Irish tourism authorities have welcomed the news that the Guinness Storehouse has been named ‘Europe’s leading tourist attraction’ in the prestigious World Travel Awards.

The Dublin venue, which regularly tops Fáilte Ireland’s annual list for visits to tourism attractions, was chosen by an open global online vote.

The award was presented to the Guinness Storehouse on Saturday at the World Travel Awards European Gala ceremony in Sardinia, Italy with top tourism and hospitality leaders from across the world in attendance.

Among those who have visited the Guinness Storehouse in recent years is Queen Elizabeth, whose husband Prince Philip tried a pint of the black stuff while he was there.

Speaking on Sunday, Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn congratulated the Storehouse and hailed their win as a great boost for Irish tourism:

“In what is shaping up to be a record year for the tourism sector, this win confirms that we must be getting something right.

“When you consider that this was an open worldwide public vote and that the Storehouse beat back competition from the Acropolis, Buckingham Palace, the Colosseum and the Eiffel Tower, you know that the Storehouse must be delivering what visitors want – truly authentic and memorable experiences.

I’d like to congratulate Managing Director Paul Carty and all the team at the Guinness Storehouse for their impressive performance.”

Here’s some quirky facts about Guinness Storehouse:

- Guinness Storehouse was built in 1904 and the largest working Tun for fermentation in the world was once located here standing at approximately 26 meters high.

- It would take 14.3 million pints to fill the giant glass atrium in the center of the Guinness Storehouse building.
- Gravity Bar is the highest bar in Dublin located 46 meters off the ground.

- St. James’s Gate at the entrance to the Guinness brewery in Dublin was once the start of a pilgrimage to Compostella in Spain and pilgrims from all over Ireland used to gather on this site to start the journey to Spain.

- Three million pints of Guinness are brewed every day at the St James’s Gate brewery.

- St. James’s Gate Brewery is the biggest stout export brewery in the world.

- The St. James’s Gate Brewery is one of the most technologically advanced breweries in the world.

- There is approximately 198 calories in a pint of Guinness - less than a pint of orange juice!

- Guinness is the biggest selling stout in the world with 10 million glasses being sold every day in 150 countries.

- The ancient Irish Harp symbol was firstly used as a symbol for Guinness and only later adopted by the Irish Government as the official Government symbol.

- Guinness stout is ruby red in color. It’s the roasted barley that gives Guinness its color.

- Almost one in two pints consumed in Ireland every day is a pint of Guinness.