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| This is a vibrant and loveable city, which oozes personality... |
In Dublin, it's the pubs that will pull the heartstrings. Warm, happy places, where witty, chatty Dubliners engage in a little banter and you might catch a live band playing traditional Irish ballads. You don't need to be drinking to have a good time here. Beyond the pubs, you'll find just as warm a welcome all over Dublin, for this is a vibrant and loveable city, which oozes personality.

Hotels in Dublin are especially popular during the weekends - stag and hen parties and weekend tourists from the UK mean that it can be almost impossible to find a hotel room anywhere in Dublin city centre, so book well in advance to secure the best prices and accommodation. Dublin is effectively split in half by the River Liffey, and both north and south of the river there are central areas of the city that offer an excellent range of hotels. Most Dublin hotels are close enough to the city's amenities and tourist attractions to allow you to walk to the sights you wish to see. Dublin's Temple bar, a favourite haunt of stag and hen parties, has surrounding it an abundance of reasonably-priced accommodation, and if it is "cool" you are after, then the city's most deluxe and renowned hotel, The Clarence, which is owned by rock band U2, can be found on Essex Street.
A polish and brush up over the last 15 years has added a contemporary edge to Dublin. It still feels compact and cosy, but there are now restaurants from all over the world, hip late night bars, and clubs playing everything from seventies to salsa. Shopping, too, has moved on, and beyond the high street stores you'll find boutiques and handicraft shops selling Irish silver, handmade stationery, funky fashion and modern art. Foodies won't be disappointed either, with great delis, artisan food shops and farmers markets. And if it's too early for the pub, you can tuck yourself away in some charismatic coffee shops.
Dublin has always been a city of writers - Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw to name but two, so it's no surprise that Dublin has some excellent theatres, as well as a Theatre Festival and an Opera season. If you want to find out the secrets of Dublin's many great writers, visit the Dublin Writers Museum to pour over books, letters and photos. If that sounds a little too literary, then head instead for the Bram Stoker Dracula Experience to meet the vampire himself.
Bring the children to Dublin, and you'll find treats in store for them too. Malahide Castle just outside Dublin has the Fry Model Railway which runs around tiny Dublin landmarks, and also Tara's Palace - a beautifully detailed doll's house. There's Dublin Zoo too, and one of the best ways to explore the city is on an open top, hop on, hop off bus tour.
Return to the pub at the end of the day, for smoked salmon and oysters washed down with a pint of Guinness. What better way to remember this amiable Irish city.
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Make friends and take in the literary heritage in Dublin. With its turbulent history behind it, the laid-back Irish capital has transformed itself into a modern European city with a nightlife to be proud of and modern Irish restaurants tucked between graceful Georgian architecture.
The oasis of calm at Trinity College and its biblical Book of Kells lie near busy Grafton Street and the Norman tower of Dublin Castle. History is on show in Dublin, from graceful Georgian terraces and the stomping ground of Yeats, Joyce and Beckett, to the bog bodies at the National Museum of Ireland.
Find top Irish designer gear and quirky jewellery in the Powerscourt Centre, Temple Bar, and department stores Arnott's and Clerys around broad O'Connell Street. Get fired up for some high-street fashion shopping on pedestrianised Grafton Street at Bewley's café – a Dublin institution for coffee drinkers. Buy second-hand books around studenty Trinity College and St Stephen's Green, and antiques on Francis Street.
The huge Phoenix Park is home to Dublin Zoo, the Wellington Monument and cricket pitches. Relax with office workers and students on St Stephen's Green at lunchtime. Catch the DART train out to the Howth peninsula for a healthy walk around the headland, and to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun ‘leery') for a refreshing dip and coastal breeze.
Dublin boasts a slew of top theatres. The Abbey is the most famous, especially for new plays, while the Victorian Gaiety Theatre produces popular favourites. Orson Welles started his career at the opulent 18th-century Gate Theatre. The Civic Theatre has touring theatre and music and the National Concert Hall classical music. The modern Grand Canal Theatre in the renovated Docklands south of the Liffey hosts a variety of touring performances from music to ballet.
Traditional dishes take a back seat in Dublin cuisine. Dine on French-tinged Modern Irish around St Stephen's Green, and savour oysters, smoked salmon and Guinness in Temple Bar's gastro pubs. Fusion is on the menu by Trinity College, outdoor cafés abound in the Italian Quartier Bloom near Jervis Street and fresh fish in coastal Howth.
Relive the uprising on the 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour, taking in the city centre's significant landmarks. Look out for bullet holes in the huge columns outside the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street – almost a century after they were fired there.
Tuck a copy of James Joyce's Ulysses under your arm for cachet, or take it easy with a Roddy Doyle novel. Comfortable walking shoes – and an umbrella – are essential.
