City guides : Dublin

Pubs once frequented by poets and playwrights now play host to musicians and movie stars while crumbling tenements and warehouses have metamorphosed into ultramodern office blocks and apartments. Yes, Dublin has changed enormously in the last century, and these changes have brought a wave of students from all over the world in search of everything from literature and theatre to drinking and dancing.

Bars and clubs

The Porterhouse on Nassau Street boasts excellent barfood, an encyclopaedic beer menu, and mouthwatering cocktails, and Dawson Street’s Café En Seine is a pub whose opulent interior justifies equally lavish drinks prices. The Tea Garden on Ormonde Quay is a little-known late-night café with a difference - here, recline on floor-cushions and sip exotic teas for a more sedate and bohemian night out. Clubs like D2 (Harcourt Street) or Barcode (Clontarf) are guaranteed to churn out chart hits, but if techno’s your thing, try The Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street, while Antics on Harcourt Street hosts popular indie nights every Wednesday.

Shopping

Find high-street shops on Henry Street and Grafton Street, and visit Brown Thomas’ department store on Grafton Street if you’ve money to burn. George’s Street Arcade is a paradise for anyone in search of goth/hippy apparel. Dundrum Town Centre, Ireland’s shopping mecca, is a glass-and-chrome cathedral to designer fashion, easily reached by tram from Stephen’s Green.

Eating out

Sadly, Ireland doesn’t boast its own ‘cuisine’ although if you must get ‘a taste of Ireland’ (i.e. potatoes) try Gallagher’s Boxty House in Temple Bar. Fish and chips are an Irish favourite, however – Beshoff’s of O’Connell Street and Burdocks of Lower Liffey Street vie for supremacy. If it’s something more unusual you want, sample delicacies from across the world under one roof at the Epicurean Food Hall, also on Lower Liffey Street.

 

Entertainment

The O2, Dublin’s state-of-the-art new venue is where the superstars hang out, playing host to Bob Dylan and Britney Spears. Smaller venues like Whelans or Eamonn Doran’s give you a real feel for the city’s music scene. Ireland is world-famous for its playwrights, so a trip to the Abbey or Gate theatres is a must. Movie buffs in search of foreign or arthouse films should try the Irish Film Institute in Temple Bar, while Screen on D’Olier Street is one of the last tiny retro cinemas once common in Dublin. Catch a glimpse of Ireland’s Celtic past at the National Museum on Kildare Street, and Christchurch Cathedral is another historical gem.

Accommodation

Around University College Dublin and Trinity College - the city’s biggest universities - students can expect to pay up to €500 a month in rent. UCD students should search for accommodation near Rathmines, Clonskeagh, or Donnybroo, while students at Dublin City University should try Santry, Whitehall or Beaumont.

Top 3 places to see

• St. Stephen’s Green
• Dun Laoghaire
• Dublin Ghost Bus Tour

Dublin doesn’t possess the glamour and grandeur of other European capitals, but its Georgian streets have a certain unique quiet dignity. Despite the tide of globalisation sweeping the modern world, it remains distinct: somewhere lovers of art and literature are welcomed alongside partygoers and backpackers. No matter what draws you to the ‘fair city’, you’ll be made feel at home - just don’t be too disappointed if the sun doesn’t shine.