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

"Other British cities" DOES say implicitly that someone thinks that Dublin is in Britain though. And land mass has nothing to do with it. It's like comparing Cardiff to Edinburgh. Those two cities are on the same land mass. Dublin is in the Republic of Ireland, Belfast is in the UK.

That doesn’t mean they think it’s in Britain! 🤣 they are just making the point about travelling somewhere that’s the same as they have at home

Hate to tell you, but I have met many English people who think Ireland is in the UK, like Scotland and Wales. Surprised we use Euros and that we have green postboxes. When you tell them it's a different country you get "but it's not like this in Scotland." Not all English people obviously, but a significant amount.

I think the poster complaining that the NI tourist board hasn't promoted Dublin enough says it all!

I’ve never even heard of anyone thinking Dublin is in Britain, let alone experience it. You must’ve come across some right thickies

sakura7 same here. It's infuriating. Very often the weather forecast in the UK will pinpoint Dublin and Cork on a map of the UK. WHY???. It may as well show Paris and Madrid fgs. Drives me bananas.

It's like comparing Cardiff to Edinburgh.
It really isn't. There's only two hours between Belfast and Dublin. It's nearer to eight between Cardiff and Edinburgh. So if you were travelling by car or public transport, you can feasibly choose between Belfast and Dublin. Not the case for Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Also, Cardiff and Edinburgh weren't historically part of the same country.
There are some posters on this thread who don't understand Ireland and its history but you're being obtuse to suggest there's no obvious reason to compare Belfast and Dublin.

I come across people who hold this belief all the time, in all walks of life unfortunately.

I’ve never even heard of anyone thinking Dublin is in Britain, let alone experience it. You must’ve come across some right thickies

Would it come up in conversation for you though? Are you Irish?

I have been surprised that some otherwise smart people have made this mistake, but it's not exactly covered in your history lessons. Things like the BBC reporting on Ireland as one of the 'home nations' for sport doesn't help either.

Thing is Dublin is pretty small so you can see all the main sights in a couple of visits, unlike say London. And it's expensive if you are coming from Britain. And it's probably a victim of its own overhype.

I go to Dublin a few times a year because DD lives there and so much of the centre is in your face Irish themed for the tourists, that it feels like a bit of a joke; the gift shop count is massive, the tourist pubs proliferate. They have a leprechaun museum for goodness sake.

I first went to Dublin 30 years ago and adored it. But even Bewleys is overpriced and generic now.

Don't get me wrong, DD takes us to lovely places, mainly in South Dublin. But you didn't used to need insider knowledge to enjoy Dublin. Maybe that's true of lots of places though.

My parents are Irish and have a property there so I’ve spent about a month a year there all my life. I’ve always lived in England and am married to an English bloke.

We went to the Guinness factory and the jail. Both ok. I found the city kind of drab and boring. And it was expensive so shopping didn’t really appeal and they mostly had the same old shops we have at home but more expensive. The bars were ok but nothing to write home about, big and impersonal. Sure if you know the place there are lots of hidden gems but hard to find if you are a tourist. I just didn’t fall for the place. Won’t rush back.

I fully accept that I'm being somewhat obtuse in making that point but the two cities ARE in different countries.

My parents are Irish and have a property there so I’ve spent about a month a year there all my life. I’ve always lived in England and am married to an English bloke.

So presumably you have an English accent? People meeting you wouldn't hear an Irish accent and start asking stupid questions.

Again, not all English people, but it's pretty common. I, and other posters here, have experienced it many times. Just because you haven't doesn't mean it's not an issue.

That's actually true about the BBC sport reporting, obviously rugby and football, but even down to athletics and cycling coverage the Irish competitors are often treated like our own. Plus the fact that Irish people have always lived and worked freely in Britain, long before the European free movement.

And it DOES come up in conversation for me. All the time

Also one can’t compare pricing Dublin v Belfast if one is in the euro zone and one has sterling, British VAT rates, etc ...

