If you were a tourist, how would rate Dublin?

Franz Von Peppercorn

Miriam Ugly Bearer wrote: »

But sure you could say that about anywhere.

And btw, both Howth and Portmarnock attract a huge amount of tourism. Whether people come primarily to see Howth (for example) I've no idea but the place is packed with tourists all year round.

And Portmarnock Golf Club is a links course right along the shore, like Howth the course and hotel are packed year round.

Given that howth is on the dart line it’s clearly part of the Dublin trip and lonely planet recommends it, for instance. Of course i doubt there’s that many who fly into Dublin airport to stay at howth and not visit the city. But it’s part of the Dublin experience

meeeeh

wakka12 wrote: »

It is lovely looking and an amazing amenity for locals! But I agree with the other poster, would you travel all the way to ireland to see that coastline? As I said , its gorgeous, but english and scottish and french people and people from most countries with a coastline have beaches just as nice in their own countries too.
Id say people check out the scenery in dunlins coast just as a side trip to the dublin trip. but they didn't come

I think Ireland has some stunning coastline and the grass is green throughout the year which doesn't happen in countries with harsher winters or hotter summers. Anyone who visits me in Ireland is advised to rent a car and drive around the country.

John_Rambo

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But as for coastline / scenery - lads, you've having a laugh. No one comes to Ireland for either of those, or for the weather. Focus on what you've got.

Yeah, the Wild Atlantic Way, the Copper coast and the Billions of Euro they attract are a laugh! Dublin has a good few profitable coastal tours along with sea safaris and kayak enterprises!

Just back from the beach and the city, the restaurant was packed, I'd say about 70% of them were tourists and they certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves. Good few on the beach too.

cycle4fun

The pubs in Dublin cannot be beaten by those from any other capital city in the world though, Great crack.

belfe

I was a tourist not long ago, so I can try to answer, I afraid that not adding much to what has been already said.

Pros:
- Big character city. Lots of fun and very friendly people once you know what people can you approach.
- Honest city. There are some "tourist traps", but they are not as bad as most of touristic zones in other countries.
- Tours hard to find in other places: Dublin is proud of his history, so the historic tours are usually awesome, and clearly unique.
- Most of the museums are free.
- Scenic views around (you mentioned Howth that is the most famous, but there are many other options, I'm thinking about Killiney, Bray, a gardens whose name I can't remember). If you're plenty of time, you can rent a car and travel araund all Ireland, that has views that you may not find anywhere else.

Cons:
- Not many touristic spots, there is not any area with several of them together (unless you count on temple bar as a group of touristic spots), and is not easy to reach from one to another.
- Abandoned or very old buildings everywhere. Not a nice photo.
- Not a big cultural offer comparing with other european capitals, this is reasonable if we compare the size of the cities, but...
- Prices are extremely high, much higher than in many other cities.
- If you want to watch the city without depending on organized tours, public transportation is always a problem.

I would rate Dublin high, but it depends on the type of tourist.

Aglomerado

_Dara_ wrote: »

I found some very nice and reasonable drinking establishments in Reykjavík. Prices were on a par with some mediocre spots in Templebar. If you drink local drinks in the Nordic countries, they tend to be cheaper. It’s the imports that are insane prices. And the local stuff is often nicer. Couple that with the breathtaking scenery and whatever extra you DO pay in Reykjavík is worth it.

Agree totally! Dillons bar in central Reykjavik has good happy hours at normal Dublin prices. Local Einstok & Viking beer. Well worth it at any price!

Grayson

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh Im always fascinated by how many nice squares we have!
Theres tonnes of beautiful suburban squares too, Belgrave Square, Kenilworth square, Mountpleasant square, Dartmouth square, Clontarf Cresent, Pearse Square in the docklands too, loads more in dun laoghaire and monks town and all the other old suburbs ! Wouldn't recommend to a tourist as they're residential and not much to do in them but lovely to walk around if you're interested in old architecture

There's not much to do in them though. When I lived in Spain there were bars and cafe's on the plaza's. So people would congregate there at night. During the day people would head there for lunch.

I guess part of our problem is the weather. there's not many day's or evenings where you could sit outside.

Even then, it'd be nice to have cafe bar's. Somewhere to gather around a table and have a drink and something to eat.

