Travelling to Dublin

[OffAxis]

I'll be in Dublin here in about a month and wanted to know if there are any "must see" places in Dublin. I won't be there for any of the U2 shows and while I will see a couple "U2 spots", I really just want to experience Dublin and take it in. I only be there for a few days as it is a part of larger trip, but are there any suggestions for museums, tours, pubs, sites, restaurants, etc? I don't want to have much of a plan, but I'd hate to miss something good.

 

[*Ally*]

be sure to take a tour of the Guinness brewery. also, i'd suggest doing a musical pub crawl- i had a lot of fun doing that! the temple bar area is packed w/ pubs and bars- it's fun, but very touristy (as a tourist, i really didn't mind all that much).

as far as U2 sites go, the clarence is really beautiful. and the octagon bar serves up some tasty drinks- try the cookies n' cream!

if you want a more "posh" evening destination, check out Lillie's Bordello... you just might run into bono himself!

 

[*Ally*]

be sure to take a tour of the Guinness brewery. also, i'd suggest doing a musical pub crawl- i had a lot of fun doing that! the temple bar area is packed w/ pubs and bars- it's fun, but very touristy (as a tourist, i really didn't mind all that much).

as far as U2 sites go, the clarence is really beautiful. and the octagon bar serves up some tasty drinks- try the cookies n' cream!

if you want a more "posh" evening destination, check out Lillie's Bordello... you just might run into bono himself!

oops- forgot to mention that you should go shopping on Grafton street. O'Connell St has some good, less expensive shopping as well.

in addition, Trinity College is gorgeous... and if you have time, try to get out of the city for an afternoon. you can take the DART to any number of beautiful seaside towns.

have fun!!!

 

[OffAxis]

This is exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks!

 

[Tarvark]

I secound Trinity College. It was amazing.

 

[dsmith2904]

Do one of those bus tours, you'll get a nice layout of the city and they'll drop you off and pick you up from all the must-see places (Guinness Brewery, Trinity College, Killmainham Gaol, Phoeniz Park, etc). And they're not too expensive.

If you're going to take the DART, Dalkey and Killiney are beautiful. I didn't get to go but my friends said Howth was great, too.

 

[Schmeg]

Do one of those bus tours, you'll get a nice layout of the city and they'll drop you off and pick you up from all the must-see places (Guinness Brewery, Trinity College, Killmainham Gaol, Phoeniz Park, etc). And they're not too expensive.

If you're going to take the DART, Dalkey and Killiney are beautiful. I didn't get to go but my friends said Howth was great, too.

The bus tours are great and I think you can get a pass that's good for a few days...or just use your one-day pass for a few days, not that anyone I was traveling with at the time did that...

Dalkey is very nice and you never know who might be at the next table in a cafe there! The DART is really easy and inexpensive.

I'll be there again in about a week and a half and I can't wait!!!

 

[starsgoblue]

I can't wait to go in November!

 

[martha]

See my journal for some suggestions.

 

[martha]

Ok, there may not be much in there.

I enjoyed St. Michan's, Christ Church, the Book of Kells, walking from Dalkey to Sandy Cove. I took a tour, which was expensive but worth every cent, to the Giant's Causeway and loved every second of it.

 

[tilen]

take a ride with DART train to the south to see beautiful beaches of Killiney with bono's and Edge's house just up on the hill, norht to an ancient fishing village of Howth and a bus trip to Bru na Boinne (the Boyne valley--the remains of the oldest civilisation in Europe), west of Dublin--Wicklow mountains (curtains for many movies)and Music Hal Of Fame in Dublin.
Of course there are some other stuff to do there, like pubbing, but that's another story...

 

[Laura M]

Ok, there may not be much in there.

I enjoyed St. Michan's, Christ Church, the Book of Kells, walking from Dalkey to Sandy Cove. I took a tour, which was expensive but worth every cent, to the Giant's Causeway and loved every second of it.

I am so glad someone mentioned St.Michans. It's, sadly, not very well known, a lot of people haven't heard of it.

I would really recommend St. Michans too, it's on Church Street, it's only opened a few hours a day, I always go at around 11 or between 2 and 3. It's also only about 4 or 5 Euros to get in and the guy who does the tours is hilarious and very knowledgable. I've been every year for like 5 or 6 years now and make it down more than once when people, like my spanish friends, come over. It only takes about 20 minutes for the tour and you get to see unerneath the crypts of a church and view the mummies. There's a review about it that I found online -->here

 

[Fille Friday]

What everyone else said, AND:

1) Oscar Wilde's house. Merrion Square-- not only has some beautiful houses around there, the Georgian area, but also, hey it's Oscar Wilde's childhood home! You can take tours on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (I think) and it's very beautiful inside. All furnished and restored, original floors, a beautiful stained glass window of the Happy Prince, etc (and I'm babbling.)

across the street is Oscar's statue. And not far away is Westland Row, where he was born. A plaque will help you find it.

2) History museum-- tara brooch, viking ship, gold celtic artifacts, other famous Irish historical material objects. Very interesting stuff. They also have some Egyptian artifacts about which I was pleasantly surprised.

3) I also liked the National Gallery. Close to Oscar's house. I seme to remember a portrait of Bono is in there, done by some guy, can't remember the name, lol.

Also, a lot of the touristy things are on the south side, but the north side is fun, too. Shopping/ pedestrian streets off OConnoll street are good as long as it's sunny.

 

[Irishteen]

I remember i done a sprint up an ddown killiney hill from the DART station it was class, the sprint back was full of ringing door bells, and teling there Aston Martins were cool, and such, and Bonos house, that was funny, my friend just screwed up when he rang the door bell, thehn sprints down the alley was cool, into the final sprint accross the beach to the DART station an dall for Charity.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I was only in Dublin for one day and night, but I agree about Trinity College, that's a must see. The bus tour is good too.

I think anyone who goes to Ireland should get out to the countryside-Galway, the Ring Of Kerry, Dingle..there are so many more beautiful places. That was my favorite part of my trips, not Dublin. I hope I can get back there one day soon

 

[dsmith2904]

The Irish Writers Museum was pretty interesting and has a really great gift shop. There are a lot of fantastic tours in the city--the viking tour, the "Ulysses" tour retracing all of Bloom's steps through the city, pub crawls, music crawls. Whatever you're interested in, you'll certainly find something to occupy your time.

 

[AtomicLemon]

Going to Dublin Dec28/05-Jan 11/06

Looking for an apartment with a kitchen, living room, etc.. Since we'll be staying 2 weeks, it's important that we have a place that's comfortable. Is anyone familiar with these two places? Or at least the area they are in?? Or, might you recommend other places. Thanks so much!! PS: I don't want to pay more than 150 Euros/$180 a night.


CHRISTCHURCH HALL:
http://www.dublinhotels.com/dublin_...ings/l0029.html

MILLENNIUM TOWERS:
http://www.dublinhotels.com/dublin_...ings/l0012.html

 

[martha]

2) History museum-- tara brooch, viking ship, gold celtic artifacts, other famous Irish historical material objects. Very interesting stuff. They also have some Egyptian artifacts about which I was pleasantly surprised.

Oh yeah. This place was great!

 

[OffAxis]

Awesome! I leave for my trip on Friday. I'll be flying to London, then taking a train out to the Salisbury plain where my aunt lives. There I'll meet up w/ my parents and then were headed to Wales. Where of course I'll be catching U2 next Wednesday . After that we are headed to Edinburgh for a couple days, then my brother and I are headed to Dublin.

Seriously, thanks for the advice everyone. It looks like I have some good options. I had completely forgot about this thread, and I'm glad I remembered.

I'll post some pics when I return.