Visit Dublin, and 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.
| 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 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 of these 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.
This 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 alsoTara'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.
