Dublin - what to do and see?

halloweenqueen_2

Hi
Have a 3 day break booked for next month.
Challenge is to entertain a couple of teenagers and nothing that involves drinking for any of us!!
What is there to do and see - happy to look at castles museums, anything weird and wonderful - bridges rivers etc!

Thanks HQ

Shez

OH - Suppose thats the Guinness Factory Tour out then?? thats good and you get a free pint at the end of the tour in the 360 degrees glass gallery with great views over dublin!

We went to the college and saw the "Book of Kells" and took the bus tour which was great because we had a typical irish driver who sang irish ditties through out very funny - but dont know if they are all like that!!

HTH

halloweenqueen_2

Yep - sorry guinness is out!!

Children too young and one adult has a medical condition that they can't drink

building

goes... but how old are the kids?
- shopping on Grafton street is pleasant so they may enjoy that.
- though you dont drink you may enjoy popping in to see the 7 million refurbished pub called Cafe En Seine (no equivalent anywhere and I've travelled loads of places!). in the afternoon they use to serve tea and coffee and you could get a sandwich and cakes . just round the corner from Grafton Street.
- a walk around Temple bar where all the pubs are is pleasant and there is an organic market on a saturday down an alleyway. to find it you may have to ask as not obvious.
- you should try and get to the Dublin mountains where you can visit some fantastic celtic ruins and you could even have a bit of hike there. ( you will probably need a car to get there though there are probably some coach trips).
- to the north of Dublin probably about an hour or so there are some celtic ruins in the countryside which are underground . I have not had chance to visit this yet as i wanted to keep it for a special occasion. you need however to book in advance. i recommend you aks the irish/dublin tourist board as depends also on kids age.
- Book of Kells is a personal thing. I found it was a queue to just view a book but if you are near town then only a stroll away.
- you can do musical pub walks (you dont have to drink) which took us all round dublin where they sang and played traditional music.
- Dan Loaghaire is pleasant for a sunday stroll around the seafront though I dont find that there is much else that a few shops and a nice place for a drink.
- Viking boat: this is a car boat that goes on the dublin canals and on the road. forgot exact name but i know that even i as an adult was interested in doing this. tourist board would tell you.

Hope this helps!

halloweenqueen wrote:

Hi
Have a 3 day break booked for next month.
Challenge is to entertain a couple of teenagers and nothing that involves drinking for any of us!!
What is there to do and see - happy to look at castles museums, anything weird and wonderful - bridges rivers etc!

Thanks HQ

awayfly

If the weather is good head out of the city for a few hours by taking a DART train south around the bay to Dalkey and Killiney. Journey takes around 30 minutes. There is a nice beach at Killiney, whilst Dalkey has a few shops and cafes.

See http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/dart/your_journey/maps_and_zones.asp

MrSmartprice

There are lots of places accessible on the DART and it's quite reasonably priced.

Kilmainham Jail is an atmospheric and fascinating place - with an Irish history lesson included in the excellent tour.

The vaults at St Michan's church are worth seeing too. They contain the mummified bodies of a Crusader and many others. The tour guide was excellent too.

Money saving tip: Take the 41 bus from the airport to the city, NOT the airport bus. The journey is the same, the cost very different.

wealthsaver

halloweenqueen wrote:

Hi
Have a 3 day break booked for next month.
Challenge is to entertain a couple of teenagers and nothing that involves drinking for any of us!!
What is there to do and see - happy to look at castles museums, anything weird and wonderful - bridges rivers etc!
Thanks HQ

Trinity College. Little ones may not be so enamoured with the Book of Kells but there is plenty to see and there are places to eat and drink.
North of Dublin if you have a car go see Malahide Castle. http://www.malahidecastle.com/malahidecastle/
The town of Malahide itself has some nice views of the Sea and there is a Marina and some nice restaurants.

Other people have posted some great ideas for Dublin centre itself. Have a nice holiday!

alanrowell

The Celtic Gold in the National Museum (which is free) is always worth the entry price & it's only 10 minutes from Grafton Street

Counting_Pennies_2

I've only wizzed through this thread, but I don't think anyone has recommended an open top bus trip. You will basically be able to travel all the way through Dublin on this bus and take in the majority of the sites. There are hop on hop off buses and I think you can buy tickets to last a few days. Although you might just want it for one day.

We went on it for one whole loop to take in the sites and we decided what we would do as we travelled passed, you can then leisurely take your time over the next few days seeing what you want.

Mark7799

Agree with the open top bus trip (even though it rained when we went on one). Highly entertaining in its own right and it could also give you a few ideas as to other places you'd like to visit. You might also want to consider the literary walking tour - sounds similar to building's musical pub tour in post #4 - alcohol is not compulsory and you'll hear a lot of good stories. Went there for a few days last year and loved every minute of it.

halloweenqueen_2

This is all great stuff!

Can I have more details on the DART please?

Thanks!!:A