Dublin

There is a lot to see in Ireland and I would certainly plan to stay for several days to a week. If you don't hire a car, then you could get a tour (vagabond tours of Ireland are great) or take day trips out of Dublin if only staying a few days. From Dublin you could fly into Paris and then take the Eurostar into London and fly home from there. But I would almost be tempted to take Paris of my list. There is so much to see and do in Ireland and England that you could easily fill your two weeks. I always tell friends and relatives that are going to Europe for the first time that Ireland and England are good places for a first trip. You can speak the language and the culture is a little familiar. Go for it! you will have so much fun.

Remove yourself from Dublin and savor wonderful smaller towns/villages in Ireland.

I agree that small town Ireland is what's special about Ireland, people and traditional music are my top experiences in Ireland. There's also a lot of history. Generally cities are cities, lots of good sights (cathedrals, museums, art galleries) but also busy people who don't slow down to talk to people.

In two weeks, however, you can either spend the whole time driving around Ireland experiencing small town Ireland or you can visit the three cities you have in mind. I'd say enjoy this trip to Dublin for a few days and plan to return later and experience the best of Ireland.

I'm mostly a history buff. In Dublin, my favorites included Trinity College (Book of Kells), a guided pub crawl (I'd go with either literary or traditional music options) and a daytrip up to Newgrange (with BusEire). I didn't enjoy the Temple Bar area, it's full of giant bars rather than cozy pubs.

If you haven't been to London or Paris yet, they're both two of the greatest cities in the world.

The Hop on Hop off buses in Dublin are a great deal and you can see the city using one of the two lines. Don't miss the Trinity College and Book of Kells.

I'm going to agree that the Hop On HOp Off Bus in Dublin is a convenient way to get to the major sites. Make sure you make reservations at the Gaol to be able to get in. One of my favorite stops was the Trinity College Library that's one floor up from the Book of Kells.

Contrary to what a previous poster wrote, there is plenty to see and do in Dublin.

I also agree that small town Ireland is what Ireland is all about.

But since this is your first trip, you could do all three cities in two weeks. Fly into Dublin, fly to Paris, train to London and fly to Boston out of London. Or the other way around. If this is your first trip overseas, going to and English speaking country first will make it easier to acclimate yourself to the local area.

While in London, try to take a day trip out of town.

Saying " there is nothing there " is a rather ignorant statement . You could say " I didn't see anything there " but you can't say " there's nothing there " because of course there is !

I think your plan as you hadnkt is perfect .
Fly onto Dublin 3 nights .then fly to Paris ( we flew Aer Lingus , so we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport , wisest to get into city )
Paris 4-5 nights then Eurostar to London for last 4-5 nights .

I agree with Pat, there is a lot to see and do in Dublin. Just because it didn't appeal to one person does not mean that others would feel the same way. The hop on hop off bus is a great introduction to the city, and goes to all major sites. Ours had a live guide who told stories and sang to us in addition to providing narration about the things we were seeing. Kilmainham Gaol is a must see. The National museums are free (the archaeology one is fantastic). Even if you can't get in to see the Book of Kells, you can still walk through Trinity College, or take a literary pub crawl tour or a musical one. Lots to do in Dublin!

Personally, Dublin and the surrounding area reminded me a bit of London and the surrounding London area. If you want to see stereo-typical Ireland, head for the west coast. That will give you more of a "Ireland" feel. With that said, there is plenty to see and do around Dublin. I used Viator.com to book some day trips, like going to Howth, Glendalough and Wicklow, and Powerscourt. Glendalough was really cool - it felt like I was on the set of Outlander. Powerscourt was very pretty and worth visiting. Dublin also has a big literary culture. There are plenty of book stores there, unlike in the U.S. now at days. My favorite is Hodges and Figgis. It looks like a book store should and I went a bit crazy buying books there, including books by Irish authors. I wish we had a Hodges and Figgis in NYC.

Even though my favorite travel site is a natural landscape I loved Dublin. I loved walking by the Liffey, I loved the architecture and history, I loved the museums, I loved the pubs, I loved the fact that it was easy to navigate. I spent 3 nights there and had another days worth of things to do on my list.

Jazz, in order to be more helpful you could be more specific about why you think Dublin is a waste of time. Otherwise, you leave everyone guessing. Obviously, Dublin is not an empty city with nothing to see.

I agree completely with what Brad and Nancy said about Dublin--Killmainham Gaol, the Archaeology Museum, Trinity College walking tour, musical or literary pub crawls are all well worth the time. We also enjoyed strolling through St. Stephen's Green and New Grange, a truly fascinating site, is close enough for a day trip. You could do most or all of these things in 3 days and still have time to venture into the countryside to experience "small town life" if you really wanted to do that--there are airports in Cork, Shannon and Kerry you could fly out of, depending on your next destination. Or you could just extend your Dublin stay a bit and enjoy a few more day trips to some of the places others have mentioned.

"When a man is tired of Dublin, he is tired of life"--Samuel O'Johnson.

How do you cross Dublin without passing a pub? Go into every one. ;-)

Spend your time in Ireland in the west. You can base out of Galway and see the Cliffs, the Burren, Aran Islands. It much better than Dublin. Maybe spend half a day in Dublin.

"When a man is tired of Dublin, he is tired of life"--Samuel O'Johnson.

Well, I am pretty danged active and truly enjoy small cities and villages in Ireland over Dublin. Place me in the ogre bin.

Bruce, I'm guessing you are not familiar with the original quote.

Some of our British friends might be able to help.