Travel essentials
Why go now?
Ireland's capital celebrates St Patrick's Day right through to
Monday (stpatricksfestival.ie). Parades, street entertainment and
the university boat race will be amplified by the prospect of the
city becoming a new Doha on the Liffey, following the discovery of
oil in Ireland's Atlantic waters.
Any weekend in the next few weeks will prove rewarding. Carpets
of vivid tulips and hyacinths are blooming profusely in St
Stephen's Green (1). You don't get that in Qatar.
Touch down
Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ryanair.com), Aer Lingus (0871 718 5000;
aerlingus.com), Aer Arann (0870 876 7676; aerarann.com) and Flybe
(0871 700 2000; flybe.com) fly from a range of airports. BMI (0844
848 4888; flybmi.com) flies from Heathrow, CityJet (08716 633 777;
cityjet.com) from London City. The airport is 12km north of the
centre. The frequent Aircoach (aircoach.ie) costs €7 one way, €12
return to Upper O'Connell St (2), Grafton Street (3) and Merrion
Square North (4). Dublin Bus's 747 Airlink (dublinbus.ie) to
Connolly (5) and Heuston (6) railway stations costs €6 one way, €10
return. City bus 16A departs every 20 minutes (exact fare, €2.65).
By sea, Irish Ferries (08181 300 400; irishferries.com) has fast
ferries and conventional ships to Dublin from Holyhead; from 1
April Stena Line (0844 770 7070; stenaline.co.uk) will run a
high-speed catamaran to Dun Laoghaire (see "Icing on the cake"),
where you can plug into the city's Dart light-rail system.
Get your bearings
The River Liffey bisects the city horizontally. Orient yourself
by the named foot and road bridges, the most central of which is
busy O'Connell Bridge (7). The heart of the city is demarcated by
Trinity College (8), St Stephen's Green (1), Christ Church
Cathedral (9) and Parnell Square (10), with Temple Bar (11) at the
centre. The Dublin Tourism Centre (12) on Suffolk Street (00 353 1
437 0969; visitdublin.com) opens 9am-5.30pm daily except Sundays
(10.30am-3pm). The bus information office (13) at 59 Upper
O'Connell Street (00 353 1 873 4222; dublinbus.ie) provides a guide
to key routes.
Check in
The Westbury Hotel (14) (00 353 1 679 1122; doyle
collection.com) offers stylish rooms and a location that could not
be more central. Doubles without breakfast start at €152. The
Townhouse bed and breakfast (15) on the north side at 47/48 Lower
Gardiner Street (00 353 1 878 8808; townhouseofdublin.com) occupies
two restored Georgian houses, one of which belonged to Lafcadio
Hearn, the 19th-century writer on Japan, which explains the
Japanese garden. Doubles from €47, with breakfast.
Among the many hostels, Kinlay House (16) near Christ Church (00
353 1 679 6644; kinlaydublin.ie) has dorm beds from €15 with decent
breakfasts.
Day one
Cultural morning
In this most literary of cities, make libraries your theme.
Sequestered behind St Patrick's Cathedral, Marsh's Library (17)
(marshlibrary.ie) has been a public library since 1701 (the first
in Ireland) though today's scholars are no longer locked into three
cages at the back to prevent theft. A riveting exhibition on
medicine includes illustrated books on the Black Death, early
anatomy, gynaecology and quackery. This under- visited gem is open
weekdays 9.30am-1pm and 2pm-5pm, Saturdays 10am-1pm, closed
Tuesdays; €2.50.
The Chester Beatty Library (18) displays illuminated manuscripts
from Asia and the Middle East, and astonishing early papyrus
fragments of the Bible. Open 10am-5pm from Tues-Sat, 1-5pm Sun;
free. Also free is an exhibition on the life of W B Yeats at the
National Library of Ireland (19) at 2 Kildare Street (nli.ie); open
daily, hours vary.
Lunch on the run
George's Street Market (20) is great for lunch and
people-watching. Groups of teenage girls concoct frozen yoghurt
desserts at innovative Yogism. Elegant ladies with slim ankles sip
espressos. Order a €5 lamb burger at the Honest to Goodness Café
Bakery or slide into a communal bench at the Urban Picnic for an
Asian or Mediterranean-influenced dish.
