inch shells into the walls of McAllister, tearing seven-foot craters in the earthen walls with each impact. The Union ships even landed infantry on the far side of the river to fire on the brave Confederate riflemen who returned fire. Although this attack did incredible damage to the fortresses’ defenses, it ultimately proved as futile as those that preceded it. It was clear that Macalister could not be reduced by sea, and the Union ships retreated. Furthermore, the damage caused by the ships was short-lived, with soldiers and slaves repairing the walls overnight.

The next year or so was a period of relative calm in McAllister. Union efforts throughout the rest of 1863 and much of 1864 were focused on other parts of the Deep South, with troops and guns being withdrawn from the fort to be sent to other more active theaters of war. This meant that when General William Tecumseh Sherman and his 62,000-strong army arrived at Savannah’s gates in December 1864, the fort’s defenses were seriously weakened.

After the war, McAllister was quickly abandoned (it was never intended to be permanently fortified), but unlike many other coastal earthworks of the period, it managed to avoid destruction either by nature or man over the following years. The fort is now preserved within the 1,725-acre historic state park that bears its name. Touted as “the best-preserved Confederate earthwork in the country,” McAllister was one of the most amazing Civil War forts I’ve recently visited. It is remarkably well-preserved, with its massive adobe walls and bombproof stores still towering over the river it was originally built to protect. If you are in the Savannah area (and, like me, a bit of a Civil War buff), I would highly recommend a stop here. There aren’t many forts like this in the country… especially ones that are in as pristine a condition as this one

The post Fort McAllister Historical State Park appeared first on TwoW-GT.

Named after the British-born Georgian politician James Jackson, the fort was originally conceived to protect the city from attacks from the water. The fort was completed with slave labor shortly before the War of 1812, but was never attacked. Over the next 15 years, the fort was largely abandoned while Fort Pulaski was built downriver. Efforts to revive the abandoned fort, begun in the 1850s during the Third Coastal Defense System, added an additional powder magazine, new barracks, a moat, and a drawbridge.

By the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, all of Georgia’s federal coastal forts had been captured by the Confederacy. Unlike Fort Pulaski, which quickly fell to Union troops, Fort Jackson managed to defend itself upriver with torpedoes and river obstacles that kept Union gunboats east of the city. This also effectively cut off Savannah from any maritime traffic, and the Union was able to starve the city until William Sherman finally took the fort by land on December 21, 1864, at the end of his march to the sea.

Like many historical sites, the fort was abandoned after the war. It was decommissioned by the U.S. Army in 1905, and for the next 60 years the fort was owned by the City of Savannah, the American Cyanamid Company, and the Georgia Historical Commission, which operated the fort as a maritime museum until the Coastal Heritage Society took over in 1976. In 2000, the fort was designated a National Historic Landmark.

It’s no wonder why many period pieces have chosen Fort Jackson for their films. Fort Jackson is the oldest surviving brick fort in the state of Georgia and one of the few remaining Second System fortifications in the United States. Fortunately, improvements made in the mid-19th century did not drastically alter the original structure and helped preserve its historic design. The fort’s semi-bastion design creates an irregularly shaped fortification with hexagonal ramparts facing the Savannah River and crenellated walls to the south. Beneath the ramparts is a casemate with concentric arched vaults that appear on film as early prison cells. Fort Jackson was immortalized on screen as Harper’s Ferry in the 2020 movie The Emperor.

The post Historic Fort Jackson appeared first on TwoW-GT.

