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Original poster

Short break. Why is Dublin so bad

491 replies

IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod · 20/10/2019 18:45

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

OP posts:
LoisWilkersonsLastNerve · 20/10/2019 20:02

I go on many city breaks and while there's nothing wrong with Dublin, it's just not as good as other cities I've been too. I just felt it was a bit meh. I wouldn't let reviews put you off though. Just plan in advance sone stuff to do and you'll have a good time.

GrumpyHoonMain · 20/10/2019 20:03

I think the best parts of Ireland are in the south or the coast. Dublin as a city is no better than Birmingham really

TheVanguardSix · 20/10/2019 20:03

Oh I love Dublin, but I have loads of family over there which helps. I haven't been for about 5 years and normally, I just do a Dublin pit-stop before heading off to the countryside. So admittedly, I don't know current Dublin well.

I still love Bewley's Grafton Street.
And I adore my cousins' shop, Rhinestones on St. Andrew Street, which is an Aladdin's cave of gorgeous, unique antique jewellery. It's very well known in town.
Phoenix park is wonderful.
Dublin has its charm. It does help if you know a local or two.

doombaby · 20/10/2019 20:06

Dublin as a tourist is not great particularly the tourist areas.. There are not many sights & it is expensive. I love it for going out but then my family are from there & most of them live there.

Belfast has improved a lot in the last decade & lots to see, particularly if you like GoT.

thisisthetime · 20/10/2019 20:10

We went earlier this year and had a great time because it was a child-free break and we went to see a gig but didn’t highly rate the city. We visited the university, the cathedrals and went to temple bar as it wasn’t far from our hotel. We also visited kilmainham gaol which was fab but you need to book in advance. We liked wandering around the city and ate in a few lovely restaurants but overall 2 nights was enough and the city was a bit drab in most places. We wouldn’t return, there are far nicer city breaks.

managedmis · 20/10/2019 20:11

Next time I'm heading to Belfast.

PopcornAndWine · 20/10/2019 20:13

@Clickncollect we met our DH'a around the same time so! I met mine in the Stag's Head, still one of my favourite pubs! Yeah really don't recognise the description of the city from a lot of the posts here. There is so much in terms of history, culture, music etc and some really beautiful areas just outside the city. There are some
truly brilliant pubs too if that's your thing, just avoid the tacky tourist traps in Temple Bar.

Yes there are very rundown areas in the city centre and homelessness and drug use have got a lot worse in the last few years sadly. But that certainly isn't unique to Dublin. We were in Lisbon in January and saw loads of it there too.

Snowpatrolling · 20/10/2019 20:14

Me and the kids loved Dublin!
We are desperate to go back! Loved Belfast to,

Toddlerteaplease · 20/10/2019 20:16

I was expecting a beautiful Georgian city. It's not. Plenty to do but I didn't like it much.

PuppyMonkey · 20/10/2019 20:17

Another one here who went on a really rainy day and had a miserable time. We did worry that we’d just missed all the good bits.

Also we went into an antiques shop to get out of the rain and the miserable owner tried to charge us 1 Euro just to look round. Hmm

I know there must be good bits but it just didn’t grab me enough to go and find them tbh.

RueCambon · 20/10/2019 20:17

"Nothing special"
Well, an English friend of mine visited me and she kept saying "i never saw these places' when i was here before (on a hen night).

I have lived in London and Dublin and Dublin is not London but it is something special.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 20/10/2019 20:21

Puppy - yes, we also kept thinking we must have missed some good bits. DP liked it, but I was really unimpressed overall.

Passthecherrycoke · 20/10/2019 20:22

It’s not that Dublin is horrible, it’s just that cities with history/ beautiful cathedrals/ museums are 10 a penny really aren’t they? It’s not necessarily worth the journey or hassle (very much agree with the Birmingham comparison, although I also think it could be compared to numerous English cities that you wouldn’t really consider a tourist destination either)

isabellerossignol · 20/10/2019 20:25

Whilst not every city is beautiful, nearly every city is interesting. There has to be some history that has made it into a city in the first place. Something has to have happened at some point in history that made people move from the countryside to live there. Any city that has museums and somewhere decent to eat is worth a visit as far as I'm concerned.

queensvillage1 · 20/10/2019 20:27

I liked it, kilmainham jail was a good place to visit for a few hours and if I remember rightly the dead zoo was free.

