Short break. Why is Dublin so bad

[IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod]

I'm looking for a city break and Dublin was on my list. It scored highly on the worst holiday thread, can anyone tell me why

[mapleleafshiba]

When i went it was wet and miserable and we found there was very little to do. I went with a group of friends and we still had a lovely time but it's certainly not somewhere I'd hurry back to. Guinness factory fine but I don't drink

Maybe that's just me though. I'd love to do Belfast (titanic museum!) and other parts of Ireland though.

[ALongHardWinter]

Oh dear. I will be following this thread wth interest as I'm hoping to visit Dublin some time in the next year or so!

[NonUrinatInVentum]

Very little to do ... In a city?!

[managedmis]

We went in December, it just seemed really run down and like any other faceless town. Drab.

The Guinness factory used to be amazing but its too Disney now

[wowthatscrazyman]

I liked it but it’s shockingly expensive

[AFistfulofDolores1]

It's shite, if you go to all the places that all the people who visit Dublin go to. (Note: Temple Bar is one of those).

[Lovemenorca]

Uninspiring
Just nothing special about it at all

[HeyNotInMyName]

It is small city but I really enjoyed the three days I spend there.
Yes it was raining (but then so was it where we live!)
It’s not a big city by any standard.pbut enjoyable nevertherless.

So... I’m as curious as you @IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod

[flowery]

I went to Dublin in December. Other than raining all the time, which is of course fair enough in December, we had a great time. Loads to do. We went to Guinness which was great, but plenty of other stuff as well.

[gower4]

Weirdly expensive

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I didn't like it much. Dirty, and very expensive. Belfast much better.

[KronksSpinachPuffs]

I'm so surprised at the pp experiences! I went as a teenager with family, with my now husband for 3 days in my early twenties and on my hen do for a weekend earlier this year and found that there was so much going on and had fun each and every time!

I love the place there are some really nice and high end areas mixed in with the tourist places and everyone was so friendly!

[TipseyTorvey]

When I've done Dublin with locals it's brilliant. They know the best places and it's great. When I've done Dublin as a pure tourist I did not enjoy it at all. Dublin Castle is.... not a castle. The Guinness factory seems to be more focused on the ads than how the beer is made. There seems to be a few dodgy areas with a lot of down and outs (more so than a while back) so if choosing a city to visit it wouldn't be my first choice these days alas.

[MikeUniformMike]

It's not that big and it rains a lot. Would be ok for one night.

[PlasticPatty]

Love Dublin. Don't need to do anything special. Eat, sleep, shop, go to gigs, enjoy.

[EdWinchester]

Agree - it's dreary and expensive.

[Pandaintheporridge]

Trinity college isn't "average". The book of kells. The floozie in the jacuzzi. I think you can have a decent weekend in pretty much any city, there will be history and shopping and food and drink..

[ParkheadParadise]

I love Dublin. The people are so friendly and welcoming.
I've been numerous times.
Last time we stayed in The Westbury for DH's 40th birthday.
Also love to go with friends for the weekend.

[Yoollyball]

Expensive- feels like a large town rather than a city. It's lacking in the usual kind of tourist draws that you expect from a capital city.

[Hefzi]

It's a great place, with loads to see and do, but ludicrously expensive as a tourist (I assume, like London, locals have a better idea of where to shop/eat/drink so they aren't bankrupting themselves on a daily basis) - it makes Tokyo look really quite reasonable. Or Oslo, for that matter

[Thirza38]

Great city but sooo expensive

[isabellerossignol]

I love it and visit often. However, the last time I was there, a couple of months ago, there was a very noticeable rise in visible homelessness and drug addiction. But I think that sadly that's not unusual over the past few years in most cities.

[OMGshefoundmeout]

I have had family there all my life and my DD has just come back to the U.K. after living there there for 4 years so I spend a lot of time there . I bloody hate the place. It is ridiculously expensive and there is very little to do. Most of the attractions are diddly-dee faux Irish pits of tweeness. The Guinness Storehouse is the most boring place I have ever never visited. Traffic is terrible and public transport is unreliable and overcrowded.

If you have to go the food in restaurants and many pubs is generally quite good, going to the cinema is good value compared to the U.K and the Dart out to Dun Laoghaire is a nice ride but overall the sheer eye watering expensiveness of the place and difficulties getting around the very few things to do mean I’ m not a fan.

[NoGravyForYou]

It's only expensive if you insist on going to temple bar or anywhere that looks "Irish".
Phoenix park is the biggest park in Europe, you can hire bikes or there's buses that go through it.
Guinness factory is nice, but it's for tourists.
Do a Dublin bay cruise.
The national Gallery on Clare street is fab and free, and the museum of modern art in Parnell square is lovely as well.
The national history museum ( the dead zoo as it's called here) is bizarre but in a good way.
Yes it rains a lot, surprise it rains a lot all over Ireland!
It's a small city, but that means you can hop on a train or a bus and be in the countryside or seaside in less than an hour.

[Sakura7]

I'm from Dublin and there are good and bad parts to it. A lot of tourists seem to gravitate towards the bad for some reason.

You need to do a bit of research beforehand on the area you want to stay in, places you want to visit, etc. Avoid Temple Bar and the north inner city (around O'Connell St), stay around the Stephen's Green area or in one of the nicer areas close to town but on the Luas or Dart lines (Ranelagh, Sandymount, Clontarf are some suggestions). There are some lovely places to visit a little bit out of the city. George's St and the streets around it are where the best (and not necessarily expensive) restaurants are. The Market Bar is great for tapas and very reasonable, especially if you get the early bird. There's lots of good music, comedy, theatre, pubs, etc, just do a bit of research and don't head straight for Temple Bar.