going to dublin for a long weekend for my 21st from the 24th to the 28th of september. got a wee list of things we want to do (drink lots mainly) but anyone got any suggestions? cheers kieran
really? it's not that interesting, you only get a pint included and it's quite expensive. Nice view from the top though.
You're saying that if you go to Dublin don't visit the factory of Guiness!? Thats the whole pinnacle of the trip! It might be rubbish, but if anybody's going there anyway, its a great thing to say you've done.
I have never once felt the need to tell anyone "I once went to the Guiness factory!11!!" It's something to do which is relatively entertaining, but it's not something that you absolutely must do or else you have missed out.
Depends what interests you but I went recently and went to Trinity College, Book of Kells and the zoo. I also spotted they do bus tours and ghost bus tours but I was only there a couple of days so didn't have time to fit more in. Also went to the CSI Experience (I love CSI ) was good, not great but then that's because it was too easy lol.
The bus our is exceptionally good, you can buy day tickets or 3 day tickets iirc, and hop on and off the bus as it suits to enter the attractions, or simply view the city skipping the ones you don't want. The drivers provide good information on the tour and severla of them will break into song during their banter. The tour is very well put together and there is not alot of wait between the buses. 18-19 stops on the tour iirc, very worthwhile.
Get the bus to Belfast for a far cheaper and just as fun weekend. I'd usually recommend the train, but they've been having problems with their bridges in the south lately...
Yeah there was that land slide comming into Dundalk or something, either way whey come see the north! And for the one liner for things to do in dublin: An Irish girl!
The Usual Touristy Things Attend a music gig at a decent Venue Go for a pub crawl, pubs vary in quality with music and food and a nice beer garden are usually the better ones. Guinness Factory Tour, I've heard its okay Bus Tour, it would allow you to see the city quickly and get a feel for the place If you want to go shopping either Dundrum Shopping Centre (Take the Luas) or Grafton St. and Powerscourt have some decent shops albeit a bit expensive. Highly recommended See a highly reviewed play at the Abbey or other venerable theatre. Dublin has a few nice restaurants and the prices are dropping some bargains to be found. Check out menupages.ie Go to a comedy event e.g. Dylan Moran on Vicar St. who should be performing while you're there. If the weather is nice (and it won't be) smoke a joint in St. Stephens Green. I'll sort you out with some green if you want. Irish grass is greener! Things to note Avoid going further North than O'Connell St. Dublin is expensive but bargains can be found. Hostels are far far cheaper than Hotels and aren't that shabby. Dublin is the worst part of Ireland. Irish girls are usually snobby and pretentious. Irish lads are more inclined to have fun. Don't waste much time or money on Irish girls. Don't even read the Dublin Bus timetable. It just isn't accurate to any degree.
Dublin Castle is worth a visit, also go to the temple bar when they have live music on, good irish vibe (WARNING: its very expensive there). Bus tour is always a must. They had a cool bus tour where they use old WW2 Ducks which looked more fun then the usual open top one.
The Guiness factory is really very meh and expensive for what it is. I thought it would be interesting for my boyfriend since he is starting a brewing and distilling MSc this month but it was very basic and didn't remotely compare to going to an actual plant (which we did in first year). Perhaps we were less interested because we already knew the process but even that only takes up two floors. I'd recommend one of the hop on/hop off bus tours, specifically one with live commentary. We got 24 hour tickets which took us everywhere we wanted to go within the city (including the park with the zoo) and the driver was fun to listen to.
Authur Guinness Day is the 24th,just so you know. From wikipedia: To mark 250th anniversary of the signing of the 9,000 year lease at St. James's Gate brewery Guinness is holding a year-long global celebration, focused on the 24 September 2009, to be known as Arthur’s Day (the actual starting date on the lease was 31 December 1759). Arthur’s Day will be a global celebration, which will see a series of events take place around the world, including Dublin, Lagos, Yaoundé, New York, Kuala Lumpur and at Murphy's Law in Mannheim, Germany. Live music and entertainment will come from some of the world’s biggest names in music including the Black Eyed Peas and renowned DJ and producer David Holmes with rising stars such as Estelle, Kasabian, The Wombats and The Enemy and legendary acts such as Soul II Soul and The Undertones. The highlight of this once in a lifetime celebration will see the raising of a glass to Arthur Guinness at 17.59 local time, to start a truly remarkable global toast.
The Ghostbus tour is also worth a look. Bring a camera. http://www.dublinsightseeing.ie/ghostbus.aspx