But... regardless, they are thick aren’t they? I’m not denying they exist, I just said I’d never heard of anyone thinking Dublin was in GB. It’s certainly not a common thought

Conversely, I've come across quite a few English people who don't understand that N Ireland is part of the UK (whether people want it to be or not), and are baffled as to why things are priced in pounds instead of Euros and stuff like that.

Oh yes absolutely come across that Isabelle. I also tricked my DH into thinking he’d have to speak Welsh in Cardiff or no one would understand him 🤣 he’s a bit thick sometimes

Went to Dublin a few years ago with some female friends. One of the girls got her handbag stolen when sitting in a cafe. Also saw someone have his jacket stolen from the back of a chair on a bar.

Witnessed someone else get their bag stolen off them.

All in 48 hours. Saw used needles in the street.

Now I live near a tough northerntown in the UK, but have never seen as much crime as I did in Dublin. So if you go, be careful and observant.

SansaSnark, I think you would like Galway! If you are back again you might enjoy a visit there and Galway especially if you are a race goer.

I thought there was an all-Ireland tourist board, so its offices in NI may well be promoting Dublin, or not.

DH and I went to Dublin last year and thought it felt like a large British city would have been if it hadn't been bombed during WW2 ("accidental" Lufthansa strike and Easter Rising/civil war damage not withstanding). I liked it, I didn't think it was very pretty compared with somewhere like Vienna but there is loads to do and we were lucky with the weather other than a bit of drizzle one morning. Also did a parkrun there (Brickfields) so met some local people and did something a bit different.

Not sure why people are so rude about it. Would they be so rude about Edinburgh or Copenhagen?

I've not been to Belfast so can't compare, though I have been to Derry.

Things like the BBC reporting on Ireland as one of the 'home nations' for sport doesn't help either I thought the rugby team was all Ireland, so it kind of is a home nation! Also the school athletics "international" includes an all-Ireland team

Where in the name of god were they MrsCaseres? I've lived in Dublin for almost 50 years and I've never seen needles in the street, ever. But I've an idea of where I could go looking for them. Like any city there are parts you should avoid, but it sounds like your friends spent their entire time in the dodgy parts.

OP, there are some nice places to visit but equally tourists seem drawn to horrors like Temple Bar. Do your homework and choose wisely. London is more expensive than Dublin. Dublin is cheaper than Switzerland or Scandanavia. Not every city will appeal to everyone so work out what you're looking for and/or expecting. There are clearly people who love Dublin and people who loathe it. I've seen arguments rage over Paris and presume the same is true of other cities.

Enjoy wherever you decide to go!

There is an organisation called Tourism Ireland which promotes the entire Ireland.

But a previous poster had referred to the N Ireland tourism board promoting Dublin, but TourismNI only covers N Ireland, not the whole island.

I think most people comparing Dublin to Belfast are doing so on the basis that if you’re going to go to the effort of booking a trip across the Irish Sea from GB, there’s two decent sized cities to choose from, 100 miles apart.

Nothing to do with people thinking Dublin is in the UK or not understanding that Belfast is!

the problem with the vast majority of these, as with most ‘worst place I’ve ever gone on holiday’ threads, is a combination of lack of research and unrealistic expectations

^^ This. Plus people go to not very nice tourist hotspots and then write off entire regions/islands/countries based on the worst impression of any particular place, even though it might apply to a tiny fraction of it.

See also people's comments about Mallorca, the Canaries etc, because they only went to Magaluf or Playa de las Americas and don't particularly like cheap party places and English Breakfasts and all day drinking by the pool.

I've only been to Dublin for a few work meetings but in the few hours spare I've had here and there, I've been to the Guinness Factory, St Stephen's Green and the Famine memorial and the Temple Bar area. It all seems nice enough and there's a few places like Phoenix Park, the prison and national museum and a couple of other things, that I'd like to see if I had time or ever got round to going there on a short break. I really liked the guinness factory, the section on making the barrels was fascinating.