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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Dublin must do's
DH and I are going to Dublin tomorrow night thru Sunday. We are arriving in Dublin and driving to Galway area to see the Cliff of Moher on Thursday and some other things in the area. Then back to Dublin for Friday/Saturday and are leaving around 5 Sunday...what are must see's in Dublin? Recommendations for restaurants also would be great.
We are planning on doing the hop on/off bus Friday and Saturday or do you think we should do a day tour one of those days? We would probably do an organized tour for a day trip since we don't want to bother renting a car for a day.
Re: Dublin must do's
I would do the bus pass for 2 days.. it gets you into a bunch of things and you can basically use it as your transport as well..
I would say the three must dos are Guinness factory, Kilmainham Gaol (old jail with awesome exhibits and history to it) and the book of Kells. Also as it is Rugby World Cup time I would wake up one morning to see the games at a pub and have a pint along with your full irish breakfast.
Enjoy! I was just there with hubby last Feb
Also pack your raincoat and wellies, you will use them!
Sounds like a wonderful trip! In Dublin, there's quite a few things to see but it (as ever) depends on your interests. I enjoyed Trinity College (where the Books of Kells is) and students there offer pretty informative tours of the grounds. There's also a writers' museum and former writers' houses, etc.
As for eating, we really enjoyed The Mermaid Cafe (ignore the stupid name). It's in Temple Bar area and is a Michelin-starred place, but very low key. We went in smart jeans and reasonable tops--I had a decent sweater and DH had a polo--and others were on par with us. The food is excellent--just very good food served in occasionally innovative but not bizarre ways. They also had home-made vanilla fudge ice cream that made me want to sell my soul for weekly deliveries. It was scrumptious!
I enjoyed Bewley's tea shop on Grafton Way as well. There are stained glass windows by Moore (amazing!) and delicious berry scones. It's a nice mid-day reprieve from all the touristy stuff.
Personally I found Dublin to be a very walkable city and never really considered the hop-on, hop-off buses, although we did ride the tram a couple of times.
I took a tour with Over the Top tours (http://www.overthetoptours.com/) and really enjoyed it. They do small buses--14-16 people--and the guide was absolutely wonderful. I did the Wicklow/Glendalough tour. We saw a couple waterfalls, lots of sheep, Oscar Wilde's childhood summer home, the mountains, got to smell burning peat (our guide said it used to be the 'smell of Ireland') and of course see Glendalough, which was spectacular. Our guide gave us probably an hour to see Glendalough and then we walked solo from the monastic site up to the upper lake (about a 20 minute walk) where he picked us up. Anyway, I thought it was a great tour.
Have a good time!
If you want to catch a play I recommend the Abbey Theatre. Bewleys sometimes has live music or short plays too. Also there's a small gallery in Trinity College. It's a beautiful college to walk around which I luckily get to do regularly as a student. If you go don't be afraid and make sure to pop into the Museum building. The entrance and lobby are beautiful.
For a cheap nice lunch I recommend Calzone Cafe on South William Street. (right beside Grafton Street). You won't be stuck. There's a lot of choice of nice restaurants.
Have fun!
Alas, the Mermaid Cafe has closed. High rents were to blame, it's a blow to the Dublin restaurant scene.
I would recommend the Port House on South William Street. It's brilliant for ambiance. The Hop On/Hop Off tour is a good idea, it goes for 2 days so you can make the most of it. St. Stephen's Green is a great place to stroll around. Make sure you walk up and down Grafton Street and explore the side streets in that area as well.
Where are you staying in Dublin?