I enjoyed the Guinness factory and just walking around the city really. I do agree with pp to avoid temple bar, the price of drinks go up and up as the day goes on.

motorcyclenumptiness · 20/10/2019 20:30

It took me a few visits to 'get' Dublin. Round Stephen's Green is lovely as a base and the hop on hop off bus is great to get an idea of where everything is. I like the parks and the museums and there are some lovely seaside places to visit close by. It's a good city for wandering.

Jimdandy · 20/10/2019 20:30

Firstly avoid Temple Bar it’s just plastic and designed to rip off tourists! Go a bit further out towards Rathmines along Camden Street and try the Bleeding Horse or the pubs along there. The Zoo is amazing too

pinkhousesarebest · 20/10/2019 20:32

I have always been mystified by the allure that Dublin has for many. ( I am originally from Belfast.) There is not much to chose between them tbh and a little bit of self agrandissement on both sides. Why not take your money and go to Prague or Budapest or somewhere different?
We live in a cool European city now. No prizes for guessing where my ds is applying for Uni 😫

Whitejasmine · 20/10/2019 20:33

I can’t believe it’s rated one of the worst places, I bloody LOVE Dublin and dh and I go every couple of years. Don’t agree with avoiding temple bar either, some of the best nights out I’ve ever had have been there, the music and atmosphere are fab.

We always stay in a posh hotel (the Westbury off grafton street is amazing and the restaurant in there, Wilde, is a great experience)

Love the independent shops, st Stephens green, trinity college, Bewleys coffee bar is a must, the horseshoe bar and also the smallest bar in the world, I’ve forgotten what it’s called - but we have had fantastic weekends away there.

Also love that it’s only a 30 min plane ride from Manchester rather than travelling to Prague/Madrid etc for 2-3 hours each way when you only have a couple of nights to spare away from the kids!

Clickncollect · 20/10/2019 20:34

@PopcornAndWine yes I know the Stags Head well - have had many a drink there over the years. We met in the South William Bar on South William Street but that bar is not there anymore.
I agree regarding the homeless - in fact, last time I was over we were stopped by a homeless person for money and I literally had 10 cents on me and the person refused it saying it wasn’t enough!

CurryAndCobra · 20/10/2019 20:47

Like the others: Dirty, Expensive and constantly raining. Not very different from any other city around the world.

BarbaraStrozzi · 20/10/2019 20:48

Fabulous 18th architecture, great art gallery, the library in Trinity College is to die for, and guinness. What more could you want? I loved my short break in Dublin.

ChocAuVin · 20/10/2019 20:49

I was underwhelmed but the people were utterly lovely.

AlansLeftMoob · 20/10/2019 20:50

Because the culture and heart is slowly being ripped out of it in favour of commercialisation and more bloody hotels. We've lost so many beautiful little venues and more and more places are going under every day - eventually it'll just be full of overpriced hotels and Carroll's Gift Shops.

It's brutally expensive, and just when you find a nice little spot to eat it seems to close again just as quick.

There is beauty to be found in certain areas - they are few and far between - but I couldn't recommend it for a city break any more. I prefer Galway or Belfast, they just have more atmosphere and heart. I feel like the heart has been ripped out of Dublin in the last decade and it's painful to see. It's still one of my favourite cities in the world for a live gig but overall it's just become a dark, overpriced, dull, shithole. The people are wonderful but the city is drowning.

Bobby141 · 20/10/2019 21:06

Why has nobody walked around the fabulous Merrion Square with all the wonderful museums and art galleries and Georgian buildings walked the length of our canals we have lots of wonderful green areas Powerscourt, Ardgillan Castle lots just use the internet to search before coming over to travel and lots of history Chistchurch, Patrick's Cathedral, Marshes Library, Teeling Whiskey, theres so much more to do other than Temple bar other than Guinness Store House, & Temple Bar