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Pravda
As un-Irish as you could probably get, this huge, multilevel Russian-themed bar was all the rage when it opened a few years ago. It has got a party atmosphere and is a great pick-up joint for young tourists, but you can forget about conversation at night (because the music is so loud) and the bouncers seem especially dim-witted.
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Project Arts Centre
This is the city's most interesting venue for challenging new work - be it drama, dance, live art or film. Three separate spaces, none with a restricting proscenium arch, allow for maximum versatility. You never know what to expect, which makes it all that more fun: we've seen some awful rubbish here, but we've also seen some of the best shows in town.
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Renard's
Snooty Renard's offers little in terms of interesting music (it mostly has pop hits and old classics), but it is a top spot for a little social credibility. The problem, however, is that most of the celebs - including some of U2 and their entourage when they're in town - are safely ensconced in the upstairs lounge, while the ordinary plebs have to make do with the main room.
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Rí Rá
One of the true veterans of the nightclub scene, Rí Rá - one half of the Irish expression rí rá agus ruaile buaile (ree raw aw-gus roola boola), which translates roughly as 'devilment and good fun' - changed hands in 2007, with the new owners promising the same mix of laid-back grooves and funky beats that made it one of the most popular in town. Monday night's Strictly Handbag, with its great menu of '80s music, has been going for a dozen years.
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Rogue
Relative newcomer on the block, Rogue is an intimate two-floored venue and home to the Bodytonic crew, who specialise in expertly mixed disco, house and electro. Expect to hear melodic and deep house and techno at the excellent Discotonic on Saturday nights.
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Ron Blacks
Despite its cavernous size, this upmarket watering hole retains an inviting atmosphere, thanks to plenty of warm wooden panelling, leather sofas and huge soft lights. The newly opened champagne bar upstairs attracts suity young men and smart-dressed girls who aren't afraid to flash their cash.
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Ryan's
Near Phoenix Park, this is one of only a handful of city pubs that has retained its Victorian décor virtually intact, complete with ornate bar and snugs. An institution among Dublin's public houses, this is truly worth the trip.
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Sackville Lounge Traditional Pub
This tiny 19th-century one-room, wood-panelled bar lies just off O'Connell St and is popular with actors from the nearby Abbey and Peacock theatres, as well as a disproportionate number of elderly drinkers. It's a good pub for a solitary pint.
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Samsara
This huge Middle Eastern-themed drinking emporium is packed at weekends with gorgeous young things and thingies, air-kissing and comparing their designer ware. The seats are too uncomfortable and there's an overwhelming vibe of 'me, me, me!' but you can get through it by meditating on samsara - the endless cycle of suffering and reincarnation. Or just enjoy the eye candy.
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Samuel Beckett Theatre
Used mainly by drama students, the theatre also features the occasional show by established troupes. It's all pretty cerebral stuff.
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Savoy
The Savoy is a five-screen, first-run cinema, and has late-night shows at weekends. Savoy Cinema 1 is the largest in the country and its enormous screen is the perfect way to view really spectacular blockbuster movies.
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Screen
If you like art-house movies or foreign films that wouldn't get a run in a multiplex, this is your best bet. Devoid of the self-awareness that afflicts the IFI, this place puts the emphasis on well-made films rather than experimental ones.
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Sean O'Casey's
The antithesis of the Dublin superpub, this is the kind of place where the male drinkers (and there seems to be only male drinkers) look up and grunt when you walk through the door. It's a Kerry pub, decked out in the county's Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) colours, and is particularly lively when Kerry are playing in Croke Park.
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Searson's
What could easily be dismissed as yet another characterless superpub, with the warmth and ambience of a train station, is actually a pretty decent bar with the option of Old Man pub at the front and trendy, modern bar at the back. Something for everyone: at lunchtimes it's packed with office workers, weekend nights it's packed with the same crowd in jeans and designer shirts and, when the rugby's on, the Irish green.
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Shakespeare
This marvellous bar is a great example of the meeting of two very different worlds, in this case a traditional old Dublin bar and the Korean love of all things karaoke and contemporary. We can't think of a more successful and enjoyable example of Dublin's new multicultural identity.
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Sheehan's
Some of Dublin's best comic talents have grouped together to create a comedy troupe that takes to the stage Tuesday nights in Sheehan's. Some of their stuff is hilarious.
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Sin É
Phew. This quayside bar opened just in time, just before the essential ingredient of all great Dublin bars was abandoned in favour of whatever designer gimmickry was all the rage that month. Well done for remembering that ambience is the key, not fancy mirrors where pretentious gobshites can keep an eye on their oh-so-important look. It buzzes almost nightly with a terrific mix of students, professionals, the hip and the uncool. The DJs are uniformly excellent.
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Solas
Good DJs every night of the week are the primary attraction at this trendy little bar along trendy Wexford St; at weekends the music is loud and you'll most likely struggle to hear what's being said. Mid-week the place is quieter but you might find yourself stopping the conversation with a 'hold on a minute, I love this song!'
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South William
The city's hippest new bar has it all behind its huge glass frontage: top class music, great DJs, a downstairs club with a rotating list of guest DJs from all over, and even pies created by Troy Maguire from Lock's.
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Spirit
A veritable temple to hardcore clubbing and the New Age mantra of mind-body-spirit, this three-floored club belies its touchy-feely promos with an edginess that can sometimes verge on nasty - or maybe that's just the coke-fuelled paranoia that so many of the clubbers seem to display. Strictly for the hardened clubber.
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Stag's Head
Built in 1770 but remodelled in 1895, this pub has magnificent stained glass, chandeliers and marbled walls, elaborate carved wood and, of course, mounted stags' heads. It's probable that some of the fitters that worked on this pub would have also worked on churches in the area, so the stained-wood-and-polished-brass similarities are no accident. It can get crowded but it's worth it. The kitchen does a great line in tasty pub food if all that Guiness is making you dizzy.
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Sugar Club
Table service and a cocktail bar draw in a slightly more sophisticated (read older) crowd who come for the cabaret-style acts performing here regularly.
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Swan
John Lynch's pub (known to all as the Swan) is home to two kinds of punter: the in-for-a-pint-and-a-chat tippler that doesn't venture far from the Victorian front bar; and the more animated younger person, who finds solace and music in the side bar. A beautiful marriage that works because neither troubles the other.
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Temple Bar
The most photographed pub façade in Dublin, perhaps the world, the Temple Bar (aka Flannery's) is smack bang in the middle of the tourist precinct and is usually choc-a-bloc with visitors. It's good craic though, and presses all the right buttons, with traditional musicians, a buzzy atmosphere and even a beer garden. It's also one of the most expensive pubs in Dublin.
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Thomas Read's
The clientele at this spacious and airy bar, spread across two levels, seems to favour a selection of wine and coffee over beer. During the day, it's a great place to relax and read a newspaper. For a more traditional setting its annexe, the Oak, is still a great place for a pint.