Nettle Soup

John_Rambo wrote: »

Just back from the beach and the city, the restaurant was packed, I'd say about 70% of them were tourists and they certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves. Good few on the beach too.

What beach was that?

redcup342

Dublin is great for a visit ! It's super friendly when you compare it to most continental European cities.

The pubs are great, completely different to their Continental European counterparts, live music music is easy to come by and the pubs are cosy.

Germany for example the pubs are cold and the seats are wooden, its more about drinking with your group rather than socialising with the rest of the pub

Billy86

capitalist_pig wrote: »

no other city in ireland comes close to it on any level , when i go on holidays , i like to take in the city of that location as well as the further afield attractions , in ireland , your quite limited to uninteresting urban areas if you dont base yourself in the east

That's not true - Galway is bursting with character and I was down in Cork a few years back in the first time in forever, and was very taken with how it looks and the city window shopping type lark (also some excellent restaurants at very fair prices). Though both have the same problem as Dublin in that there's not too much variety in what to do and so many tourists might be, which is why I'd tell anyone visiting to rent a car.

2-3 days in each of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, and maybe another 2-3 days between some rural getaway or country B&B with plenty of sightseeing in the car along the way (e.g. Burren/Cliffs of Moher/etc on the way from Galway to Cork) would strike me as an incomparably better way to spend a fortnight in Ireland than two weeks in the middle of Dublin would.

wakka12

Billy86 wrote: »

That's not true - Galway is bursting with character and I was down in Cork a few years back in the first time in forever, and was very taken with how it looks and the city window shopping type lark (also some excellent restaurants at very fair prices). Though both have the same problem as Dublin in that there's not too much variety in what to do and so many tourists might be, which is why I'd tell anyone visiting to rent a car.

2-3 days in each of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, and maybe another 2-3 days between some rural getaway or country B&B with plenty of sightseeing in the car along the way (e.g. Burren/Cliffs of Moher/etc on the way from Galway to Cork) would strike me as an incomparably better way to spend a fortnight in Ireland than two weeks in the middle of Dublin would.

Galway and cork are lovely but undeniably tiny, they are nowhere near big enough to sustain a tourist for more than a couple of days each

jmayo

You can't really compare Dublin in my experience to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vienna because lets face it we don't have the history as in the depth of historical buildings, palaces, monuments, etc.
Dublin doesn't have the same breath of cultural activities either ala the museums, theatres, operas, etc that the above have.
Yes Dublin has pubs, but as can be noticed by a good few of our European neighbours, everyone doesn't want to spend most of their time drinking.

And Dublin most definitely don't have the public transport.
Hell the only way from the airport to the city is bus or taxi.
There is no underground, no rapid rail links.

Also walk around the likes of the centre of Paris and you don't have the junkies, the beggars.
They are kept out of the place unlike Dublin where they are part of the scenery.

You have to compare Dublin to smaller European capitals and smaller cities of similar population in the above countries and in some cases Dublin stacks up ok, but in others it is way behind.

Nettle Soup

wakka12 wrote: »

Galway and cork are lovely but undeniably tiny, they are nowhere near big enough to sustain a tourist for more than a couple of days each

That's nonsense. They are the biggest and 2nd biggest counties in Ireland. The cities themselves are small but both pack a bigger punch than grotty Dublin.
In fact their size works to their benefit.
There is so much to see in both counties. And they are both very close to other superb counties (Kery, Clare, Mayo).

wakka12

Nettle Soup wrote: »

That's nonsense. They are the biggest and 2nd biggest counties in Ireland.
There is so much to see in both counties. And they are both very close to other superb counties (Kery, Clare, Mayo).

I meant the cities, we have very small urban areas. You would never have heard of almost any cities in europe or UK with same size population as Cork or galway unless they were exceptionally beautiful/interesting like venice which has a small population.

Nettle Soup

wakka12 wrote: »

I meant the cities, we have very small urban areas. You would never have heard of almost any cities in europe or UK with same size population as Cork or galway unless they were exceptionally beautiful/interesting like venice which has a small population.

The cities themselves are small but both pack a bigger punch than grotty Dublin. In fact their size works to their benefit.

meeeeh

wakka12 wrote: »

I meant the cities, we have very small urban areas. You would never have heard of almost any cities in europe or UK with same size population as Cork or galway unless they were exceptionally beautiful/interesting like venice which has a small population.

