Dublin Decoded Walking Tours

Dublin Decoded Walking Tours in Dublin City is a small walking tour company based solely in County Dublin. They do not host regular, scheduled public tours but prefer to keep tours small and intimate. The tours avoid routine and never working off a script.

They generally offer a choice of 8 to 10 routes around Dublin City. In addition, there are Fine Art tours of the National Gallery of Ireland, at Merrion Square. These tours include a symbol reading workshop called 'How to Read a Painting'.

The routes, themes and dates of the tours all change every month. Times and routes for public tours are only advertised, at most, 3 weeks ahead. The public tours tend to be of more off beat, to more “off-piste” locations. They are very convivial, sociable affairs and a great way to meet likeminded people but mostly Irish people living in Dublin.

The tours focus on history with the emphasis on the visual, like fine art, architecture, design, town planning and the centuries of changes to the streetscape. The company often use maps on their tours. These tours can resemble a treasure hunt, seeking out visual information from inscriptions or marks on buildings, to small fragments in the street or buildings.

Dublin Decoded Walking Tours and its primary guide Arran Henderson, have designed the Dublin architectural walking tours for the Irish Georgian Society. They have also collaborated with the Royal Hibernian Academy and National Gallery of Ireland on various bespoke events.

Arran Henderson is a very entertaining guide who will make you see Dublin in a whole new light and revealing many secrets in plain sight. He also offers virtual tours on Zoom which come highly recommended.