My friend and I land in Dublin next week at 7am and have to be in Belfast the next afternoon. What are the main things we should accomplish there with such little time? Any suggestions? Thank you!
Posted by
Land of La
8664 posts
What do you want to see?
Some people like the Book of Kells at Trinity College, some don’t.
Some people have to tour the Guinness Warehouse, some don’t?
Some travelers like the Temple Bar Area, some compare it to Disneyland ( as in over crowded with tourists).
Some visitors care about learning about Irish history, or researching family ancestors, some could care less.
Please take a moment to describe your interests. Might get some specific recommendations that you could research to see if they’d be of interest to you.
Posted by
North Carolina
2448 posts
I enjoyed walking around in the parks (St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square Park); the latter has a really cool Oscar Wilde memorial. Did enjoy the Book of Kells exhibit, from which one can go see the Long Library, which is amazing. Also went to see the Chester Beatty Library, which is a most wonderful museum of books and prints (free).
Posted by
OP
63 posts
Thank you! I would say we are kind of run of the mill tourists. Would probably like to see some pubs but don't need to do a whole pub crawl. Would like to see the beauty of Ireland as well. I guess I was more or less just trying to see what some people thought of as the "must see" places and then I could research on my own. We don't plan to do any family/ancestry stuff. Thanks again!
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7357 posts
The Kilmanhaim Gaol (jail) is no longer used as a prison, but a guided tour (included with your admission) and a visit to its smallish museum will give you a better understanding of Irish history over the past century, and it’s considered a shrine by some folks. It’s out at the western edge of the Dublin area, so we took a taxi and got dropped off right at the door. Afterwards, we took a taxi to a real Irish trad music pub, the Cobblestone at 77 King St N in the Smithfield neighborhood, which had a rotating bunch of musicians who dropped in, had a drink or two, played some tunes with the others, then headed out, replaced a few minutes later by other pipers, fiddlers, etc. The Temple Bar area has a lot of bars clustered together, but seemingly full of drunk people (especially later at night), and we enjoyed the music and the appreciative patrons at The Cobblestone, with lots of locals, who knew the musicians, plus a few of us tourists.
Posted by
29 posts
Checkout concerts or plays if that's something you would enjoy. One of our best evenings in Dublin was seeing a comedy at the Abbey Theatre then stopping at a pub on the way back to the hotel.
Posted by
Florida
509 posts
Another vote for Kilmanhaim Gaol. If interested, booking a ticket/reservation in advance is highly recommended: http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/
The student guided tour of Trinity College is cheap, informative, outside (unless you include the Book/Kells - we didn't), and doesn't require any advance booking. Confirm the scheduled times here and just show up: https://www.tcd.ie/visitors/tours/
Depending on your level of interest in Irish history, the museum at the Govt Post Office (GPO) offers an easy and informative overview of the 1916 Easter Rising events. On O'Connell Street (very near the conspicuous Spire).
And, of course, the pubs and the good advice above.