BootsnAll Travel Community

I'm so excited - In about 2 weeks, I'm headed to Dublin for my first visit to Ireland. Besides the Guiness storehouse does anyone else have any other recommendations?

thanks!

In Order of preference

1: Gravediggers - in Glasnevin
2: O'Donohues - Baggot st / Merrion Row
3: Keoghs - St Annes Street
4: Toners - Baggot St
5: The Long Hall - Georges Street
6: Mulligans - Poolbeg street

all are in the city centre within walking distance of each other with the exception of Gravediggers which is well worth the short trip on the bus out.

In Dublin:
- shopping areas around O'Connell Street and especially Grafton St and its shopping mall
- the Temple Bar area (nighlife area but also many old lovely houses), especially cosy on a dry night
- St Patricks Cathedral (just out of the city centre)
- Trinity College
- I recommend a tour with one of them tourist busses, as this will take you to all sights, and if you buy a day ticket you can hop on and off wherever you want!

Just out of Dublin:
- Bray, Dalkey and Dun Laoghoire: lovely seaside towns just south of Dublin, with some lovely cliffs and little beaches. Very charming, and easily reachable with the DAFT railway.
- Clontarf (including Bull Island) and Howth on the northern edge of the city: also very lovely seaside areas.
- Glendalough National Park: really lovely sceneries, including easily climbable hills and some lovely lakes. Easily reachable with the Glendalough bus that connects Dublin City with the park (you can hop on the bus at St Stephens Green park)


If you have time to go out of the city, then I recommend Galway and the Aran Islands, and Belfast.

quote:

- I recommend a tour with one of them tourist busses, as this will take you to all sights, and if you buy a day ticket you can hop on and off wherever you want!

I second this. I did this trip one day and it was an excellent way to get around Dublin. The city is fairly compact and walkable but it's still well worth the money to buy a 'hop-on hop-off' ticket. They run frequently and the tour guides are excellent - very funny and know their stuff. (well, the ones we had certainly did, anyways.)

Also to second the above post I recommend Northern Ireland; Belfast and Giants' Causeway et al. The 'murals' in the neighbourhoods of Belfast are particularily educational and offer a very grassroots view of 'The Troubles' in N.I.

Guinness...my goodness! Hook up with a musical bar crawl in the Temple Bar district of Dublin. When I went back in 98, you went to 3 different pubs, and the musicians were right there with you. It was a lot of fun - very personal entertainment for the night. One of the girl musicians was rather pretty too. I still remember she recommended swimming in these tidal pools in one of the counties, but I never did find them (probably cause I forgot the county!).

Walking along the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast is quite an experience. When I was there, it was a narrow much path with not much of anything between me and a 600ft plummet to the craggy rocks below. But seriously, the clouds come in off the ocean every 30 minutes or so, and completely envelop the cliffs, then they clear up again. It's very cool.

I've got about 2 weeks worth of my experience on my travelogue at my site below.

Definitely one of my top 3 sites when I was in Dublin was a visit to Kilmainham Gaol. Wonderful atmosphere in the place which allowed me to get a sense of the history of the place.

And I wish I could taste the Guinness right now, sad to think I'll be returning to a country almost primarily for the beer.

quote:

Originally posted by Zeke14:
Definitely one of my top 3 sites when I was in Dublin was a visit to Kilmainham Gaol. Wonderful atmosphere in the place which allowed me to get a sense of the history of the place.

And I wish I could taste the Guinness right now, sad to think I'll be returning to a country almost primarily for the beer.

Like they say it's
Guinness for Strength

Im only doing 4 nights in Dublin. Ill do the tour bus thing, and the Guiness factory. Ill browse some shops, and "chop it up" with locals at a pub. What is there to see at Trinity college??

quote:

Originally posted by jjdpallday:
Im only doing 4 nights in Dublin. Ill do the tour bus thing, and the Guiness factory. Ill browse some shops, and "chop it up" with locals at a pub. What is there to see at Trinity college??

Book of Kells

Hi, Ardgillian Castle just past Skerries, and Skerries itself make a great trip out of the city for the day. The #33 bus should take you to Skerries and the train runs there from Connolly station on Amiens street. I think the dublin bus coast & castles tour also includes argillian castle.

Alternatively you could go to Malahide Castle. Its tudor and you can take a tour of the inside and if its nice the park is huge and a great place to take a picnic. You could then pop down for a walk on the beach or browse in the boutiques in the village. The #42 bus or the dart from tara st/connolly or pearse station will take you there.

I'm a Dub myself so if you have any questions you need answered by a local drop me a message.

Now my only problem is making sure I dont drink too much of the Guiness.