City Break in Ireland – Dublin

Dublin is perfect for a city break.

We are fascinated by the way each city has its own personality. These are transmitted to us by the combination of colors, architectural styles, the way history is combined with the modern side of the city, and of course the behavior of locals.

To see

If you just want to relax you can walk and admire the Dublin old town center or on the banks of the River Liffey that runs through the capital of Ireland dividing it in two.

Most of the tourist attractions are in the south of the city, such as the Temple Bar, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St Stephen’s Green, the Guinness Brewery, and many more. The north enjoying the Zoo, Phoenix Park and “The Spire”.

Sand lovers can relax strolling on the beach listening to the melodious waves, filling your lungs with the inviting and salty smell of the Irish Sea. You can choose between Sandymount Beach which is located in the eastern part of the city or if you have more time to travel, in the south is the picturesque town of Bray. Less than an hour away by train along the coast, it has a beautiful beach, a small mountain and lots of terraces where you can relax and enjoy the view.

For those eager for fun, it is said to be almost impossible to find a route through the city that does not have a pub.

The most famous in Dublin is the Temple Bar where you can enjoy a pint (~ 500-600 ml), a snack and feel the true Irish pub atmosphere: traditional Irish music, national sports on TV and people with a smile on the lips and excited to tell stories. Beer lovers or even curious people have to visit The Guinness Brewery.

Here we learned about the whole process of brewing, how to taste, but also how to properly pour a pint of beer. Perfect pour takes place in two stages, lasting 119.5 seconds. Which we then enjoyed at the top-floor bar and that offered a 360-degree view of the city.

The city offers a wide variety of tourist attractions, for the comfortable ones there are organized tours and hop on hop off buses. But for those who prefer to make their own vacations the most interesting objectives, they should check beside the ones mentioned above: Stephen’s Green Park, Stephen’s Green Shopping Center, Trinity University where you can visit the impressive Book of Kells library.

To eat

When it comes to food, you can certainly find something to satisfy your hunger/cravings, from fast food, pizza, sushi, to something more refined (fine dining).

Do not forget about traditional dishes, everything we tested was very good, from Chowder seafood soup (the best soup was on Inishmore Island, see our experience there) to the black pudding that is served with traditional breakfast.

We liked everything we tasted and we would like to go back for one more serving.

We are not great alcohol lovers, but after trying for the first time a pint of Guinness, there was no way back. It was almost the only beer we ordered in any bar we entered. But if you are a fine expert, you can delight yourself with a lot of local beer assortments, and especially whiskey, Ireland being especially known for great quality whiskey.

Do you think this city deserves to be visited? If so, what would you like to explore and test?