Dublin Ireland

[michaelskis]

I will be in Dublin the first week of May 2008 and I was wondering what suggestions people would have for places to visit. We are staying at a castle just out side of town, but has a metro stop right there, so I will not be driving at any point in my trip.

Have you ever been there? What places are worth the visit? What would you avoid?

We will also spend a few days in Cork too!

[DetroitPlanner]

Watch for pick-pocketers. I was there with my family after my sister just announced her engagement so I also had to look out for bridezilla!

I was there for one-day only. We were able to fit in:

St James Gate (Guniness)
Book of Kells (Trinity College)
Grafton Street
Temple Bar
Double Decker tourist buses
St Stephen's Green
'ha Penney Bridge

[b3nr]

Dublin is a great place. Its rather expensive though, be very careful. Cork... well. The bit inbetween, like eden.

If your a planning geek, you'll enjoy the brand new tram system, and the old DART overground metro (converted rail). Go south to Bray on it for a great ride, lovely scenery and for an authentic Irish-Brit seaside resort experience, especially try eating fish and chips in a bus shelter in the drizzle...

The regeneration of the riverside is very interesting and is making a feature of somthing that was basically Dublins main road artery for years and years. As with any large city near the coast in Ireland or the UK, there is the obligatory dockside regeneration area as well of course.

A guide book will tell you most of the normal other things to do, but i guess those things above are what i, as a total nerd enjoyed the most.

Like whiskey? Go to the Jameson's distillery. Cliche and tourist trap perhaps, but volunteer for the tasting session and drink all the french and americans shots for them because they don't like whiskey and you get drunk for free. Plus the film at the beginning proudly starts with 'Ireland, is an island, off an island, off of Europe', which made me chuckle for some reason.

Cork... not the prettiest of places in the Rep. Looks very much like most UK or Irish cities, red brick, red tiles and grey stone. The main things I remember was a sprawling one way system as ugly as it was confounding, surely the most tastelessly decorated bed and breakfast on the planet, and a chav girl asking me and my friend for a quid on the high street, when I politely declined to give her a Euro she told me 'shove it up ya c**t then', which apart from being rude was of course anatomically impossible.

Lots of Polish people in Cork, the north of city is quite hilly and pretty. The castle with the blarney stone is 20 miles to the north of Cork i think.

Oh and are you ready for Irish food?

[Hceux]

Since you're already going to be on the DART, I would recommend a visit to these places:

- Dun Laoghaire (pronounced as "Dun Leary"): This is a nice small fishing town that become part of the metro city of Dublin. Go down to the harbour for a walk around and enjoy the views there. The small village just up the hill from the harbour is worth a look or two.

- Dalkey: visit the small village there, grab something to eat, and walk along Sorrento Road which then becomes Vico Road. Enjoy the coastline views that remind many people (including Bono, apparently) of the Naples Bay in Italy. Once you're finished there, you can continue on walking on Vico Road which then becomes Station Road. You will come across another DART station which is Killiney Station. Get back on the DART and go south to Bray.

- Howth: it's at the end of the DART line in the northwest of Metro Dublin. There's apparently a great casual hiking trail that will take you around the peninsula which will afford you with views of Dublin being overlooked by the Wicklow Mountains and an opportunity to look at an abandoned castle (I think). Howth is a small fishing town, I believe.

- Malahide: I didn't get a chance to visit there, but I've heard it's very easy to access to a well-known estate. I'm sure you'll see information about this in tourist books.