Kick off the year with January's Temple Bar TradFest, get ready for all things green at the mega St Patrick's Festival in March, and hear Handel's Messiah on the anniversary of its worldwide premiere here in April. Join lesbians celebrating Gay Pride in June, and thespians at the Dublin Theatre Festival in September. Back a St Stephen's Day winner at the Leopardstown Christmas Racing Festival.
New Year's Day (1 Jan), St Patrick's Festival (17 Mar), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), May Bank Holiday (first Mon in May), June Bank Holiday (first Mon in June), August Bank Holiday (First Mon in Aug), Halloween (Last Mon in Oct), Christmas Day (25 Dec), St Stephen's Day (26 Dec).
Rain falls whatever the month in Dublin – be glad as it makes the place green. The climate is, however, mild year round. July and August are the warmest (15°C-20°C) months when most festivals take place. It gets decidedly cooler from December to February (5°C-8°C) – the perfect time to huddle up with a Guinness in a cosy pub – but it rarely dips below freezing.
230V AC, 50 Hz, three-pin plugs are standard.
+353 (national), (0) 1 + 7-figure number (Dublin).
Euro (€) is the currency.
Precisely (+1 in summer).
Anything goes in laid-back Dublin. Save your best party clothes for a swanky bar or to get into the best clubs, although nobody but the bouncer would bat an eyelid if you turned up in jeans. Dubliners prove that city folk can be friendly – it's likely that someone next to you propping up the bar will ask how you're doing, so get chatting.
Dublin is split into two by the River Liffey; explore central and south-side sites on foot or with the help of the Luas tram, or hop on a DART train to see the coast.
South of the Liffey are Temple Bar, Trinity College and St Stephen's Green, plus pedestrianised Grafton Street and Dublin Castle. Hop north over O'Connell Bridge, or charming Ha'Penny Bridge, for the huge GPO and shopping on wide O'Connell Street. West are mammoth Phoenix Park and Kilmainham on the city's border, and south are the upmarket residential and dining spots of Portobello and Ballsbridge. East is Dublin Bay's coast.
Dublin's modernised network of buses criss-crosses the city centre, with most routes passing close to Trinity College. Pay the driver on entry and if in doubt of your whereabouts, chatty passengers will help you out. There are a variety of airport buses available, and a limited number of night buses. Timetables are usually posted at the bus stops. An lar is Gaelic for “city centre”.
Walking is the best way to explore the relatively compact city, so wear comfortable (and waterproof!) shoes. The tourist office on Suffolk Street provides a decent street map, and places of interest are well sign-posted.
The DART rail line (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) serves the city's suburbs. It is invaluable for reaching the coast, from Greystones in the south to Howth in the north, hugging the Dublin Bay coastline. The main central hub is Connolly Station. Dublin's tram network, Luas, has two lines in and out of the city centre. Its Green Line goes from St Stephen's Green to the south suburbs, ending at Brides Glen, while the Red Line heads west from Connolly Station to Saggart and Tallaght, and east for just four stops to The Point in the Docklands.
It's usually easy to find a taxi, either by flagging one down in the city centre or booking one in outer areas. They all run on meters so beware of sitting in heavy rush hour traffic with the euros being clocked up.
If your shoe leather needs a rest, take a relaxing sightseeing trip down the Liffey, with an insight into historical highlights. Try the 45-minute-long cruises that leave the Boardwalk on the north of the river several times a day.
The Dublin Pass City Rambler Ticket offers unlimited bus travel over one, three or five consecutive days. It includes the airport bus, so buy one at the airport. Pre-paid DART tickets are cheaper than cash fares. Avoid rush hour, when streets are clogged with cars, and leave plenty of time to reach the airport, especially in the early evening and on Sundays after a match (football, hurling, anything!)
Take a look at the crypt in 800-year-old Christ Church Cathedral; trot over the Liffey via the 19th-century Ha'Penny Bridge (once a toll bridge); feast on today's creations at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Dublin's compact city centre south of the River Liffey holds many of the sights, making them easy to discover on foot.
South of the Liffey, admire the illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, at Trinity College. Gaze at the 18th-century Dublin Castle and tread the cobbles of hip Temple Bar. The National Museum of Ireland has prehistoric bog-preserved bodies and Celtic art, while Viking history goes interactive at Dublinia - Viking & Medieval Dublin, St Patrick's Cathedral, Ireland's largest, hosted the world premiere of Handel's Messiah in 1742.
On the river's north side is the Dublin Writers Museum for tales of Joyce, Beckett, Behan, Wilde et al. Learn about the perfect tipple at the Old Jameson Distillery. To the west is huge Phoenix Park, complete with zoo and polo ground.
The Dublin Pass gives discounted or free entry to many attractions and free airport bus connections to the city, available as soon as you land. It also cuts down on queuing time for tickets. Guided walking tours, including a literary pub crawl and the 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour, give an under-the-skin feel for the streets of Dublin.
Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.

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