I must admit I'd rather spend three days in Cork or Galway than in Venice but that probably says more about the Venice than Cork or Galway. Most of the time the place is annoying but then once every third visit it could be lovely. Salzburg is another city/town which on paper is absolutely stunning but I can't warm to it at all.

But I agree, three days in Cork or Galway can be a lot of if you don't travel around the county.

wakka12

Grayson wrote: »

There's not much to do in them though. When I lived in Spain there were bars and cafe's on the plaza's. So people would congregate there at night. During the day people would head there for lunch.

I guess part of our problem is the weather. there's not many day's or evenings where you could sit outside.

Even then, it'd be nice to have cafe bar's. Somewhere to gather around a table and have a drink and something to eat.

Unfortunately theres not a lot of active social squares in Dublin due mostly to poor urban design and architecture. Weather is not much to do with..look outside your window right now..weather is fine to sit out in right now if you'd like, even though it rains often here rain is only ever heavy enough to limit outdoor activity maybe 1-2 times a week, its dry weather like 75% of the time. Go around tempelbar, grafton street area, lots of people sitting outside on street seating. Copenhagen, amsterdam paris and london have very similar climate and have lots of successful outdoor squares and pedestrianised areas

no.8

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I'm a settled tourist.

Found plenty to entertain me as a tourist in Dublin (and have expanded my to-do list based on some of the above) but wouldn't want to live there, especially since they started shooting each other.

Came to Galway and found it pretty boring. best bit is that it's a good stopping place for day-trips to other places. But have found it very easy and good to live in.

But as for coastline / scenery - lads, you've having a laugh. No one comes to Ireland for either of those, or for the weather. Focus on what you've got.

Are you referring to the coastline in Co.Dublin or Ireland in general? Hard to gauge whether that was intentionally that way or not.

Greentopia

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But as for coastline / scenery - lads, you've having a laugh. No one comes to Ireland for either of those, or for the weather. Focus on what you've got.

What are you smoking... or are you trolling?? :rolleyes: the coastline and scenery is exactly why huge numbers of people come here! I've lived in two other European countries and almost every time I get chatting to a native and they know I'm Irish one of the things they nearly always mention is how beautiful Ireland is or how much they want to go to the Green Isle.

We're known throughout the world for our beautiful country. I've brought Swedes and Germans to see it and the main reason they wanted to come was because they'd heard or seen so much in their own countries about the little green island and how lovely the landscape was supposed to be-they loved it and thought it was beautiful. Why do you think millions come here and flock to see the most scenic parts of the country-West Cork, Donegal and the West coast in summer??
why do you think the Tourism Ireland has marketing campaigns like the Wild Atlantic Way or Ireland's Historical East showing off the beauty and historic landscapes of these areas?

I'm in Germany and this is what you see when you go to the official Tourism Ireland website:http://www.ireland.com/de-de/

Photos and video clips of Dublin and Belfast and all the attractions they have, of course, but also the natural wild beauty of the coastline and the campaigns I mentioned plus the standout places of beauty in N. Ireland, and the amazing Star Wars locations.

I think you're the one "having a laugh":pac:

dd972

Apparently according to the Indo, this young 2nd generation GAA playing lad who had roots in the area was a 'tourist'.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/we-believe-people-have-information-and-have-not-yet-come-forward-crimestoppers-appeal-over-death-of-tourist-36541046.html

Why didn't they just go the whole hog and call him a 'Brit'?

wakka12

Greentopia wrote: »

What are you smoking... or are you trolling?? :rolleyes: the coastline and scenery is exactly why huge numbers of people come here! I've lived in two other European countries and almost every time I get chatting to a native and they know I'm Irish one of the things they nearly always mention is how beautiful Ireland is or how much they want to go to the Green Isle.

We're known throughout the world for our beautiful country. I've brought Swedes and Germans to see it and the main reason they wanted to come was because they'd heard or seen so much in their own countries about the little green island and how lovely the landscape was supposed to be-they loved it and thought it was beautiful. Why do you think millions come here and flock to see the most scenic parts of the country-West Cork, Donegal and the West coast in summer??
why do you think the Tourism Ireland has marketing campaigns like the Wild Atlantic Way or Ireland's Historical East showing off the beauty and historic landscapes of these areas?

