I have 3 days in Dublin ... need advice!

[hoehlentroll]

So I will stay three days in Dublin during the Easter holidays.
what's to be seen in dublin?
would you recommend going anywhere outside by bus?
are there any good pubs?
is the maple hotel in dublin ok(-ish)?

 

[Sloan]

phil lynott statue!

 

[JeffTD]

Are you staying at the Maple Hotel? I know nothing about it other than that the location is pretty solid - you're right across the river from the best parts of town (IMO).

Cobblestone is a must-see, you could take the Luas (light-rail train, the Busaras and Abbey St. stops are right near your hotel) to Smithfield and you're right there. It's a really old, traditional pub, but is most famous for it's music. People come in every day of the week and have impromptu jam sessions. Nothing planned for the most part, just great musicians pulled from right off the street. Cobblestone was our mainstay when I lived there, although it helped that it was just 2 blocks from my apartment.

You also can't miss the Guinness Storehouse, that's probably a given. Skip the Jameson brewery tour - definitely not worth the price of admission.

I would avoid Temple Bar at night like the plague - it's a tourist trap and is hellishly expensive (€5.50+ for a pint). Are you looking for advice on nights out or just general sightseeing stuff?

You'll definitely want to stroll around the Trinity/Grafton Street/College Green/St. Stephens Green area. The national museum in that area is great and free, if you're into that sort of thing. There's also an insanely cool cafe on Dawson st. called Cafe an Seine - it's kind of like walking into a rich Parisian's house from the 1920's, but way more relaxing and with better (and reasonably priced) drinks.

You're also right near O'Connell Street which is huge but doesn't offer much other than a view, but is on the way to Henry St which is a pretty cool footpath/shopping area.

Having a meal or drink at The Brazen Head is pretty standard for tourists as the pub claims to have been in operation since the 1100's. Pretty cool place, regardless.

If I think of anything else I'll post - there's loads to do in the city but the real attraction (again, IMO) here is the people. They are fucking wonderful, friendly, lovely people who are almost without fail always up for a chat.

 

[ronnan]

Pretty much cant go wrong with what jeff said..Travelling outside the city probably isnt feasible, alot of the best stuff/sceneary etc apart from dublin is in the west of the country, which would be like 3-4 hours away...Phil lynott statue is cool, if your a lizzy fan check it out..

 

[hoehlentroll]

wow. thanks for the infos, especially Jeff. I'll definitly check those things out you posted. I'm looking for night life, but as you said not those expensive tourist pubs. I really would love to take a bus out of town to see the countryside. So maybe I try to search for guided bus tour or sth. like that. Is there any metal place at all? Metal travel guide is listing quite a few: http://www.metaltravelguide.com/europe/ireland/dublin/
But it does for my hometown too, and I know most of them are shit! Any recommendations regarding metal?
I also love to get a nice Irish Breakfast. Where's the best in town?

 

[JeffTD]

Can't help you on the breakfast, an Irish breakfast is just an English breakfast with some gross pudding.

The only remotely metal place I went to was called Dice Bar, in Smithfield. It's more of an alternative bar, but with a fairly dark atmosphere. I'd say you'll be pretty shit out of luck on that front, unfortunately, unless you can time your visit with a good gig going on at Whelans or The Academy.

You can do touristy Dublin stuff in a full day, more or less - the city is really quite small. If you want to see more of the countryside, especially on the west, I'd say your best bet would be to book a day-trip to the Cliffs of Moher via Galway. Galway was probably my favorite city in the country (largely circumstantial, I had friends there), and really does have a great nightlife if you wanted to book a night out there as well. It's more of a college town than Dublin, and I felt that the crowd going out was younger and less "done-up"/metropolitan.

You could also VERY easily (via the DART train) take a day trip down to Wicklow national park or something south of Dublin. Glendalough wouldn't be a bad choice, nor would Brae/Greystones. If you're into hiking, there's a Brae to Greystone hike that's great, and a very long, gorgeous one at Glendalough as well.

For a ridiculous night out, look into Harcourt St - I might not remember my nights at Dicey's or Copper Face Jack's, but I definitely won't forget them.

 

[drawnacrol]

Is there any metal place at all? Metal travel guide is listing quite a few: http://www.metaltravelguide.com/europe/ireland/dublin/
But it does for my hometown too, and I know most of them are shit! Any recommendations regarding metal?

Check out "The Pint" on Eden Quay, they have a lot of metal gigs their and a good crowd usually shows up. Fibber Magges used to be a favorite of mine but its a bit of a sewer and took a bad turn when the management tried to get rid of the "Rock Bar" image. Other options are Gypsy Rose and the new Fibbers so you will have no trouble finding a rock/metal bar to go out in.

 

[if6was9]

Check out "The Pint" on Eden Quay, they have a lot of metal gigs their and a good crowd usually shows up. Fibber Magges used to be a favorite of mine but its a bit of a sewer and took a bad turn when the management tried to get rid of the "Rock Bar" image. Other options are Gypsy Rose and the new Fibbers so you will have no trouble finding a rock/metal bar to go out in.

Yeah the pints a decent place for a gig and the other places mentioned are worth a visit to see whats up. Really depends whats on when you visit really, you might catch a cool, busy gig or you might find yourself at a shit gig with no one there.

 

[if6was9]

If you're in Ireland on April 8th, it'd be worth a trip down to Limerick for the day/night. The Siege of Limerick metal festival is on in Dolans Warehouse. 26 bands, 2 stages and it's free in. Runs from noon till 2 in the morning. Probably the biggest metal festival in the country, it's on every 6 months. There was 500+ people at it last october and it looks to be even bigger this April.

 

[hoehlentroll]

thanks again guys. I'm really looking foward now!

 

[Felix Neumann]

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/1351/2dscf0087.jpg

30 Km near Dublin. Braveheart was been filmed there...I forgot the name of this wonderful place.

EDIT: Wicklow Mountains A. MUST. VISIT.

 

[Felix Neumann]