Orientation
Dublin lies on both sides of the river Liffey. The south side of the city centre is where Trinity College, Temple Bar, St. Stephen's Green, Christchurch Cathedral and the posh shopping area of Grafton Street are. The main roads of this side are Pearse and Dame Streets.

On the north side, one can find more traditional (and cheaper in every sense) shopping areas like Henry Street and the Smithfield Market, the General Post Office, and the amazing Phoenix Park. The main road along the north side is O'Connell Street.

Accommodation
For budget accommodation, look into any of the numerous youth hostels in the city centre. If you are heading for the ones in the north side (with odd post codes, e.g. Dublin 1) make sure they are not more than a couple of blocks away from the Liffey, since there have been street crime incidents with travellers in the north city centre.

For something better, many pubs like Oliver St. John of Gogharty's in Temple bar have self catered apartments, that have to be booked well in advance. O'Neills of Pearse Street also have very nice rooms above the pub, just across the road from Trinity college.

At the high end, there is a number of luxurious hotels like The Shelbourne and the U2-owned Clarendon in Temple Bar.

Transport
To get to the city centre from the airport a taxi should not cost more than £15. The cheapest way is by the double decked bus that will take you into town for a mere £1.10. Note that you will have to have the exact fare, otherwise you will get your change on a useless Dublin Bus piece of paper!

Apart from Dublin Bus system, which covers every area of the city, there is also the DART, a light train that goes along the coast, linking the northern and southern suburbs with the city centre. It's worth taking this for a picturesque ride to the towns of Dalkey (a medieval village) and Howth (a beautiful harbour town), now both posh suburbs.

If you are planning to use public transport a lot, there are a number of deals for one/three day and weekly passes, that offer better value.

Money
The official currency of Dublin is the Irish Punt, commonly called pound or quid (£). The unofficial is the pint of Guinness (currently around ££2.70).

There are many exchange offices in the city centre, and one can also change major currencies in hotel receptions, post offices and any bank. Best rates for the dollar are normally with American Express, across the road from Molly Malone's statue. For the sterling the Bank of Ireland are good, but both should make minimal or no difference when it comes to reasonable amounts. The airport exchange desks charge more than high street banks! There are a lot of ATMs (Drinklink in local jargon) in every area of the city, and most will accept international plastic bearing the Cirrus or Maestro logos.

Internet Cafes
There is a lot of internet cafes in town (as the city centre is called in the local slang), most of them in or around Temple Bar.

Coffee Shops
Coffee drinking is not that big in Irish culture, which explains the lack of cafes in Dublin. Most pubs will serve coffee though, and there are very few places that will serve just coffee and not pints.

Arts/ Music Scene
The music scene is very active in Dublin, and every night there is a wide choice of "gigs". There are live clubs that feature artists every night, as well as big theatres that host concerts of a larger scale.

A good source of information on gigs is The Event Guide that can be picked up from many outlets around the city for free. There's also a number of art galleries in Temple Bar.

Dublin Links
Weather in Dublin
Events around Ireland
City cinemas
GoIreland.com

November had always been a good month to visit Dublin, and this November seems to be improved, like anything has been lately. The weather has been so far good, meaning cold but not wet.

People have been going crazy (that's normal) with anything Latin these days. Queues are forming outside the couple of clubs that hold salsa classes and clubs on the weekdays. And the Buena Vista Social Club has been selling out for the last four weeks.

I went to see it last night, but even having booked tickets, it was difficult to get to the Irish Film Centre, since most streets around it were blocked with screaming girls, not for the film this time, but in their effort to get a glimpse of some of the celebrities that were in town for the MTV European Music Awards. A good crowd of the musical jet-set was in town last night, and limousines had to be brought over from England for the occasion. As usual with such events, many after parties were organised for the well-connected, with the best being an Iggy Pop concert in a tiny northside venue, that measured more celebrity guests than impotent mortals, and a dance party in which Fat Boy Slim was at the consoles.