I'm in Germany and this is what you see when you go to the official Tourism Ireland website:http://www.ireland.com/de-de/

Photos and video clips of Dublin and Belfast and all the attractions they have, of course, but also the natural wild beauty of the coastline and the campaigns I mentioned plus the standout places of beauty in N. Ireland, and the amazing Star Wars locations.

I think you're the one "having a laugh":pac:

I know ireland is beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting west of ireland and ring of kerry. But I don't understand how it compares to the Alps Mountains, or fjords of norway, mediterranean coasts, volcanic islands and rugged coastlines of iceland, forests of germany etc

I don't know why Id go to ireland if I was from europe and they were on my doorstep though, I guess is what Im getting at. Like I went to west of ireland because its pretty close to me.

Greentopia

jetsonx wrote: »

If you were a tourist, how would you rate Dublin as a tourist destination?

For example, do you think that Dublin has more or less "character" compared to Galway or Cork? Or, is Dublin just another example of a globalised and generic capital city?

Well my German man and his friend came to see Dublin for the first time last year and they liked the pubs but didn't find the city itself that great tbh. They weren't impressed with the lack of cleanliness of the place and the rip off prices in Temple Bar-I warned them about that though. My fiancee thought Amsterdam-his favourite city-was far nicer. He liked the GPO though and the fact it didn't rain as he expected
I'm pretty sure the huge number of junkies and homeless would have been noted too but they are too polite to mention that.

They would have loved places like Howth or Killiney but didn't have the time to go there, instead preferring to travel down the East coast-they liked Wicklow and seeing the Atlantic ocean in the South East was a delight for them as they come from inland forested regions of Germany far from the coast.

LirW

That's the thing, if you come from a quite coastal country/area you're going blind for coasts at some point.
By now I'm Alps and forest blind, so the German forests don't do much to me as well as mountain lakes or villages (in fairness, they are still nice to visit) but coasts I never had around much so there always was this kind of magic that surround coastal regions.
While Irish people complain about the rainy weather a lot of people see this as a very romantic and fascinating scenario.

Alun

wakka12 wrote: »

I know ireland is beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting west of ireland and ring of kerry. But I don't understand how it compares to the Alps Mountains, or fjords of norway, mediterranean coasts, volcanic islands and rugged coastlines of iceland, forests of germany etc.

Because it's DIFFERENT to what they're used to in their own country, that's why. A German finds the scenery of, for example, the west of Ireland beautiful for exactly the same reason you find the Alps beautiful. It's not a competition.

MagicIRL

The worst aspect of Dublin is how unbelievably shíte the public transport is. I mean it's practically non-existent. It only gets worse the further into Ireland you go, too. But Dublin has the traffic to make your eyes bleed while you struggle to actually get around.

We're a tiny island. If anything, public transport and infrastructure (like network towers, internet, utilities) should be something we excel at because there's fúck all land to cover.

Greentopia

wakka12 wrote: »

I know ireland is beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting west of ireland and ring of kerry. But I don't understand how it compares to the Alps Mountains, or fjords of norway, mediterranean coasts, volcanic islands and rugged coastlines of iceland, forests of germany etc

I don't know why Id go to ireland if I was from europe and they were on my doorstep though, I guess is what Im getting at. Like I went to west of ireland because its pretty close to me.

You're contrasting very different landscapes though. Each one is unique and special in it's own way and I don't see how it's fair to compare them when they are so different and each country offers such unique experiences.

The fjords of Norway I've seen and it is spectacular, but the country doesn't have the lush greenery Ireland has 12 months of the year for example. The flora and fauna are different, the historical features on the landscapes are different, the climate, so many things. Norway is also eye wateringly expensive.

I've been to the green heart of Germany many times -Thuringen because my other half is from there and it has beautiful forests, but again it has it's own beauty and charm not comparable to any other.
Of course if you love forests and mountains the Alps and forests of central Europe will be where you want to see, but if you want beautiful coastlines, green fields and lakes Ireland has a lot to offer.

Same goes for the Med. Sun, sea and beautiful places to visit (Italy is a favourite), but packed in summer and some people like me can't visit then anyway as it's just too hot for my skin.
Of course people will usually visit the places that are close by first, but why wouldn't you also want to see other places on the periphery of Europe when it's as little as €50 return to fly to Ireland? of course there are other expenses, but that's how it is if you travel to a neighbouring country.

