suggestions for Dublin?

Hi Guys --

Heading to Dublin tomorrow for just a night. DH is there for a work conference so I will have tomorrow to myself just to wander around. I've been there before a long time ago, so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for things to see/do while I'm in the city wandering around on my own. Suggestions for lunch and nice cafes are also very welcome

Thanks!

If you're just there for an afternoon, wandering around Temple Bar can be fun. There are lots of cafes and little restaurants. Queen of Tarts is a good place to get coffee and cake. Chez Max is a good cafe right at the gate to Dublin Castle. You can walk up Grafton Street, there are lots of little streets off of there that you can wander around. Then you could head to St Stephen's Green and have a walk around the gardens. Depending on how much time you have and if you want to spend the money, you could go see the Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College. I think it's 10 euro. The lines shouldn't be too long for a Monday. There are the Hop On/Hop Off buses and there's a Viking Splash Tour which I haven't done, but I've heard it's pretty good.

Hope that helps!

i know its typical tourist, but the guinness tour is awesome. its a stop on the hop on/hop off bus. The view from the top of the galaxy bar is amazing. we were there during a stormy day so if the suns out you'll be able to see for miles!

Grafton Street had some awesome street performers when i was there. Busking and such. We just missed closing to see the book of Kells but i'd go out of my way to go find it again.

some of the best times we had were in the bars that weren't on the tourist see's though. i am more of a history buff so most of our sight seeing was related to the cathedrals and the rebuilt castle.

If your up to it, there should be a few pubs that do a pub crawl in reference to literary matters. we hit one up while we were there but i can NOT remember the company that did it!!

oh, also go find the statue of Oscar Wilde in the park. The photo opportunity is excellent. 

Great suggestions! Thank you both

Is the hop on/hop off bus free? Where do I find it? We're staying near the Trinity College which I think (?) is pretty central.

Have a pint in Temple Bar but dont stay there long. When we lived there they were charging €6 for a pint of Guinness. The pubs just outside (the Long Stone, Messr MacGuires, O'Doyles) were charging between €2-€3 less, but that was 2006 prices.

Go to Porterhouse. They dont sell any Guinness there as they lay to claim to be the largest Irish brewer in the country (Guiness is owned by Diageo) and the food there is amazing and reasonably priced. Theres about 4 in Dublin now, but the biggest is on the edge of Temple Bar and has a good mix of locals and tourists.

No, the Hop On/Hop Off buses aren't free. I think they're about 25 euro for a two day pass. There is a red company (the same one that's in London etc) and there's a green company. Honestly, if you're just looking to stay in the city centre, don't bother with the hop on/hop off. The city centre is so small that you can walk to most of the places that are on the bus tour, even Guinness if you're feeling peppy! If you do want to get the bus, you can pick it up on Suffolk Street, just across from the big Avoca store. There is also a visitor's centre on Suffolk Street (it's in an old church).

I agree about the Porterhouse. They definitely have the best selection of Irish beers and their food is delicious. I would also recommend the Stag's Head (try to get a seat in the snug) or Grogan's (for pints, no food), both are in the city centre. And yes, expect to pay 5-6 euro for a pint. Even the Long Stone (another good pub) will charge you a fiver these days. It is Rip Off Ireland after all! 

I agree that the hop on hop off bus is not the best idea if you only have a short time.  DH and I were in Dublin a few years ago for basically a day and a morning, and we got the bus tickets so we could go to the Guinness brewery, but didn't really make use of them for anything else.  It's a bit overwhelming when you have such a short time.  I'd suggest picking two or three things that you really want to do and focusing on those rather than trying to cram too much in. 

We also took advantage of the Dublin Pass. They have inricments to fit every visit. It helps with free entry into most of the popular attractions. I got mine at the airport, which included a free coach ride into the city center.

there is a tourist stop right on o'connell street that should sell them. we took a simple city bus back to the airport for economy.

i will say that most corner stores sell daily or 2-day bus passes. i found the routes easy to understand and frequent enough. they were only a 3-5 euro for a full day of unlimited bus rides.

but be sure to bring an unbrella because there isn't a lot of covered shelters incase of a downpour!

Hands down, the highlight of my weekend in Dublin was Kilmainham Gaol. It's a long walk out of the center of town so best to take the public bus but it was so worth it. I knew very little about Irish history before the visit and ended up learning a ton. Very interesting and enlightening trip.

Hands down, the highlight of my weekend in Dublin was Kilmainham Gaol. It's a long walk out of the center of town so best to take the public bus but it was so worth it. I knew very little about Irish history before the visit and ended up learning a ton. Very interesting and enlightening trip.

Me too....well worth a visit. And I preferred the Jameson distillery tour to the Guinness tour...probably because I've done loads of brewery tours and theres only so many times you can hear how it's made!

If you like art museums, I loved their National Gallery, much more even than the one in London!

Hands down, the highlight of my weekend in Dublin was Kilmainham Gaol. It's a long walk out of the center of town so best to take the public bus but it was so worth it. I knew very little about Irish history before the visit and ended up learning a ton. Very interesting and enlightening trip.

This has been on my Bucket List for years. I'm American and now that I'm living in London, maybe I'll finally make it over there....