I went to
Dublin last weekend for a hen do and wanted to share some of my tips in case
you are travelling there too.
If you
only have a few days in Dublin or a weekend then you won’t be able to get time
to see everything so here are some ideas of places to visit, where to eat and
where you could have a good night out.
Accommodation
8 Auburn
Street
Auburn
Street,
Phibsboro,
Dublin
+353
(0)86 8393939
nearcityrentals8@gmail.com
As we
were a group of seven, we rented a house for the weekend rather than staying in
a hotel. This is a great idea for a group of friends. The address
of the house we stayed in is below, there is plenty of room and beds for a big
group and a really large kitchen so everyone can eat or sit around and drink
and play games (which we did in the evenings). The house was really clean
and the owners seemed really nice and friendly. There’s plenty of
everything provided from towels and flannels to board games and dvd’s so it
would also be good for a family holiday. I would really recommend this
house rental. The house is a short walk to the town centre in a quiet
street so it’s really nice and relaxing while you are there, but near enough to
the action so you can get a cab into town and have a fun night out.
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| Dublin, 8 Auburn Street House to Rent |
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| Dublin Street |
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| Dublin Castle |
Getting Around
If you only have a few days in Dublin I recommend getting a 48 hour ticket on one of the hop on-hop off buses that start off in the city center, they go past all of the landmarks and you get on and off if you want to see something or look around or you can just stay on and see the scenery from the top deck, which is half open and half enclosed, handy in the windy Irish weather! It is a great way to see a lot of Dublin in a short space of time
What to
See
Temple
Bar area is a must to visit, it has lots of bars and restaurants so would be
great to go to in the evening for a night out. Temple Bar pub itself is a
big attraction and very busy and lively, The Porterhouse has many different
locally brewed beers so would be great for a typical lads night out pub crawl,
Oliver St John Goharty is really central with a good vibe and even Irish
dancing and Bison Bar and BBQ is a really popular restaurant with a bar
attached, it’s best to try and book a table as obviously everywhere in Temple
Bar area will be very busy as it is a real tourist attraction.
We had a quick
wander around Dublin castle and a look around some of the streets, I was really
impressed with the shops in Dublin, there were obviously some chain stores and
restaurants but more prevalent were independent shops and little cafes and bars
which were so cute and there were lots of gifts to buy to take home.
The Guinness Storehouse
As part
of the hop on bus ticket we purchased it included entry and fast track access
(no queuing for us) into the Guinness storehouse, you can also buy your tickets
online from their website so you don’t have to queue here Guinness Storehouse
Website
This is a must visit place in Dublin, the admission cost includes a free pint
of Guinness in the Gravity Bar which is on the 7th Floor of the building with
amazing views of the city. I drank about half my pint of Guinness which I was
very impressed with, I am more of a champagne or vodka tonic girl and have
never drunk a pint of anything from a pint glass before! The storehouse was
great and very informative, they show all stages of how they make the Guinness
and there is even a tasting section with mini pints of Guinness so you learn
how to drink it properly!
If you prefer a whiskey to a Guinness then
the Old Jameson’s distillery is on Bow Street and we would have gone there too,
had we managed to find the time.
Where we ate
We ate lunch at the Guinness Storehouse on the Saturday, I had the Tomato Basil soup and Guinness Bread which was absolutely delicious and on Sunday we had a full Irish Breakfast at the Candy Cafe
The food
was great at Candy Cafe and good value (8 Euro), I was so full I couldn’t even
finish it all, the food was really good quality although the cakes did look a
bit dry, I would give those a miss and go for the hot food.
Overall
Everyone
we met was very friendly and very funny. I was told you would never meet a
grumpy Dublin resident and I certainly agree with that now! I would
definitely like to go back there and see a lot more of the town and have a
really good Irish knees up next time.