Also Irish people are known to be warm and friendly and they've heard about our pub culture, Irish trad music, our famous poets and writers...-there are lots of other reasons that attract visitors to Ireland than to see the landscape.

meeeeh

wakka12 wrote: »

I don't know why Id go to ireland if I was from europe and they were on my doorstep though, I guess is what Im getting at. Like I went to west of ireland because its pretty close to me.

I come from Alpine country and Ireland would be admired for it's beauty there. Alps are impressive but Ireland is beautiful in a different way. It's actually a stunning country and would agree that the nature is what impresses more than any particular city or town.

Franz Von Peppercorn

wakka12 wrote: »

I know ireland is beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting west of ireland and ring of kerry. But I don't understand how it compares to the Alps Mountains, or fjords of norway, mediterranean coasts, volcanic islands and rugged coastlines of iceland, forests of germany etc

I don't know why Id go to ireland if I was from europe and they were on my doorstep though, I guess is what Im getting at. Like I went to west of ireland because its pretty close to me.

There’s a few answers to that.

1) it’s a false dilemma. You can go to Iceland one year and Ireland the next and then France the next year. We aren’t forced to travel to one place in a lifetime.
2) it’s not just scenery. Ireland is fairly compact. You can be in the dingle peninsula climbing the mountains and see nobody and on the same day get back to the town and have a good meal and drink that night. Or drive to Cork. Even Dublin. Same anywhere in Ireland. If you are in the Norwegian fjords you are away from all comforts. Even Scotland is hard to negotiate compared to here.
3) Ireland, like Britain, has a lot of history going back centuries, lots of castles, Iron Age settlements. To noneuropeans that’s impressive.
4) people from Germany have forests but no significant coasts or cliffs, the Mediterranean is pretty but not green, the fjords are relatively inaccessible. Everywhere is different.

If it were just about competing scenery then I wouldn’t have visited the Cotswolds and Cornwall. Both are scenic but Ireland is as good or better. But they are both different.


However all that said Ireland probably isn’t the best place in Europe to visit. If I was forced to pick one it would be France or Italy. Then Germany. Then the U.K.

But those are amongst the most touristy places in the world. They get 80-100M visitors. We couldn’t cope. We get 10M. That’s enough. We can’t afford to be as popular as the rest.

Mister Vain

I think its fairly similar to Amsterdam in some ways. Not much to look at but the people are friendly and the nightlife is good. It's ok for a weekend break.

cournioni

Would rate both Galway and Belfast much higher than Dublin.

Dublin is okay, but vastly overrated.

wakka12

Mister Vain wrote: »

I think its fairly similar to Amsterdam in some ways. Not much to look at but the people are friendly and the nightlife is good. It's ok for a weekend break.

???
I went to amsterdam specifically because of how pretty it was first and foremost, the canals and bridges and nice old brick buildings. Amsterdam is extremely popular for its architecture/streetscapes alongside the nightlife

Greentopia

MagicIRL wrote: »

The worst aspect of Dublin is how unbelievably shíte the public transport is. I mean it's practically non-existent. It only gets worse the further into Ireland you go, too. But Dublin has the traffic to make your eyes bleed while you struggle to actually get around.

We're a tiny island. If anything, public transport and infrastructure (like network towers, internet, utilities) should be something we excel at because there's fúck all land to cover.

Yes I plan to move home this year and would not ever consider moving to Dublin even if I was offered a free house somewhere like Howth-genuinely.

The public transport is limited as you said.
The cost of renting anything in a decent area is outrageous.
it's pretty dirty compared to most European cities I've seen.
Poor planning make it unsafe to cycle around most of it and cars clog up the city.
It has throngs of junkies and homeless everywhere often asking for money.
I never feel safe walking around it at night as a woman and even by day many areas are sketchy and I would avoid.
Scenes of drunken mayhem in the city centre especially at the weekend.
it's too expensive to go out at night anyway.
Not enough public toilets!

I wouldn't subject myself or my partner to that, especially after living in a city here that offers a much better quality of life.

Billy86

jmayo wrote: »

Also walk around the likes of the centre of Paris and you don't have the junkies, the beggars.
They are kept out of the place unlike Dublin where they are part of the scenery.

