Tourism FAQ
Co. Wicklow
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow (about an hour drive from Dublin city centre)
Wicklow Mountains National Park Walking trails description & Map - PDF
Kevins Bus - Dublin city centre to Gelndalough
This is the site of an old monastic settlement, the ruins of which are still there. The name 'Glendalough' comes from Irish - Gleann Dá Loch - 'glen of two lakes' - which is exactly what's there: two lakes surrounded by hills. This is part of the Wickow Mountains National Park. The scenery is excellent and there are trails of varying levels of difficulty you can follow (see the map linked to above). It's a great idea for a day trip if you're staying in Dublin and want to get out of the city for some fresh air and a walk. It's very popular with tourists, so don't be surprised if there are a lot of people there, but it's also very big so it shouldn't bother you too much.
Driving there: directions here
Public transport: Kevins bus from Dublin city centre (linked to above). There are very few services, though, so if you take the bus you basically have to spend the whole day there (which is easy to do if the weather is ok)
There are a few food outlets there (fast food and ice cream and stuff), but not much selection. It's an idea to pack a lunch - especially if you plan on doing one of the longer walks because you can eat halfway through while admiring the view.
There's an admission charge to the visitors' centre, but you don't need to go there. Maps are available for about 50c, but they're the same as the PDF linked to above. Everything else is free.
Sally gap
Location A nice scenic drive through the wicklow mountains and bogland. Very pretty scenery.
Dublin
City Centre The National gallery, central and free and some really outstanding original paintings and other works of art. You can buy prints of most paintings on canvas or paper for about €30 -€50 so if you see something nice it could be on sale in the museum shop. Every time I've bought something there it hasn't been in stock but they'll gladly order it and post it on to you, or you can buy them online.
Around the corner is the Natural History Museum, also around the corner An Dáil (lower house of parliament) it's not easily possible to arrange a tour apparently, just checked. See the house where Oscar Wilde was born and lived most of his life. Walk in Merrion Square Gardens (opposite his house) which is beautiful in Spring & Summer. Visit the Oscar Wilde statue in the corner of the park. Especially nice on a Sunday morning or early afternoon when artists have their paintings on display for sale on the wrought iron fence of the gardens.
The buses are pretty reliable and can take you pretty much everywhere, however the tricky part is knowing which bus number and where it's leaving from. If in doubt you can always just get on any bus and ask the driver, they have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the routes. Taxi's are not particularly expensive as in other European counties but don't take one during rush hour in the city centre.
There's a very old church called Christchurch at the top of Dame street, it has an interesting medieval history. There's a Viking exhibition close by called Dublinia that's supposed to be pretty good, sort of a viking museum/exhibition, there's a guided tour at 2:30pm daily. While you're in the area, the best fish & chips in the galaxy can be had behind Dublin Castle in a small place called Leo Burdock's (anyone in the area will gladly direct you there).
Walk around St. Stephens Green Park (at the top of Grafton Street), it's a pleasant oasis in the middle of the city.
Cross over the HalfPenny? Bridge, pronounced HayPenny?, it was the first modern bridge across the river in the city and used to cost a half penny to cross because the ferrymen complained that no-one used the ferries anymore since the bridge was built.
Walk the length of O'Connell Street (the main street of Dublin). See the GPO (General Post Office). If you walk right to the end (and into Parnell Square) can visit the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square – ( remembers those who gave their lives in the 1916 Easter Rising for Irish Freedom). You can also visit the Hugh Lane Art Gallery and the Dublin Writers Museum at the top of Parnell Square.
Visit Trinity College, the Book of Kells - written over 1200 years ago, and the Long Room. Cross the road and visit the Bank of Ireland – where the original Irish Parliament sat until it signed the Act of Union in 1801. You can still see the original House of Lords Parliament chambers.
Visit Dublin Castle, Chester Beatty Library, City Hall, St.Patricks Cathedral all on the way to the Guinness Storehouse and the Gravity Bar (where you can see where / how Guinness is made – and taste a sample in the bar with an amazing view of Dublin). Also close by is the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. Near St. Patricks there is also Marsh’s Library which is the oldest library in Ireland.
