I spent a beautiful day in Dublin - it reminded me why this is one of my favourite cities

The Leinster is a new luxury lifestyle hotel in an old part of Dublin. A 55-bedroom purpose built property - planners required the building to be sufficiently beautiful to fit with its long established surroundings - the boutique hotel opened on St Patrick’s Day weekend last year, signaling a readiness to join the next generation of hospitality venues redefining the Irish welcome in the capital. From the rooftop restaurant, Jean–Georges at The Leinster, you have sweeping views down Mount Street to the outline of Merrion Square, a charming, quintessentially Dublin scene of uniform red brick buildings with colourful doors.

The balcony to the rear of the stylish rooftop dining room gives a backstage view of Georgian Dublin. In 1998, U2 singer Bono took a horse and carriage ride through these streets for the music video for the Dublin band’s song The Sweetest Thing. The view takes in a patchwork of lanes and snippets of broad avenues between the Grand Canal and the focus of the city centre, around Grafton Street and Dame Street. It’s a great vantage point to start the day.

I lived in Dublin for 12 years, working for magazines that chronicled the life of the city. I moved back home 11 years ago but take the opportunity to return as a visitor when I can. I like the fact that people I know are often where I left them, that Dublin remains a network of villages across its sprawling footprint, from the bay to the mountains. I admire the independent spirit that has driven the food and drink scene to new heights and the traditional bedrock of longstanding bars and restaurants that are immune to fashions and the passage of time.

Before I have sat down to breakfast, I’ve already met someone from my Dublin days. Rosie Gogan Keogh is sitting in the sunshine with her husband Greg Spring, they own Hen’s Teeth, an independent cultural events and wedding venue in Blackpitts, on the outskirts of the city centre, that has become a focal point for young creatives in the city. Visit for coffee, cakes and Japanese sandos.

The rooftop restaurant, Jean-Georges at The Leinster, is the first Irish venture by Michelin star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and the centrepiece of the hotel’s hospitality offering. It offers a fusion of Irish, French, and Southeast Asian cuisines, using locally sourced ingredients, and has become a popular part of the local food and drink scene. On the ground floor, guests can enjoy The Collins Club, a glamorous lounge named after interior designer David Collins, with cocktails and light bites. The hotel also features a boutique gym, a thermal suite with a sauna and steam room.

I order an Irish breakfast - two fried eggs, bacon, sausage, black and white pudding, grilled tomato, portobello mushroom, beans and toast. It reminds me how much I miss Irish bacon in my daily life. Other popular items on the morning menu include French toast with Wexford strawberry compote, soft scrambled eggs with Irish cheese or buttermilk pancakes with berries. Ireland’s tánaiste - deputy prime minister - Simon Harris is on a neighbouring table enjoying eggs Benedict.

Dublin is one of the most walkable cities in Europe, a close knit collection of neighbourhoods that can be reached by a stroll. The city centre itself has the older origins of Dublin around Christchurch, the tourist trap of Temple Bar, shopping landmarks on Grafton Street and O’Connell Street with cool pockets of streets to explore around South Great George Street and Henry Street. There are walks alongside the River Liffey and the Grand Canal. Interesting neighbourhoods with their own personality, like Ballsbridge, Ranelagh, Rathmines and Smithfield, are easily negotiated on foot, something that I valued when I lived here but really appreciate as a visitor.

The Leinster lies on a quieter stretch of the centre but within a few streets you are right in the heart of things. Leinster House, the Irish parliament is close by, alongside other landmarks of significance like the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland and the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts. A short stroll brings you to some of the finest pubs you will find on the island of Ireland - notably O’Donoghue’s on Merrion Row with its long association with Dublin musicians.

My own meander back into Dublin takes me through Merrion Square with its Oscar Wilde statue and onto Westland Row, on the eastern edge of Trinity College. Ulysses, the famous novel by Dublin writer James Joyce features a long walk through this area on 16 June, 1904, and many of the buildings and landmarks remain the same. Look around and you see a city comfortable with its history but continuing in an ongoing cycle of reinvention. I recognise many of the bars and restaurants I see but there are new additions on an ongoing basis.