• Luxury Hotels: In Lafayette Square in the historic district, the Hamilton-Turner Inn is a beautiful 1873 mansion and was featured in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This charming hotel features 17 individually decorated suites with high ceilings, four-poster beds, claw-foot tubs and other fine antique furnishings. An Autograph Collection hotel with a stunning location along the waterfront, the Bohemian Savannah Riverfront Hotel is an elegant hotel in a romantic 18th century building overlooking the water and historic district. The Eliza Thompson House Hotel is located in the heart of Old Town, just steps from Bull Street. It is a boutique hotel with true southern comfort. Built in 1847, the property consists of a main house and carriage house with 25 individually decorated rooms, a lovely courtyard patio in the backyard and lush gardens. For something a little more modern but equally inviting, The Brice, a Kimpton Hotel is the best choice.
• Mid-range hotels – The Homewood Suites by Hilton is on the edge of the historic district, near Emmet Park and waterfront views. The hotel features a rooftop pool and patio. The Marshall House, built in the mid-19th century, is a small, delightful hotel with a stunning location near Bull Street and the waterfront. Overlooking Savannah’s famous Forsyth Park is the Forsyth Park Inn, a historic Queen Victoria mansion with high ceilings, huge doors and quaint indoor and outdoor seating areas. It’s a B&B that serves a full gourmet breakfast.
• Cheap Hotels: True budget hotels are close to the city center. La Quinta Inn & Suites and BEST WESTERN Savannah Gateway offer simple, comfortable rooms and are within a 15-minute drive of the historic district. A little closer is the Baymont Inn and Suites. All of these hotels have pools and offer complimentary breakfast.

Tips and Tours: how to make the most of your visit to Savannah

• Trolley Sightseeing: One of the most convenient ways to get the most out of your sightseeing is to take the Savannah Hop-on-Hop-off Trolley, which gives you flexibility as you hit all of the city’s major tourist attractions. A well-designed guide will provide fascinating commentary on the city’s history and culture as the trolleybus winds its way along 15 stops, including major sites such as Forsyth Park, Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, and City Market.
• Walking Tour: the 90-minute Savannah Walking Tour gives tourists a glimpse into the beauty of Savannah at a slower pace while learning about the city’s rich history as a strategic port and center of colonial government. Beginning in beautiful Reynolds Square, the tour explores the many attractions of the Savannah Historic District, both famous and known only to locals.
• Cemetery Tour: Tourists looking for a meaningful visit to the city’s famous cemetery will want to book one of Bonaventure’s cemetery tours with Shannon Scott, local historian, author and storyteller. During the two-hour tour of this magnificent cemetery, tourists will learn about Victorian burial traditions, artwork and symbolism in the cemetery, and other interesting details.

The post Where to stay for sightseeing in Savannah appeared first on TwoW-GT.

Savannah’s colonial charter prohibited Catholics from settling in the city. English trustees feared that Catholics would be more loyal to Spanish authorities in Florida than to the English government in Georgia, but this prohibition disappeared shortly after the American Revolution. The church’s congregation was reorganized around 1796. French Catholic immigrants established the first church in 1799 after fleeing Haiti following the slave revolts that began on the Caribbean island in 1791. It became the main church. for free blacks from Haiti in the early 19th century. Construction of the new Cathedral of St. John the Baptist began in 1859. The building was nearly destroyed by fire in 1898, but through diligent efforts was rebuilt by 1899. The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist was the first building in Georgia built of brick. It has 81 stained glass windows, 16 gargoyles, is 214 feet tall with a roof height of 96 feet, it took over 90,000 copper nails and 45,000 slates to build.

The Congregation built its first church on Liberty Square in 1779, and in 1811 chose a site at Drayton and Perry Streets for a larger building. Bishop John Ingland of the Diocese of Charleston, which included Savannah, consecrated the new church on April 1, 1839. Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Savannah in July 1850, and the congregation began plans for a new cathedral in Lafayette Square in 1870 under the leadership of the fourth Bishop of Savannah, the Venerable Ignatius Persico. The Most Reverend James Roosevelt Bailey, Archbishop of Baltimore, presided at the dedication of the neo-Gothic-style sanctuary on April 30, 1876. However, the brick structure lacked spires, which were not added until 1896, when it was also covered with stucco and whitewash.

On February 6, 1898, a fire engulfed the building and left only the walls and towers, but the parishioners quickly rebuilt and were able to celebrate Christmas Mass in the new building in 1899. The unfinished and interior decoration took another 13 years. Around 1904, stained glass windows were installed. The parish underwent renovations from 1959-1965 to address heating, cooling, lighting and finishes; 1984-1985 to strengthen the structural foundations and make changes suggested by the Second Vatican Council and 1998-2000 to install a new roof and restore the original color palette and interior decorations.

The post Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist appeared first on TwoW-GT.