Dublin - Where to stay and What to do

So it’s getting to that point in the year where I’m itching to get away again, despite having New York & Washington booked in November (which I’m very excited about!!), I haven’t managed to get away for some sun and my body is craving the sand between my toes and a pornstar martini in my hand, or just even a city break, just to explore somewhere new, so I thought I’d base this week’s blogpost on travel and the last place I visited, Dublin!

I visited Dublin back in April with one of my very close friends Lucy, who I met whilst working out in America a few summers ago, staying at The North Star Hotel just a 10 minute work to the city centre! We went Monday to Wednesday getting an early morning flight out on the Monday and a late flight back on the Wednesday, flying from Manchester Airport with Easy Jet. We booked both the flights and Hotel online, the flights through EasyJet themselves and the Hotel through Trip Advisor. In total it cost us £151.70 each for the few days getaway, however don’t let this price fool you, like everyone says it’s cheap enough to get over to Ireland but not so cheap once you’re out there! I’d recommend taking at least £200 in Euros if you like to shop and eat as much as I do!!

The North Star Hotel

Despite the price tag, I’d 100% recommend visiting Dublin at least once in your life, there’s plenty to see and do during the day and the atmosphere is something else at night, especially if you find yourself in Temple Bar! You can find a list of my top 5 attractions/things to do whilst visiting below, some go without saying, and others are just personal recommendations.

1.       The Temple Bar
So I guess this one speaks for itself, Dublin’s famous Temple Bar, situated in the Temple Bar area itself. Me and Lucy visited the bar twice, once in the day on our way back from the shops and to get some sneaky instagram photos and the second time at night, where the music was in full swing, alcohol was flowing and you just couldn’t help but do the Irish jig and sing your lungs out too Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl at every possible moment! Temple bar is 100% worth the visit, but be warned it’s pretty packed in the evening so be prepared to do a lot of standing and leave this cute new kitten heels at home!

The Temple Bar

2.       The Guinness Factory
Another must when visiting Dublin which goes without saying! Although you can just stand in front of the factory gates and get your picture taken, in my opinion, you may as well do the tour! We booked our tour before we went on the Guinness Factory Website and it cost us £25 each including a personalised Guinness pint glass (got to have those keep sakes obviously!) and we got one of the city sightseeing bus tours to get us there and back. You can book your Guinness tour by following this link >>> https://www.guinness.com/en-gb/?gclid=CjwKCAjwxJnNBRAMEiwA8X_-QY5Du_W7Ag7qLd4co-BNqYHFLK_V3f97AEQbitUBkKg-D4ieKZWtNRoCKYoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CLrx1YLS_tUCFWET0wodAOwEK

The Guinness Storehouse

3. Trinity College Dublin

Now this isn’t somewhere you’d necessarily think of going before you visit Dublin, unless you’re into your architecture, but Me and Lucy passed the beautiful college on the bus sightseeing tour, and walked passed it once or twice when we got lost on our way to the Temple Bar (it was dark and we were tired okay!) and decided to visit on the last day. The College is one of the seven deemed ancient universities in the UK/Ireland being founded in 1592 and is really a beautiful place to visit. The entry into Trinity is free and you can sit and eat your lunch in the square whilst taking in the beautiful architecture that surrounds you. Whilst we were there, we did visit the universities famous old library where the book of Kells is exhibited and where part of the Harry Potter films were filmed/based upon. So if you’re as big a potter head as me, then the 8 euros you pay for the tour is worth every penny!

The Old Library - Trinity College

4. The Tram Café

Now this little treasure was something me and Lucy stumbled across when we were just wondering around trying to get our surroundings, its situated in Wolf Tone Square, near The National Leprechaun Museum and a Penneys, I think googling it is the easiest way to ensure you find it! But this little café is basically an old tram which has been renovated and then has extra seating within a gazebo type extension on the side! We were lucky enough to be able to sit inside the actual tram of the café when we stopped by for breakfast, the staff were friendly, everything was freshly cooked and the experience was next to none. I felt like I was back in the 1920’s with the sweet sounds playing through the inbuilt speakers, definitely worth a visit if you like standalone café’s/unique experiences!

The Tram Café

5. The Rolling Doughnut  

I don’t believe that the Rolling Doughnut is solely available to visit in Dublin like the Tram Café is, but if you don’t have one where you and are a doughnut lover like me, then you 100% need to stop by for 11’s or even just on your way back to your hotel etc. what I’m trying to say is, just fit it in to your trip! The Rolling Doughnut has a selection of flavours to choose from, from classic strawberry jam to more experimental flavours like peanut butter and jelly and I honestly would go as far as saying they’re better than Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, yes that’s how good they are!

The Rolling Doughnut

So there you have it, where to stay and what to do in Dublin! I hope this blogpost gives you a vague idea of how to plan your trip and the cost etc. and above all you have a fantastic time visiting Dublin!!

Jess xo