We walk up Dawson Street, by Dublin’s Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s residence, towards St Stephen’s Green with its gardens in full bloom. Grafton Street with its grand shops and street musicians takes me closer to the part of the city I’m most familiar with. When I lived here, South William Street was coming alive with new bars and restaurants, some of that same energy is now centred around Fade Street, Drury Street and Exchequer Street. There’s more to come, Ciaran McGonagle tells me, with new openings on the way. Ciaran owns Mani Pizza, part of a new wave of openings that are keeping Dublin’s food scene vibrant. Make sure you try their Roman-style pizza, its spectacular. See also Fade Street Social by chef Dylan McGrath and cool bistro with cocktails hangout Coppinger. There’s time for a pint of Guinness in the calm and timeless surroundings of Keogh’s pub before we return to The Leinster.

Over lunch in The Collins Club I hear plans for how The Leinster fits into the wider plans of Irish hospitality company The Dean Hotel Group. They are working on opening a new hotel in Munich and one in Miami. In Dublin, they have submitted plans to triple the size of The Clarence, formerly owned by Bono and The Edge of U2 and a celebrity spot during the Celtic Tiger era. If approved, new bedrooms and spaces for dining and events will be housed in a six-storey extension.

We pass The Clarence as we skirt by Temple Bar on our way to the Guinness Storehouse to continue our tourist experience. It really is a world class attraction, an immense interactive space within St James’ Gate Brewery that tells the story of the famous stout while also bringing together strands of Irish history. Pouring a pint here at the home of Guinness gave me enormous satisfaction. Being presented with a fresh one in the glass enclosed Gravity Bar at the top, with sweeping views of Dublin, was also pretty cool. This is a fantastic point to stop and take it all in.

Before returning to the hotel for dinner, I make a pilgrimage to the hidden gem beer garden at Toner’s, one of the great gathering spots after work on a Friday - this is where I had my farewell drinks before moving away. There, I catch up with some friends and I hear more about the Dublin restaurants that are leading the charge these days - Variety Jones, Etto, Forest Avenue, Bastible, Spitalfields, Amy Austin and Lottie’s. Some I know well, like Pichet and Chapter One, continue to excel. I hear some tips for cool places that locals love - Hang Dai, 777, Kicky’s, Masa, Big Romance, O’Regans and Love Tempo.

I meet Trevor White, director of The Little Museum of Dublin and a passionate advocate for his city. His museum, a must visit attraction in Dublin, this wonderful menagerie tells the social and cultural history of Dublin through everyday items donated by members of the public. Since it opened its doors in 2011, the museum has accumulated more than 6,000 objects which it has curated to tell an offbeat, quirky and personal history of the capital.

As I turn the corner to return to The Leinster, RTE broadcaster Abie Philbin Bowman flags me down on his bike - we worked at The Dubliner magazine together. Should you follow in my footsteps, Abie recommends that you visit the independent businesses that have turned Capel Street into a thriving part of the city centre to the north of the Liffey in the last decade.

Having completed my tour of the Irish capital, reaffirming a connection to a city I love, it’s time to find a table on the outside terrace at Jean-Georges’ restaurant to finish my day as I began, on the rooftop of The Leinster. The sun is just starting to come down and there is a golden light as I enjoy their signature egg toast and caviar with a martini. Dinner is Rock Hall Irish squid; Lambay Island crab spring rolls; steamed wild sea bass with wild garlic, potatoes and herb salad. You can expect an imaginative and expertly executed menu served in a luxurious retreat if you stay here.

I return to my comfortable room with its botanical headboards, cherry red sofa, classic styling and modern artwork. Dublin has a way of changing while staying the same. It’s a city that looks familiar to me while still being in a state of flux. The fundamentals remain constant - the character of the people, the landscape of Dublin Bay, elegant enclaves like Sandymount and Howth, the essence of the warm welcome - but even if you think you know the Fair City, there is still something new to discover. The Leinster is a great place to start.

The Leinster, 7 Mount Street Lower, Dublin 2, D02 WK33, Ireland