Temple Bar, the cultural quarter of the city is as busy as always, which is bad over the weekends since it is full of tourists, mainly British, going "on the piss". One usual excuse for this is stag (bachelor's, for the Yanks) and hen parties. That forced a lot of the pubs around town not to cater for them any more. On the weekdays though, Temple Bar is great for a night out. The pubs are always busy, many of them have live music and late license every night, and the atmosphere is still very original.

On Saturday morning, and if one feels like not going shopping full time, Temple Bar again is a good bet. It offers open-air markets, a lot of street music and happenings, and of course pubs and people. Especially, the Temple Bar Food Market is a favourite Saturday brunch spot. You can start your day with fresh oysters from Clare, wash them down with a freshly squeezed juice, continue with a real Mexican taco, a French quiche or crepe, and before you go grab some fresh vegetables, oak smoked salmon, handmade chocolates or Mediterranean sun-dried tomatoes and cheese.

Another option is a visit to the Phoenix Park, Europe's biggest city park, which outsizes New York's Central Park by about 4 times. Apart from the usual park activities like cycling, jogging and rollerblading, there's much more to do there. One can admire the (entrances and a distant views of) houses of the Irish President and the American Ambassador, as well as a real herd of deer! There is also a visitors' centre and cafe.

Finally, there is a number of walks organised around the city, that you can either take as part of a guided group or at your own pace. The historical walk that is organised the the Irish history students of Trinity College is interesting, but if you want to combine this with a bit of drinking, go for the literal or musical pub crawls that move (crawling in the end) around famous city pubs, while you follow the steps of famous literati and musicians along with a few pints.

Generally speaking, walking is probably the best way to move around the city centre, since it's size makes this possible. One could also try to cycle around, which is a better idea if you are trying to see more in less time. Keep in mind though, that there are no designated cyclepaths, and most of the times one would have to use the bus lanes, which can be pretty scary at times.

For the lazy, Japanese-photomaniac types there is also a hop-on hop-off double decked bus service, that can drive you around town, connecting the main attractions, while you are enjoying the sunshine (or getting wet and freezing) on the open air upper deck.

The Outdoors
There is a lot of nature to be seen around Dublin, and the rain should not stop you from giving it a go. The Dublin and Wicklow Mountains at the south of the city offer great areas for short and long walks, as well as nice and cosy pubs. There are also nice beaches like Killiney Beach, but the quality of the water can be variable and rumour has it it is radioactive!

There are also a number of parks, with St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square being the most central ones. Phoenix Park is the biggest city park in Europe, and offers an oasis of green in the north side. This can be really dangerous after dark though.

Museum of the Month
Right in the heart of Dublin's oldest marketplace, the Smithfield Market, there is a new complex area developing, which, having merged with the old Jameson distillery, is becoming an ultra modern apartment block. In there one can also find the Ceol, an interactive museum of Irish traditional music and dance.

Even if you are not extremely interested in music, this museum provides a very attractive presentation of Irish history through music and dance that have always been important aspects of the people's history. You will learn a lot, and most likely you will find yourself dancing and humming tunes on the way out. Well worth the £3.95 entrance fee!

Restaurant of the Month
The restaurant of the month would definately have to be Acapulco on South Great George's Street. Serving pretty original Mexican food, in very good quantities and fair prices makes it a must go for chimichanga aficionados. The best margarita by far in town is THE reason to go in case you were still in doubt.

Other Eating Out Options
As far as lunch is concerned, most restaurants in town will have special lunch prices, and one can get some decent menus for a fiver (£5). Also pubs offer the so-called carvery lunch, which is basically a main course and a selection of salads and side orders, on the same plate.

A good vegetarian restaurant is Cornucopia on Wicklow Street. Lunch time is normally from 12.45-13.30, where things get really busy.

Dinner can be eaten also in pubs, but they will stop serving relatively early, around eight. There are a lot of restaurants offering a variety of meals from fish and chips (with vinegar!) to Mexican and Thai around town. The very central ones, on Fleet Street and Temple Bar, can be a bit touristy and expensive though.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.