Dublin is actually middle of the road in this regard compared to other European cities, at least according to people I know who have visited from them or come from North America/Australia/etc while doing the whole backpacking/interrailing thing.

wakka12

jmayo wrote: »

You can't really compare Dublin in my experience to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vienna because lets face it we don't have the history as in the depth of historical buildings, palaces, monuments, etc.
Dublin doesn't have the same breath of cultural activities either ala the museums, theatres, operas, etc that the above have.
Yes Dublin has pubs, but as can be noticed by a good few of our European neighbours, everyone doesn't want to spend most of their time drinking.

And Dublin most definitely don't have the public transport.
Hell the only way from the airport to the city is bus or taxi.
There is no underground, no rapid rail links.

Also walk around the likes of the centre of Paris and you don't have the junkies, the beggars.
They are kept out of the place unlike Dublin where they are part of the scenery.

You have to compare Dublin to smaller European capitals and smaller cities of similar population in the above countries and in some cases Dublin stacks up ok, but in others it is way behind.

Yeh in paris instead the homeless are hidden away in slum suburbs and whilst you visit the city centre you can be accosted by north african men selling tourist tat and rude romani trash trying to rob and scam you
When is last time you were in paris?? Many many years ago I assume.

redcup342

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh in paris instead the homeless are hidden away in slum suburbs and whilst you visit the city centre you can be accosted by north african men selling tourist tat and rude romani trash trying to rob and scam you
When is last time you were in paris?? Many many years ago I assume.

Really ?

I was in Paris 2 months ago, drove there by car. Didn't have any problems with Colorful friends or travelling people.

Nettle Soup

wakka12 wrote: »

Yeh in paris instead the homeless are hidden away in slum suburbs and whilst you visit the city centre you can be accosted by north african men selling tourist tat and rude romani trash trying to rob and scam you
When is last time you were in paris?? Many many years ago I assume.

I was in Paris 2 weeks ago for 4 nights. I did not see any Romani whatsoever. I did see many North African men selling souvenirs at the major sites (particularly Eiffel Tower) but they did not accost me. I know there are slums outside the city centre but I did not visit them. I felt very safe in Paris.

When were you in Paris last Slumdog ?

On the flip side, a walk down O'Connell street is like a scene from the Walking Dead!

CelticRambler

I was born and bred a Dub, but left more than 25 years ago. Ever since, I've only ever gone back as a "tourist" - a deliberate decision - and I barely recognise the city described in the negative posts on this thread as the same one I know.

Lets start with the "sh1te" transport. In my wallet right now, I've got a Leap Card, an Oyster card, some T-tickets for Paris and a couple of tickets for Prague. There's only one of those cities where I can walk out of the airport and use one on a local bus service to get to my accommodation. And no, I don't count Heathrow because there's no airline that flies there from anywhere near me. Not only that, but my average waiting time for a bus from Dublin Airport is about 15 minutes, less than just about any park-and-ride I've ever used anywhere on the continent, and the trip to far side of the city costs under 3€.

Compare that with the £4 that I had to pay for a 2-mile journey from the outskirts of Canterbury to the city centre a few years ago (it's gone up since then) and a bus service that ends at 8pm.

If all else fails, well the airport is near enough to be able to walk into the city centre - good luck trying to do that in most other capital cities, and it's an easy walk from the centre to any of the three places I can stay on the southside (D14, D16). Starting from there, I can jump on a bus (or Luas) and get to any other part of the city that I might want to get to in a reasonable length of time. Sure, there are some journeys that are complicated - but it's exactly the same using the London Tube or the Paris Métro if you're in the wrong point A to begin with, and trying to get to the wrong point B.

