Things to do in Dublin
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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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Pizza Milano
There are four branches of this large and pretty stylish pizza emporium spread throughout the city centre, all sharing a similar menu, but this one is our favourite because of the alfresco dining area on Dawson St and the on-site free child-minders, who entertain your little ones while you eat, on Sunday between noon and 4.30pm.
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Francis Street
Some of the most interesting - and wackiest - shopping is done along Francis Street in the Liberties, the home of antiquarians and, in recent years, art dealers of every hue. Although you mightn't fancy transporting the hand luggage, you can have that original Edwardian fireplace you've always wanted, shipped to you by the shop.
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Dublin Fringe Festival
Initially a festival for those shows too 'out-there' or insignificant to be considered for the main festival, this is now a three-week extravaganza with more than 100 events and over 700 performances. The established critics may keep their ink for the bigger do, but we strongly recommend the Fringe for its daring and diversity.
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Bank of Ireland
Facing Trinity College across College Green, this sweeping Palladian pile was built to house the Irish parliament and was the first purpose-built Parliament House in the world. The original building, the central colonnaded section that distinguishes the present-day structure, was designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce in the first half of the 18th century.
When the parliament voted itself out of existence through the 1801 Act of Union, the building was sold under the condition that the interior would be altered to prevent it ever again being used as a debating chamber. It was a spiteful strike at Irish parliamentary aspirations, but while the central House of Commons was…
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Bank
This architecturally dazzling bar occupies the site of a former Victorian bank and has opulent decoration, including a stained-glass ceiling, hand-carved plasterwork and mosaic-tiled floors to occupy your eyes while you wait for your pint of Guinness to settle. The atmosphere is conversational, and the bar staff are excellent.
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Retrospect
All you children of the 1960s and ’70s can relive the era that taste forgot (or took off, depending on your viewpoint) at this vintage interiors shop. In here you’ll discover fantastic plastic objects of desire, Formica-top tables, original lava lamps and swinging egg seats, all of them in glorious technicolour.
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Vicar Street
Smaller performances take place at this intimate venue near Christ Church Cathedral. It has a capacity of 1000, between its table-serviced group seating downstairs and theatre-style balcony. Vicar Street offers a varied program of performers, with a strong emphasis on soul, folk, jazz and foreign music.
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Ordnance Survey Ireland
At the northwestern end of the park near the White’s Gate entrance are the offices of Ordnance Survey Ireland, the government mapping department. This building was originally built in 1728 by Luke Gardiner, who was responsible for the architecture in O’Connell St and Mountjoy Sq in north Dublin.
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Casino at Marino
It's not the roulette-wheel kind of casino but the original Italian kind, the one that means 'summer home' (it literally means 'small house'), and this particular casino is one of the most enchanting constructions in all of Ireland. Entrance is by guided tour only; the last tour is 45 minutes before closing.
It was built in the mid-18th century for the Earl of Charlemont, who returned from his grand tour of Europe with more art than he could store in his own home, Marino House, which was on the same grounds but was demolished in the 1920s. He also came home with a big love of the Palladian style – hence the architecture of this wonderful folly.
The exterior of the…
reviewed
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Original Print Gallery
The gallery’s back catalogue of work from 150 Irish and international printmakers is available for purchase, along with new, limited-edition work. It’s a great place to browse for pressies (yes, for yourself, too) – many starting at under €100 – among the diverse range of prints on display.
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Hughes’ Bar
Traditional purists love the nightly sessions at this pub, which by day caters to barristers, solicitors and their clients from the nearby Four Courts – all of whom probably need a pint, but for different reasons! Although the playing is very good, the atmosphere is a little lacking and the sessions can be a bit dead.
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Blarney Woollen Mills
This is the Dublin branch of the best-known Irish shop in the country – the actual mills are located in County Cork, within sight of the famous castle and its gab-bestowing rock. This branch shouldn't disappoint, with a particularly wide range of cut crystal, porcelain presents and its trademark woolly things.
