Visiting Dublin...?

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Ireland’s capital needs no introduction and for many visitors to Ireland, Dublin is the number one destination. Dublin has history, charm, sights, museums, galleries, theatres, shops, pubs, restaurants and an abundance of character.

Dublin was voted Europe’s fourth most popular city break destination, behind London, Paris and Rome and is one of the friendliest capital cities in the world. Dublin’s elegant Georgian architecture makes it one of Europe’s most attractive capitals and Dublin’s relatively small size, and its comprehensive public transport system, the Luas, make it one of the easiest to get around.

Dublin is where you’ll find many of the nations treasures, housed in the city’s galleries and museums and is where some of the most important events of Ireland were played out, most notably the Easter Uprising of 1916. Though the battle between the IRA and British Forces caused extensive damage to the O’Connell Street area of Dublin, (the bullet holes can still be seen on the General Post Office) this was one of the formative events of the Irish Republic.

Dublin was founded by Vikings during the 9th Century, who established a key maritime centre. The city and port continued to prosper over the centuries and with English dominance came the city’s attractive 17th Century architecture. By the 18th Century, Dublin was second only to London as one of the largest cities of the British Empire. However by the start of the 20th Century, Dublin entered a long decline, which lasted until the economic turn around of the 1980s saw the Celtic Tiger breath new life into Ireland’s capital.

Dublin is a thriving cultural centre and boasts a great literary legacy with many luminaries of Irish literature such as Joyce, Shaw, Yeats, Wilde, Kavanagh and Beckett, being associated with the city.

Dublin’s entertainments are legendary, from the boozy delights of the Guinness Storehouse, and the Temple Bar, to more cultured nights at the theatre or dining in one of the city’s fine eateries. It’s no surprise that people from all over the world come to enjoy the ‘craic’ in Dublin

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don't worry be happy!

Nope not a bank holiday! I really think it would be more fun to not have a plan! I would suggest going into the city cenre and getting tickets for the hop on hop off bus, that way you can wander about, and do a tour at the same time!

Irish_bi_female

The bank holiday is the weekend after you are in Dublin
www.visitdublin.com
www.dublintourist.com

Nightlife is brilliant wherever you go.
Enjoy, it's a great place.

bddrex

Dunno.

SouthOckendon

Karen
The nearest Bank Holiday in Ireland to 26th July is 8th August but it does not matter because in Ireland every day is a holiday.

Have a GREAT time and in spite of "pissingraininireland" it does not rain any more in Ireland than Cornwall. Dublin is the driest part of Ireland. Less rainfall than Cardiff!

You don't give much of a clue as to what KIND of things you like to do! Sightseeing? Buy a Dublin Bus day pass (5 euros I think) Do the 33, 44, 75 routes. Cheapest day out you will ever have in Dublin and the best sigh-seeing option in town anytime.

wise_irish_owl

Nope the bank holiday is the following weekend - 7th August.

Not sure what's on that particular weekend but there are loads of things to do in Dublin. If you want to just hang out there is an endless choice of bars, restaurants, cafes and shops, or if you would prefer to do some touristy things there are museums, bus tours, a zoo and of course the breweries (Guinness and Jameson)!
If the weather's nice there are also a couple of okay beaches not far from the city centre, or if you want even better beaches you could hire a car and head down to Wicklow for the day (about a 1.5/2 hour drive).

hystoriker

There is no bank holiday in Ireland for the date you are travelling here, so you will be able to make use of all the transport and commercial amenties that are available here.
You are asking for suggestions what to do while here. Difficult, as you haven't left any details about your own interests. But these are my general suggestions for my friends, when they visit:

There are a few sights you should definitely try and see - the GPO (general post office) on O'Connell Street where the Easter Rising was fought (free entrance), for instance. While you are there take a wander up and down O'Connell St which is a nice big boulevard (even if the shops are not the most classy...) with a few interesting monuments, i.e. the "stiletto in the ghetto" as the big spike is called by Dubliners.

You should take the time to wander around Trinity College, and possibly even look at the Book of Kells in the Trinity College Library. It's a 1100 year old manuscript with beautiful illuminations, kept in the Long Room, the old Library of TCD. You might even get a glance at the Dining Hall and the Chapel, which are all nice and old.

While you are on the South side of Dublin, have a look at Christchurch Cathedral or St. Patrick's Cathedral.
An absolute favourite of mine is the National Museum in Kildare Street. I always send my friends there because they have a very impressive Gold exhibition with Celtic gold, found in the bogs. There are others topics covered as well, and best of all: it's free, so you can wander in, have a look and walk out again if you don't like it...

Free, too, is the National Gallery, located on Merrion Square/Clare Street. Again, easy to walk into and out of again - and no money lost ;-). Plus, the architecture of the Millenium Wing (Clare Street entrance) is well worth seeing!

If you are generally interested in museums, then take a quick look at the Natural History Museum (Merrion Square) - which is a museum for a museum. My kids call it the "Dead Zoo" - it has hundreds of stuffed animals, all in the old Victorian glass cases which museums used to have. The building is interesting, too.

Now, if you don't want any of that cultural crap, take a tour of the historic pubs of Dublin. My favourites are Toner's (Baggot St.), Doheny and Nesbitt's (Baggot St.), O'Donoghue's (Merrion Row - Irish music played live there), Neary's, Mc Daid's, Keogh's and Davy Byrne's(all off Grafton St.) and the Palace Bar (Essex St). There are organized pub crawls available, too, if you want to see the favourite haunts of literary heavyweights like Kavanagh, Behan, Joyce etc...

For cafés I would suggest Café Bar Deli in Bewley's on Grafton Street.

Phew, that's just a short little itinerary. If you have any time at all, and the weather is nice, I would suggest you head to one of the beaches, too. My favourite is Killiney where you have a view of celebrity villas (Bono, Edge, Enya, Neil Jordan) and a beautiful panorama. Access is very easy with the DART (Dublin's suburban railway).

Hope you enjoy my favourite city!!!

Trish D

No, the Bank Holiday is the following weekend as far as I know.

It's hard to suggest what to do without knowing your interests. There are lots of museums, places to walk, pubs, restaurants, shopping areas. Dublin's also a good city to just hang out in.

The gay and gay-friendly bars are The Front Lounge, GUBU, The Market Bar, The George (bit of a male meat market) and Dragon. They're all in a fairly contained area. There will probably be at least one women's night on someowhere that weekend, but I can't say where - not because it's a secret or anything - I just don't know. :)

Pick up a copy of GCN when you arrive, and check out the What's On at www.queerid.com before you leave.
Enjoy your trip.

anonymous

Try http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2782502-dublin_things_to_do-i;_ylt=AthJRYVm1JzJDGKpAs_5aSbCFWoL

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