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Home > Destinations > Dublin

Dublin

The Merrion
The Merrion
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The Merrion

Dublin, Ireland  

143 rooms, 20 suites

Features: Conference Hotel, City Hotel, Fitness Center, Historic Landmark, Swimming Pool(s), Spa Facilities, Children's Programs, Banquets, Business Meetings, Shopping Available, High-Speed Internet Access, On-Site Pool

Dublin’s celebrated Merrion Hotel is situated opposite government buildings in the city center. Created from four Grade 1 Listed Georgian townhouses and a specially commissioned contemporary wing, the...
The Westbury
The Westbury
<<    of    >>
The Westbury

Dublin, Ireland  

162 Classic Rooms, 25 Executive Rooms, 18 Suites

Features: Conference Hotel, City Hotel, Fitness Center, Banquets, Business Meetings, Shopping Available, High-Speed Internet Access

One of Dublin's best-known and well-loved 5 star retreats in the heart of Dublin city, The Westbury offers a unique experience in standards of hospitality, lavish service and elegant surroundings. ...

City Statistics

Location

Province of Leinster, Ireland.

Dialing code

353.

Population

506,211 (city); 1,187,176 (metropolitan area).

Time zone

GMT (GMT + 1 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity

240 volts AC, 50Hz; UK-style, square three-pin plugs are standard.

Average January temperatures

5°C (41°F).

Average July temperatures

17°C (63°F).

Annual rainfall

73mm (28.5 inches).... More >>

Overview

Still riding on the back of the roaring success of the 'Celtic Tiger' economy, 21st-century Dublin is a city on the rise and rise. Business in many sectors continues to boom and the city overflows with tourists, who flock to the 'party capital of Europe' to sample the infamous Irish craic (fun).

This vibrant, fun-loving city on the River Liffey is full of atmospheric pubs where the craic is spun with a well-polished finish and the streets echo with the ghosts of artistic luminaries such as James Joyce and W B Yeats. Visit between April and October, when the weather is at its best, with July and August the busiest months, or throughout the year for the numerous festivals, cultural and religious events and sporting fixtures.

Sightseeing highlights include the early medieval Christchurch Cathedral (Dublin's oldest building), the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, Phoenix Park (Europe's largest urban park), the National Gallery of Ireland and the treasures of the National Museum of Ireland, containing Europe's finest collection of prehistoric gold artefacts. A plethora of buildings and museums (including Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university, and the Guinness Storehouse) convey a real sense of living history.

Indeed, it is this living history, present in the media of music and literature, which has brought Dublin such international acclaim. In the 20th century, a string of poets and writers immortalized the city, none more so than James Joyce whose seminal Ulysses (1922), which depicts one day in Dublin, is considered by many literary critics to be the greatest novel of that century.

But things have not always been so rosy for this thousand-year-old city on the east coast of Ireland. For much of the first half of the 20th century, strife and unrest tore Dublin apart as it was involved in a messy and violent divorce from Britain.

Today's new Dublin, the 'capital of Euro-cool', continues to boom, and boasts one of the youngest populations in Europe, who frequent its funky bars, sophisticated restaurants and rebuilt city streets.

However, despite the recent changes, the city and its people have remained the same. Alongside trend-setting bars, clubs and designer shops it is still possible to find quiet, traditional pubs, nostalgic museums and busking fiddlers in Temple Bar, even horse-drawn carts clip-clopping along cobbled streets. It is a fascinating blend of tradition and contemporary Irish life. No wonder, in Dublin today, Irish eyes are well and truly smiling.
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Tourist Information

Walking Tours
Dublin Tourism has published a 'Ulysses Map of Dublin', for those who wish to conduct a self-guided walk in the footsteps of Joyce's famous character, Leopold Bloom. They have also created a series of iWalks - 11 podcast audio guides written by local artist, author and historian, Pat Liddy, on various themes telling the story of Dublin (including 'The Historic Northside', 'Georgian Dublin' and 'In the Steps of Ulysses'). Each iWalk is free to download from www.visitdublin.com/iwalks and comes with a full-color brochure featuring maps and illustrations by Pat Liddy.

Discover Dublin Tours, 20 Stephen Street Lower (tel: (01) 475 3313; website: www.musicalpubcrawl.com), organizes a two-and-a-half-hour musical pub-crawl in the Temple Bar area. You can buy tickets on the night and also from the Dublin Tourism Centre on Suffolk Street. The tour commences upstairs in Oliver St John Gogarty's (corner of Fleet Street and Anglesea Street) and operates nightly April to October; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only from November to March.

The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl (tel: (01) 670 5602; website: www.dublinpubcrawl.com) is a two-hour tour featuring poetry recitals and singing, as well as visiting Dublin's famed pubs that have literary connections. Daily tours commence upstairs at the Duke Pub, 9 Duke Street.

Historical Walking Tours of Dublin (tel: (01) 688 9412; website: www.historicalinsights.ie), led by Trinity College history students, provide insights into the cultural, religious and political history of Dublin, with such themes as 'A Terrible Beauty -  The Birth of the Irish State 1916-1923' and 'Unmanageable Revolutionaries - Women in Irish History'. Walks start from the front gate of Trinity College.

Bus Tours
Two bus companies - Guide Friday (tel: (01) 605 7705; website: www.irishcitytours.com) and Dublin Bus (tel: (01) 873 4222; website: www.dublinbus.ie) - offer hop-on, hop-off bus tours covering all the major sights of the city center, with running commentary from a tour guide. Tours commence approximately every 15 minutes from O'Connell Street.

Other Tours
Guided tours by horse and cart can be picked up at St Stephen's Green during the summer months. You should negotiate the duration and price with the driver before setting off.
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