Window shopping
In the George's Street Arcade (20) eclectic stalls sell records,
retro clothes, modish jewellery and second-hand books of Irish
poetry (georgesstreetarcade.ie). The market opens at 9am daily
(noon on Sundays) and closes at 6.30pm (8pm Thursdays). A short
walk away, Lucy's Lounge (21), a thrift shop at 11 Upper Fownes
Street, rotates a wacky stock of fashion and accessories.
An aperitif
The whimsical out-of-the-way The Cake Café (22) (62 Pleasants
Place; 00 353 1 478 9394; thecakecafe.ie) serves prosecco and
elderflower cocktails and fino sherry with olives for €6-€7 in tiny
premises and a leafy arcaded courtyard; open till 5.30pm on
Saturdays, 8pm Tuesday to Friday.
Apart from such frivolities, Dublin is a one-aperitif town –
though locals would never besmirch the good name of Guinness with
that fancy description. The traditional Dublin pub, with polished
mahogany and cut-glass mirrors is a thing of beauty. Go to buzzing
Neary's (23) behind the Gaiety Theatre for the banter, to
Mulligan's (24) for an unreconstructed old-world atmosphere, to the
Long Hall (25) for its diversity of regulars or to the Brazen Head
(26), a stronghold of Irish nationalism judging from the
portraits.
Dining with the locals
The Celtic Tiger era has left Dublin with a selection of
impressive dining options such as the Camden Kitchen (27) (00 353 1
476 0125; camdenkitchen .ie) just around the corner from The Cake
Café (22), and Hugo's (28) at 6 Merrion Row (00 353 1 676 5955;
hugos.ie) with contemporary dishes such as grilled artichoke salad
and tamarind-glazed salmon.
At La Cave Wine Bar (29) (28 South Anne Street; 00 353 1 679
4409; lacave winebar.com), the subterranean location, "bordello
red" decor and Latin music manages to create an intimate yet casual
atmosphere. If you are prepared to leave by 8pm, two courses cost
€17.
Day two
Sunday morning: take a view
As the morning sky brightens over the River Liffey, stroll
downstream on the north side towards the newly renovated Docklands.
Just before the Sean O'Casey Bridge (30) is a disquieting reminder
in bronze of the Great Famine of 1845-1852. With their backs turned
on Ireland, five straggling figures and an emaciated dog look
towards the sea, with emigration their only hope. The modern view
is of the stunning Samuel Beckett Bridge (31) and the port
beyond.
A walk in the park
Just 10 minutes' walk from the River Liffey is the fine Georgian
Merrion Square (4) where well-to-do families lived (and where a
soup kitchen was set up during the famine). Famous residents
included the Wildes (Oscar's father was a prominent surgeon) and W
B Yeats at number 82 (32). In the centre is a railed-in pleasure
ground, adorned with gas lamps of Old Dublin, a tent-shaped war
memorial and sculptures. The most arresting is of Oscar Wilde (33)
draped languidly over a boulder in the corner nearest his childhood
home.
Out to brunch
Presiding over Grafton Street, Bewley's Oriental Café
(bewleys.com) (34) is one of Dublin's charming clichés, a monument
to respectability, purveyor of fine coffee and a €9.60 full Irish
breakfast at any time after 9am on Sundays (8am on other days).
Take a hike
At a time when cemeteries were exclusively Protestant, the
nationalist hero Daniel O'Connell established non-denominational
Glasnevin Cemetery (35) in 1832. It has monumental sculptures,
mature sequoia, yew and oak, and the remains of more than a million
souls. The tombs of the famous cluster round the entrance on
Finglas Road (accessible by bus 40 or 140), from the grandiose 50m
round tower above a sunken crypt for "The Liberator" O'Connell, to
the modest headstone of Ireland's early president, Eamon de
Valera.
The daily 2.30pm tour (€6) provides a fascinating insight into
the who's who of Irish history. Wandering to the more neglected
corners reveals epitaphs that record the poignant loss of children
in large impoverished Irish families.
Icing on the cake
Jump on a Dart commuter train to Dun Laoghaire and inside half
an hour you can be striding out on the mile-long East Pier,
enjoying marvellous views across Dublin Bay and watching shags dive
for fish.
Walking south along the shore about the same distance brings you
to quaint Sandycove and the Martello Tower made famous in the first
chapter of Ulysses. Back in the city, find your way to the
unfashionable Smithfield area to hear informal Irish music at the
Cobblestone pub (36) at 77 North King Street (00 353 1 872
1799).
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