I'm going to spend a few days in Dublin, in the beginning of January. If there are any Dubliners willing to meet up... I'm always in for that !

Just booked a flight. I will be there from the 4th till the 7th.

Not one response? And they say that Irish people are sociable!

In fairness, that's a lot of pre-planning over here at christmas time. Lots of liver damage to be done before Jan 4th.

I should be around but I'll be jet-lagged and broke and may piss you off - I'm coming back from Vegas on the 3rd.

Who are you calling sociable ?


There aren't very many Irish orgers on here regularly, which is probably why you haven't had any response (apart from mine) yet. Give it a few more days though, there are a few of us about.

I'm probably not much use to you - although I work in Dublin I live 30 miles away and I rarely spend an evening in the City (public transport makes it too difficult to bother - last train/bus is 11pm).

Always available for lunch though.

And if you want any info, ideas, suggestions, on where to go and what to do, ask away.

AU.

AsylumUtopia said:

Don't forget my response, ya nouveau culchie!

Don't mind me, just happy I have my 3121 tickets - flying to Vegas on Stephen's Day and back to Dublin on the 3rd of Jan. Lalala.

Now I was the one who wasn't sociable.

Anyway, both of you can give me some cool suggestions. The plane ticket is all that is planned. I know nothing about Dublin, except that I've read Joyce's Dubliners a few years ago.

PopeLeo said:

Oops, sorry! When I read your post, for some odd reason, I thought it was MarieLouise (yes, I did look at the user name, and no, I have no idea how I managed to get it wrong).

I haven't been called a nouveau culchie before, I quite like that one.

Have a blast in Vegas, you lucky sod.

MarieLouise said:

MarieLouse, you might find that the Dublin described in Joyce's Dubliners is not quite the same anymore. We wear shoes now.

Perhaps one of your first ports of call should be the Dublin Tourist Office on Suffolk Street :
http://visitdublin.com/to...spx?id=201
http://www.tourist-inform.../index.htm

You're definitely going to need a map, and they have a variety of good (free) ones in the tourist office. Of course, you might need a map to find the tourist office too!

As far as what to do once you've got your map I can recommend the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, Dublinia exhibition and Kilmainham Gaol.

Also, one of my favourites is the Jameson Distillery http://www.jamesonwhiskey...index.html Well worth a visit.

The guided bus tour of Dublin is very good, I've been on it several times. There are two companies which run the tours - Dublin City Guide, and Guide Friday. Guide Friday is the better of the two. As with most city bus tours you get a day ticket and hop on and off as you wish. Buses generally run about 10-15 minutes apart.

There's also the Viking tour of Dublin on which they make you wear a silly viking hat and shout at people, and it takes place on an amphibious vehicle which goes through the city centre and then, strictly for novelty value, takes a dip in the Grand canal. I haven't been on this one, but I'm told it's a good laugh.

Another place that always seems to get mentioned as a must-see for tourists is the Phoenix park (the largest urban park in Europe!), although to be honest, it's just a big park (with a zoo in it).


Restaurants I've been to and recommend :

French - Pearl, La Cave (wine bar / restaurant)
Japanese - Wagamama, Yamamori, Aya (sushi bar)
Thai - Diep le Shaker, The Chile Club
Mexican - Alamo
Italian - Cafe Topolis, The Bistro
Spanish (Tapas) - The Market Bar
Russian - Tzar Ivan
Vegetarian - Juice

Pubs :

The Market Bar, The Auld Dubliner, The Porterhouse (there are 2 - the one in Parliament Street is the better one), Cafe en Seine, Doheny & Nesbitt, The Long Stone

Sadly, I'm not very familar with the Dublin pub scene any more, which is why I've only mentioned a few. This is quite a good pub guide : http://www.dublinpubscene...ctory.html

This site isn't quite as good but it does have some of them marked on the google earth map, which is quite handy. http://www.pubguidedublin.com/

I take it from your profile that you're in Belgium, so a word of warning - if you're a beer drinker you're not going to like most of the draught beer on sale over here, compared to what you're used to it's fizzy piss. Plenty of good bottled beer available though.

Shopping :

Grafton Street, traditionally the snobby shopping area, although these days most of the shops are the same ones you'll find in the main shopping area of any city. Except Brown Thomas, which I suppose is best described as the Harrods of Dublin.

Henry Street, traditionally the not-very-snobby shopping area (because it's north of the river), just another street with shops on it really.

Nassau Street, this is the tourist trap street, with an amazing array of cheap and tacky leprechaunalia for sale.


There's lots more I could tell you but I really should do some work.

Let me know if you want any more info. If there's anything you're particularly interested in I might be able to make recommendations or provide some info.

AsylumUtopia said:

Thank you so much! I'm going to read all of this in detail.