Dublin Travel Answers

My personal impression was that there is not much more than the Guinness tour..except for the bars and restos, including Temple Bar. Most pleasant was a comedy evening just off Temple Bar (I forgot the name of the place). I would love to hear of all the interesting spots I missed....

i think there are lots of interesting places - it is just fitting them in - there is the book of kells, the Gaol amongst others but it is always good to get a view of the local people who can give you insider information! From what i did see on my brief visits to Dublin it is a beautiful place with the friendliest people i have ever met!

I really enjoyed visiting the Kilmainham Gaol, interesting history and interesting architecture. Dublin's the only city I've ever done one of the Hop on hop off buses and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, it takes you on a circle around the main spots in Dublin and you can get on and off at your whim. If you have nice weather, just walking around Dublin is quite nice, I was on a mission to find all of the statues with funny names-hags with the bags, tart with a cart, stiffey on the Liffey. And the public parks are also quite nice. Or consider a daytrip to nearby Howth or Malahide Castle. The Chester Beatty library was interesting and free (unlike the Book of Kells), if you like old books, you might check that out. In the evening you might consider going on the Literary Pub Crawl, it was funny and informative. You don't even really have to know all that much about the Irish authors to enjoy it and they stop by a couple of interesting pubs. Dining-I liked Leo Burdock's for fish and chips, Salamanca for Spanish tapas and Lemon Crepe Company for crepes, Gallagher's Boxty House was a bit touristy and overpriced but the food was OK. You might check out some of the pages here for more ideas :-)

One of the easiest ways to get an overview of the main visitor attractions is to take the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus. There are two companies operating them and not much difference in the service imo, however, I would advise taking one that has a live commentary rather than a taped one (multilingual) as they can often be out of sync with the location and therefore hard to follow. Both start on or near O’Connell St. but you can pick them up at various points along the route too. Here’s a selection of visits that I’d recommend: Visit a Georgian house just off Merrion square and see how a family lived in the 18th century at No. 29, www.esb.ie/numbertwentynine While in the area take a stroll through the park in Merrion sq and visit Oscar Wilde Corner – just opposite his family home. (The National Gallery and the Natural history museum are adjacent too but maybe not be for you given what you said) Dublin Castle and surroundings are worth a look. You can do a tour of the castle or just take a look around the courtyard and visit the chapel which is free. Behind the Castle you will find the Chester Beatty Library (www.cbl.ie) – a nice small museum with a good collection of oriental artefacts and an excellent café, also a lovely garden area outside. Also nearby is City Hall – a quick visit to see the entrance hall would only take a few minutes or a longer visit could include the museum downstairs. Christchurch Cathedral (www.cccdub.ie) might be of interest, you can visit it separately or it is included in the Dublinia experience if you want to learn more about Dublin’s historic past. (www.dublinia.ie). If you want to try something a bit crazy try a Viking splash tour (www.vikingsplash.ie) For a more sober aspect of history you could visit www.kilmainham-gaol.com which I think is well worth it for an insight into fairly recent Irish history. There are plenty of organised tours to places like Newgrange (www.newgrange.com), Glendalough (www.glendalough.ie), and Powerscourt (www.powerscourt.ie), if you want to join a group. You will get info about tours in your hotel or in the tourist office in St Andrew’s Street. Another good thing about Dublin is that it is surrounded by hills and flanked by the sea. For swimming or beach walks try Dollymount on the Northside or Sandycove or Sandymount on the Southside. The local commuter train, the DART, will bring you to Dun Laoghaire, Dalkey or Bray on the southside or Howth or Malahide on the northside if you want to explore some nearby towns or villages or go walking. You could google them to find out more or get back to me if you have any more questions. Pubs often offer the best value when it comes to dining - I'm fond of The Church in Mary Street as it's a historic building, pub and restaurant combined (www.thechurch.ie).

I met up with Annemarie in the Church in St Marys street its a fab bar. I have visited several times and enjoy the friendly vibe of the city. There is plenty of live entertainment the first time we visited the Arlington. Personally I'd avoid temple bar area its overpriced and full of hen and stag do's. The Goal has a good tour it sends chills up your spine. Paddywagontours offer day trips out of dublin if you fancy that. Christchurch cathedral is an interesting visit. You can go to the Guiness tower and go straight up to the top floor for the view I think it is free to go directly up to the bar quite an experience.

Going to Dublin and not drinking the Guinness seems a terrible waste of a visit and especially if you want to experience proper Irish music - it just doesn't work with a ladeeda cocktail in your hand. But that besides, Dublin is pretty cosmopolitan and I'm sure you'll be able to find a suitable "traditional" cocktail bar with the appropriate musical accompaniment. Try Messrs McGuire on O'Connell Bridge - http://www.messrsmaguire.ie/ Under NO circustances even think about visiting places that do proper music such as Bowes Lounge, even if it the best Sunday evening out in Dublin -http://www.doylesintown.com/bowes_bar Beejees, thinkin' about it - DO try Bowes Lounge and ask for a "Sex on the Beach". I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that one LOL ;)

thanks guys for all your suggestions! - well I may have a half of guiness but not my cup of tea - when i was a student i used to drink Killkennys - not sure if they still make it - you don't see it much where i live anyway! We have just over 2.5 days in Dublin - we arrive on a friday first thing and catch our flight at 17.50 - will there be enough to keep us occupied...not sure whether we will have enough time for a day trip - and if we did do one where would people suggest - if they had to do a short list? Thanks

you could do Blarney Castle as a day trip, trips to Cliffs of Moher, Galway are also very nice but they are a fair way out. I think you will have more then enough to do for 2.5 days in fact you need longer! Do visit the Goal all the other suggestions, If the weather is good there are great parks to saunter through. Their is a jamieson whiskey tour if thats up your street otherwise make your own tour up trying all the irish whiskey's at different pubs I tried Paddys, Bushmills, Jamiesons and Powers when I was there. I hope the weather is good for you. I believe that Guiness tastes the best in Ireland as they know how to pour it, for me its like having a meal and not to my taste but some people add blackcurrant to taste.

yes guiness is like having a meal!! - i prefer it with blackcurrent but I am sure that is commiting a cardinal sin!!! - perhaps we will just stay in Dublin and come on a return visit to explore other parts of ireland!

I think there is plenty to do in Dublin for 2 1/2 days but there are all kinds of day trip options should you want to go somewhere else. I did a tour with rail tours Ireland that went to Bunratty, Cliffs of Moher and a brief stop in Galway but they have plenty of other tours. I wish we had spent more time in Galway, if I go back this September, I will put that on the list. http://www.railtoursireland.com/ For a do it yourself tour, you can visit Howth and Malahide by public transport, I visited both in a day. And there are plenty of other close options that I didn't get to. There are several Howth pages here on VT

thanks guys will have to have a think about it....pehaps a return visit to Ireland is in order!

...and don't forget Belfast: an interesting Irish town as well, with people just as friendly as in the rest of Ireland.

I really enjoyed my Belfast trip believe it or not the drinks are cheaper in sterling then they are in the Republic of Ireland.

mulligans pub on poolbeg st is a great pub (opened around the 1720's i think..) really good pints and a nice mix of people -overall nice atmosphere!!

thanks for the replies guys! - been to Belfast before and did love it....but will have to save that for another trip!

Try a walking tour. My wife and I did the Rebellion tour and the Historical Walking Tour. The historical tour we did was given by Trinity College. Both were well worth the time and cost. You can find them here http://www.historicalinsights.ie/