Junkies, beggars and other city scum? Someone quoted Notre Dame in Paris as something for which doesn't have an equivalent. Really? There are definitely more junkies, beggars, pickpockets and other city-scum in 100m² of the plaza in front of Notre Dame than I've ever seen in Dublin! My children got an un-intended sex education lesson when we I had to explain why there were so many women standing in doorways dressed "like that" in one of Paris' main streets in the middle of the day. :eek: I've seen similar in other European capitals, but haven't yet found the right street in Dublin ... :P

The Louvre - maybe one day I'll get to see the inside of it, but so far every time I've gone to Paris, the place has been closed, either because of a strike, or flooding, or because it's Tuesday, or just because. You don't get that kind of nonsense at the museums in Dublin! A few years ago, I took an elderly French friend to Dublin for a few days. She's still going on about how great it was - especially the museums. I also took a French teenager on a similar trip, and she had a great time too. No expensive pints were drunk by either party. Two of my own children have taken themselves on solo trips to Dublin in recent years, as soon as they turned 16 and could fly unaccompanied; both have been back again since and are going back for more this year (one of them opting to go to Dublin instead of coming with me on a tour of Austria, Switerland and Italy)

There are (just) two negative aspects of Dublin as a tourist destination that I see - the centre (between the canals) is filthy: litter everywhere that you don't see in other major urban centres, especially overflowing bins. Why???

And overpriced last-minute theatre tickets/concert tickets. I can get cheap on-the-day tickets for shows and operas and other events in London, Paris and Vienna for less than a tenner. Why do theatres in Dublin refuse to sell one of their (hundreds of!) empty seats for anything less than full price?

wakka12

Nettle Soup wrote: »

I was in Paris 2 weeks ago for 4 nights. I did not see any Romani whatsoever. I did see many North African men selling souvenirs at the major sites (particularly Eiffel Tower) but they did not accost me. I know there are slums outside the city centre but I did not visit them. I felt very safe in Paris.

When were you in Paris last Slumdog ?

On the flip side, a walk down O'Connell street is like a scene from the Walking Dead!

I was in Paris just after the big terrorist attack a few years ago

Romani woman asked me to sign something for a petition and I said okay, she said it was free and for charity, then tried to demand 100 quid and her and her two sidekicks tried to corner my friend and I

Romani woman slapped a ****e looking bracelet on my hand and tried to demand money

Romani woman put a rose in the V line of my shirt and then asked for money and wouldn't stop badgering for money, had to walk off and she followed

That was just in 4 day trip to paris
And the north african men selling rubbish were annoying as hell

Constant feeling of people watching/eyeing up your valuables and bags, watching your pockets

Barcelona was extremely similar except add in several people quite openly stuffing their hands in your pockets in broad daylight, prostitutes groping you, being openly offered grade A drugs on every street corner in most busy tourist areas

Im sure being teenage boy at the time made me more easy prey so maybe it wasn't like that for others

Those things ^ didn't really phase me and I still love Paris and barcelona but seeing as other seem to think the begging in dublin is bad, I thought Id mention. Beggars/junkies here aren't that bad imo..they rarely caused hassle for me and if you just say no sorry when they ask for money they just turn away and say nothing more in 90% of cases

JupiterKid

If I was a tourist I’d rate Dublin as a 5.5/10. Some good attractions, the Georgian Quarter (the bits that weren’t demolished during the orgy of ugly office block building in the 1960s and 70s), pubs, restaurants, nightlife, Dublin Bay, parks, the coastal villages like Howth and Dalkey, the nearby Wicklow mountains.

Downsides - way too expensive for a city of its modest size, especially the serious rip off that is Temple Bar, the junkie/beggar problem in the city centre, poor public transport and the crap weather.

The weather can’t be changed, but other things certainly can and Dublin should do better.

John_Rambo

Nettle Soup wrote: »

What beach was that?

Dollymount strand on the Bull Island, a nature reserve and cracking kitesurf spot. An amazing Island amenity only a few minutes from the city centre, in fact you can see the city centre from it whilst surfing amongst seals and the odd dolphin.

You won't get that in most capital cities!

diomed

I visited Galway in 2102 and was impressed, and I won 4k.

Nettle Soup

John_Rambo wrote: »

Dollymount strand on the Bull Island, a nature reserve and cracking kitesurf spot. An amazing Island amenity only a few minutes from the city centre, in fact you can see the city centre from it whilst surfing amongst seals and the odd dolphin.

You won't get that in most capital cities!

You do realise you are now radioactive?

Did the fish have 3 eyes and a condom on their heads?

namloc1980

diomed wrote: »

I visited Galway in 2102 and was impressed, and I won 4k.

Fair play. Although 4k will probably only buy you a load of bread in 2102.

MarkY91

Balmed Out wrote: »

MarkY91 wrote:

I've been to dozens of cities around the world. Comparing Dublin to them really makes me embarrassed that I come from such a pathetic excuse of a city.

