Our next and final stop in Ireland was Dublin.

The sites we visited in and around Dublin are listed in pink at left. 

Click on them for more information and pictures.

Dublin is the capital of the Irish Republic, located on the eastern shore of Ireland.  The city is a major tourist spot in Europe and has a population of just over 1 million.  Dublin is divided by the River Liffey which runs out into the Irish Sea to the east.  North of the Liffey is considered the poorer part of town while south of the Liffey is considered more wealthy.  The whole city is busy and very urban, and really isn't much different than any other big city such as New York, London, D.C. etc.  There is a plethora of exciting things to see and do in Dublin, including the section of town called Temple Bar, Grafton Street for shopping, Phoenix Park for the zoo, Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, the River Liffey, busy O'Connell Street, the Guinness storehouse etc.  You will not be bored or run out of things to do Dublin !

  Tips about Dublin...

This is the point at which your suitcase will be stretching to its limits...especially at the end of the Dublin stay.  Keep this in mind when buying souvenirs here.  You can get just about anything in Dublin, and there are tacky (but fun too) 3-story gift shops everywhere selling anything you could possibly imagine.  These gift shops are called Carroll's Irish Gift Stores and you can get anything Guinness at these stores.  Watch your spending and remember: you still have Italy! 

Dublin is full of great restaurants, and the food here will be more expensive than it was in the west of Ireland.  There is a good variety of food: we ate Mongolian, Italian, and Thai food that was all really good.  Try la stampa's Tiger Becs Thai restaurant on Dawson Street...it's a little pricey, but very good! 

The Dublin City Tour (by Dublin Bus Tours) is worth it, but make sure you have a full day.  There are 16 stops and you will want to stop at more than just the Guinness Storehouse, trust me.  You can get a student or group discount, so show them your ISIC card at the stop. 

Be careful crossing the streets...I know this sounds so elementary, but remember that traffic flows in the opposite direction than you are used to and this is a busy city.  They give you warnings on the streets such as the one pictured below- and there is a wonderful noise system that goes off when it is safe to cross.  They wouldn't go through all this trouble to warn you if it wasn't a problem! 

Instead of the tacky gift shops, try the local craft shops.  There are some really neat ones in and around the Temple Bar area.  One in particular is called "WhichCraft."  There are three WhichCraft stores in Dublin, all in and around Temple Bar.  You will find handmade Irish crafts that are much more interesting and worthy as gifts than some of the stuff at Carroll's.  Trinity College also has a big gift store with books about nearly anything Irish, but it's pretty pricey too.  I'd say the most common souvenir items people bought in Dublin were the Guinness items such as T-shirts, pint glasses, posters etc.  You can get just about anything, like decks of cards, magnets, socks, boxers, chocolate, golf accessories, coffee mugs, postcards, bottle openers, key chains etc.  Perfect gifts for college age friends or beer connoisseurs!