Merrion Square

This Georgian garden square on the south side of the city is celebrated for its rows of elegant townhouses with brightly painted doors and decorative fanlights. Laid out from the 1760s, it became a fashionable address for lawyers, doctors and writers, with plaques marking former residents including Oscar Wilde and Daniel O'Connell. A colourful reclining statue of Wilde sits in the central park, which is open to the public. On weekends, artists hang paintings along the railings in a long-running open-air display.