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Garden of Remembrance
This rather austere little park was opened by President Éamon de Valera in 1966 for the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising. It is still known to some Dubs as the ‘Garden of Mature Recollection’, mocking the linguistic gymnastics employed by former favourite for president Brian Lenihan, who was caught out lying in a minor political scandal and used the phrase to try and wiggle his way out of it.
The most interesting feature in the garden is a bronze statue of the Children of Lir by Oisín Kelly; according to Irish legend the children were turned into swans by their wicked stepmother. It was probably intended to evoke the famous lines penned by WB Yeats in his poem …
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Graduates' Memorial Building
The 1892 Graduates’ Memorial Building forms the northern side of Library Sq. North of it are tennis courts in the open area known as Botany Bay. The legend behind this name is that the unruly students housed around the square were suitable candidates for the British penal colony at Botany Bay in Australia.
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Rhinestones
Exceptionally fine antique and quirky costume jewellery from the 1920s to 1970s, with pieces priced from €25 to €2000. Victorian jet, 1950s enamel, art deco turquoise, 1930s mother-of-pearl, cut-glass and rhinestone necklaces, bracelets, brooches and rings are displayed by colour in old-fashioned cabinets.
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Irish Historical Picture Company
With a print collection that’s second only to the holdings at the National Library, this place has more than 12,000 pictures taken around Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. The prints cover all 32 counties and range from town streetscapes to images of bog cutters. Mounted prints can be framed within minutes.
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Pat Liddy Walking Tours
We highly recommend these award-winning themed tours of the city by well-known Dublin historian Pat Liddy, which include Viking & Medieval Dublin (10.30am Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, 2.30pm Saturday), the Historic Northside (10.30am Wednesday and Friday) and Georgian and Victorian Splendours (10.30am Monday, 2.30pm Friday). All tours depart from Dublin Tourism on Suffolk St. He also has a bunch of podcast walks available for download.
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Point Depot
The premier indoor venue for all rock and pop acts playing in Dublin, this 8000-capacity warehouse closed its doors for a major facelift in 2007. We only hope that it manages to fix the problems that made it one of the most unsatisfactory venues to see our favourite gigs, mostly because the stage was so bloody far away.
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National Museum of Ireland
Designed by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane and completed in 1890, the star attraction of this branch of the National Museum of Ireland is the Treasury, home to the finest collection of Bronze Age and Iron Age gold artefacts in the world, and the world’s most complete collection of medieval Celtic metalwork.
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Gill’s
Just a stone’s throw from Croke Park, this unashamedly old-fashioned boozer was one of Brendan Behan’s favourites and the place where his friends chose to wake his passing when he died. If you’re on your way to Croker for a match, or just want to try out a good old-style pub, there are few better.
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Café Mao
Mao's often spicy mix of Vietnamese and Thai specialities, cooked to order and served with a musical soundtrack that declares its super-cool credentials, is one of the city's most successful restaurants. You can feast on the likes of nasi goreng and bulkoko here or at its other spots in the Dundrum Town Centre and Dun Laoghaire.
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Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud
Handing out the title of ‘Best in the Country’ involves some amount of personal choice, but few disagree that this exceptional restaurant is a leading candidate, not least those good people at Michelin, who have put two stars in its crown. As a result, this is the most prestigious restaurant in the country, where the service is formal but surprisingly friendly, the setting elegant but not stuffy, the wine list simply awesome and head chef Guillaume Lebrun’s haute cuisine proudly French. The food is innovative without being fiddly, beautifully cooked and superbly presented. The lunch menu is an absolute steal, at least in this stratosphere.
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Cobalt Café & Gallery
A splendid little cafe just opposite the James Joyce Cultural Centre, the Cobalt occupies the ground floor of an elegant Georgian building and serves honest-to-goodness sandwiches stuffed with lots of lovely fillings. The big fireplace is the spot to warm those winter toes.
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3-Day Cork, Blarney Castle, Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula Rail Tour
by Viator
Spend a leisurely three days exploring Blarney Castle, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula on a rail and coach tour that shows you some of the…Not LP reviewed
from USD$518.55