Visit the Phoenix Park (the largest walled park in a city in the world!). Great place for a walk, and to see the herd of ~700 deer. In the Park go and see the Wellington Monument (largest obelisk in the world – did you know that Lord Wellington (of Waterloo fame) was Irish? Born in Tipperary), the Pope’s cross (where the Pope said Mass to over 1 million Irish people in 1979. Visit the Presidents House and the Zoo! Afterwards stop for a drink in "The Hole in the Wall"....the longest pub in Europe (100m long / 8m wide). It is situated on Blackhorse Avenue, near the Ashtown Gate of the Park.
I'm quite fond of The Science Gallery. It falls somewhere between a science museum and an art gallery with an emphisis on technological innovation and hands-on exhibits. The exhibitions change every few months. When I was there the focus was on fashion, and included a dress made out of fermented Guiness, a jacket that would inflate when you screamed, and a very light material that could comfortably insulate the wearer on Everest. The Science Gallery is also where the Dublin TED talks are held.
Dublin has a strong theatre tradition with some world class talent luckily there are only really 6 notable theatres in Dublin. Gaiety, Olympia, Samuel Beckett (TCD), the Abbey, the Gate and the Grand Canal Theatre.
Pubs / nightlife
For restaurant recommendations try Menupages.ie and/or yelp.ie.
A great Guinness is to be had is either in Mulligan's on poolbeg street (just around the corner from Tara Street DART station) or Devitt's a.k.a. "The Cusack Stand" (The name of one of the stands of the football stadium, "Croke park", fourth largest stadium in Europe) on Camden Street. Also Devitts will very likely have live traditional music upstairs on Friday and Saturday night.
Some others recommended are: The Brazen Head (the oldest pub in Dublin ), O’Shea’s Merchant (Irish music most nights!), McDaids?, O’Donoghues (where the Dubliners first performed), Fitzsimons (Temple Bar – live Irish music & dancing on early Sunday afternoon), The Turks Head, and any place in / around Temple Bar for an evening out! Any person in the street will tell you how to get to these pubs. Outside of Dublin is Johnnie Foxs Pub the highest pub in Ireland and a place with a special atmosphere and good seafood.
Go to the Theatre. Lots of choice and the prices are not too expensive. Look at IN DUBLIN magazine to see what is on.
The Cobblestone in Smithfield is good for trad music.
Do's and Don'ts.
Rain is to be expected at anytime.
Careful of your pockets and bags in crowded touristy areas like Temple Bar.
Everyone is drunk on Friday and Saturday night.
You'll most likely be doing a lot of walking so bring some comfortable shoes. Although you can rent bikes pretty easily and if you plan your route well, you can drop them off at handy locations.
Shopping
Explore Grafton Street area, Powerscourt Townhouse and have a coffee in Bewleys Café or a cappuccino in Café en Seine (opposite Mansion House on Dawson Street). There's a couple of bookshops on this street, Hodges Figgis and Waterstones, they're just general bookshops but may sell some Irish interest books that you'd find hard to get abroad.
Visit Temple Bar and have lunch, dinner, drinks there. Just walk around and take in the atmosphere. There’s a place called the Elephant and Castle that does a really good chicken wings for some reason. Everyone seems to know about their chicken wings, they're really good, if you can't get a seat there's a place next door where you probably can't get a seat either, called the Boxty house, they do decent fare too, though a tad overpriced but then, everything is overpriced in Temple Bar.
Outside the city centre
If you have nice weather and want to do something outside of the city you could take the DART ( Dublin Area Rapid Transit - a metro) to Howth, it'll take about 30 mins from the city centre, climb to the top of the "Ben of Howth", it'll take about an hour to climb but the view is great, you can see over the whole city and get some great snaps if you have a good wide-angle camera. You can stop near the top at the Deer park hotel. There's a golf course here too. This will fill half a day, hop back on the DART to town (people refer to the city centre as "town",) for dinner and more pints.
Or take the DART in the opposite direction, to Bray and beyond. This goes right around Dublin Bay and offers great views.
Visit the beautiful Botanic Gardens and the impressive glasshouses.
Things to do in Ireland
Festivals and Concerts:
Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois.
Typical Annual Dates. Brief description and link to EP home page.
Oxegen, Punchestown, Co. Kildare.
Typical Annual Dates. Brief description and link to Ox home page.
Landscape Sighting:
Marble Arch Caves, Florencecourt, Co. Fermanagh
Brief description and link to homepage.
Giants Causeway, Moyle, Co. Antrim
Brief description and link to homepage.
Historical Sighting:
Trinity College Dublin, Book of Kells . ..