MarkY91 wrote:

My girlfriend is foreign and she laughs at the fact that Dublin is so pretentious charging such prices for anything when Dublin is such a dump.

No where suits everyone. Dublin and Ireland in general have a lot to offer. I've been to more than 60 countries and have never been anywhere that I would call a pathetic excuse for a city. Some suit me more then others but that's down to me. Think yere attitude says more about ye then it does about Dublin.

A pathetic excuse for a city as in size. It has a tiny city centre then endless miles of generic, ugly looking residential areas.

Just back from a weekend in Galway and found it to be a beautiful city. As is belfast.

A tourist spending most his time in Dublin has wasted his time. That's the general consensus in this thread.

Mister Vain

wakka12 wrote: »

???
I went to amsterdam specifically because of how pretty it was first and foremost, the canals and bridges and nice old brick buildings. Amsterdam is extremely popular for its architecture/streetscapes alongside the nightlife

Each to their own. Some parts of it are nice but overall I think its one of the least pretty European cities. I'm probably in the minority though.

Ferris_Bueller

Good idea for a thread, I've often wondered this when walking around Dublin. Everyone will judge a city based on different things but overall I would say tourists would enjoy Dublin a lot, if you were going for a three night stay for example I think there would be plenty to do but at the same time you would leave feeling you have seen most of it.

Pros:
- Lots of history and sights to see (not on the scale of Rome or Paris but good for a city of it's size).
- Excellent pubs and in general brilliant night time entertainment.
- Good food and restaurants.
- Very safe city to walk around at day and night.
- Small city which you can predominantly see on foot without using transport, thankfully.
- Great atmosphere and locals who are hospitable and friendly (probably Dublins biggest strength).

Biggest con for me is definitely the amount of junkies/beggars on the streets, I've never seen another city as bad. Most cities have gypsies, pickpockets or "lucky lucky" men which are a pain in the arse, but ours is definitely junkies. Weather is crap as well most of the time but if a tourist managed to get Dublin on a sunny weekend I'd say they would think it's one of the best cities in Europe. Even though Dublin is expensive, I don't feel like we rip tourists off particularly bad.. Some cities it feels like there is one price for tourists and one for the locals, whereas Dublin is just an expensive place in general.

wakka12

MarkY91 wrote: »

A pathetic excuse for a city as in size. It has a tiny city centre then endless miles of generic, ugly looking residential areas.

Just back from a weekend in Galway and found it to be a beautiful city. As is belfast.

A tourist spending most his time in Dublin has wasted his time. That's the general consensus in this thread.

How is belfast beautiful? When I visited it felt like a(recent) post war city, big huge empty land plots from where buildings were demolished everywhere, loads of huge busy roads running through central areas(much bigger and busier than dunlins) loads of ugly post war buildings. It had some nice areas..but when I returned back to dublin from the train at oconnell station I was just thinking how much nicer a city it was than belfast

wakka12

Mister Vain wrote: »

Each to their own. Some parts of it are nice but overall I think its one of the least pretty European cities. I'm probably in the minority though.

Then I think you haven't visited Cologne, Rotterdam, Essen, Coventry, Birmingham or a number of other cities in europe which were heavily bombed

Mister Vain

wakka12 wrote: »

Then I think you haven't visited Cologne, Rotterdam, Essen, Coventry, Birmingham or a number of other cities in europe which were heavily bombed

Well its one of the least pretty European cities that hasn't been bombed then. Plenty of nicer looking places in my opinion. Brussels, Prague, Krakow, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome all far nicer. I do love the Dutch people though. They're great craic.

Greentopia

wakka12 wrote: »

Then I think you haven't visited Cologne, Rotterdam, Essen, Coventry, Birmingham or a number of other cities in europe which were heavily bombed

Another example is where I live- Stuttgart. The allies bombed it to bits and they built lots new mostly ugly or bland buildings in the city centre to replace them after the war which makes it look like you could be in any mid size middle European city-not much individual character here.

What's left of the old historic buildings are lovely but they're not many. And so much of the city is full of grey industrial parks, retail developments and factories and there's not a square inch of what is allowed to be developed that that hasn't been developed. Fortunately the green belt and aeration corridors make up 60% of the city though and these are inviolable.