Edinburgh or Dublin for city break?

[Lifeispassingby]

So 40th birthday coming up in March, planning city break for me and DH, we are looking at probably either Edinburgh or Dublin, although open to other suggestions? Which would people recommend? And specifically where to stay/what to do in either city would be great! Small ish budget for 3 nights x

Sorry - just to say, you can’t sea-swim in the Phoenix Park.

@Journeylikenomother

March - do Dublin. There should be lots on in the run up to St. Patrick's day (17 March).

Avoid Dublin like the plague on St Patrick’s Day!!!!!

Unless you like heavy drinking and litter.

I so do not recognise these descriptions of Dublin City centre as drab & down at heel at all!

I know the places you mention @coronawireless and yes, Vico road (millionaires row) is very pretty & the wealth is ostentatiously evident but I really fail to see what an average weekend visitor would do there for instance? It's a narrow road surrounded by high walls protecting mansions that have a sea view.

I don't think Grafton st, Wicklow st, Merrion Square, Ely Place, Baggot st, Dame St, George's st, Fade St etc are 'down at heel'

As I said we've been to Dublin twice this year & had an excellent time on each occasion

We had the best tapas we've had outside of Spain in The Port House Cava Camden St with really excellent Cava - highly recommended.

We enjoyed cocktails & excellent food at Fade St Social and a surprise discovery was Nanetti's on Dawson St. We returned there on our second trip.

One trip was for work & one was pleasure.

We also love Edinburgh OP & I think there are excellent things to experience in both. If you'd like any recommendations for Dublin I'd be happy to oblige. I lived there for 8 years & return several times a year

@midsomermurderess

I know Dublin pretty well, *@earingsandlipstick*, so I am not 'ignorant'. My father was from there, I have cousins living there. Still, I think it is not terribly interesting, as evidenced by some suggestions here, and some of yours. Grafton Street? Is it worth a trip? Trinity College, the Book of Kells, yes lovely, but not compelling. The Guiness tour? is it any more interesting than similar in Copenhagen or Amsterdam which have do much more to offer? No. Someone mentioned Glasnevin. Yes, the 'heroes' are buried there, my grandad and mum and dad too as it happens. It's a city competing as a short-break destination against so many others. But it's low ranking and rather drab.

Guiltily agree with this. DH is from Dublin and we lived there for a while. It has its strengths, but whenever there’s a MN thread on biggest travel let downs, Dublin ALWAYS features heavily.

Any capital city has its rough parts but there’s large chunks of the inner city which are actually unpleasant. Any tourist has to do their research first on what they want to do, and where to eat/drink- it’s not like Edinburgh where you arrive on the Royal Mile with your suitcases, see a big castle at the top of the hill and you can go with the flow.

I’m originally from Belfast and felt very unsafe in Dublin at times, especially using public transport. There’s a significant homelessness problem, which can be pretty shocking depending on where you’re from.

I’m obviously very biased towards Belfast so I’m absolutely here for the love the city is getting on this thread!

No, the Vico Road has huge, wide open views down across the bay for everyone to enjoy. And sets of steps down the cliffs to the beach and sea, also for everyone to enjoy. You have to be rich to live there but not to visit.

And after a stunning coastal walk and/or swim, plus a kayak trip to Dalkey island if you choose, Dalkey village is chock full of restaurants and pubs, then hop on the Dart back to the city centre.

I love Edinburgh but apart from Michigan in the winter I do not think I have ever been so cold ( windy as well which did not help )

But a previous person has said the weather is pretty balmy at the moment - Obviously Edinburgh has so much to do and relatively compact as a major city centre as I recall. It is a lovely city.

Honestly OP I reckon you will have a lovely time whichever you go to - just choose one & save the other for next time.

DH & I went to Dublin and didn't experience any anti social behaviour but may be just where we were. We really enjoyed it. Possibly ( when I found it hard to get a hotel ) it was because we had gone the weekend U2 were playing) Ha ha - we did not realise - so maybe the city was empty - how rubbish were we.

One thing is - I don't like flying so personally getting on a train & assuming station is relatively close to city centre - that would be a plus for Edinburgh for me.

Edinburgh, definitely. Gorgeous city. Belfast also a great suggestion from several others on here. Or if travel restrictions apply Newcastle is another occasionally ferociously cold city weather wise but with a warm welcome, lots to see and do, and accommodation and eating options to suit pretty much all budgets.

Edinburgh I've been twice and if I was younger with no ties I would be heading there to live it's a beautiful vibrant city so much that do.
I visit Dublin regularly live in Ireland so I find it all a bit bland and boring tbh

I've spent a very enjoyable overnight in Edinburgh, a great 5 days based in Belfast and a very tedious 8 hours in Dublin.

Admittedly Dublin was not the best of circumstances getting off the ferry at 7am and needing to bide time until at least 3pm when we could get to the campsite and were accompanied by a 4 & 6 yo. The main attraction of nightlife was not our purpose. There are things to do around the wider city area, but not a huge amount in the city centre. Guiness is not our thing. We did a tour bus and got off to see the Book of Kells but the queue was at least an hour and would have resulted in very miserable, bored children so we got back on the bus again. It's not a city to amble around for pleasure taking in the architecture (as we managed with Edinburgh) and the grey stone is drab (as are significant portions of the other larger cities although Cork and Limerick have more charm); Ireland's strength is as a rural country and smaller cities like Galway. It is very expensive to the British exchange rate.

I'd wondered for years why all I'd seen of Dublin was the M50 and why DH had always travelled west ASAP, a long morning showed me why I've never felt so stuck for something to do in a city centre before- even with the impediment of young children.

At present, Irish Covid measures are even more onerous than Scotish ones which dampens the craic somewhat.

I see someone else suggested Galway - it's a lovely town with a great vibe, but when I stayed there (for a long weekend while living in Belfast for a couple of years) accommodation was starting to get very difficult to find and very, very expensive. There's some other good suggestions on here as well, like Liverpool and York, though I'm not quite sure I'd say York is all that similar to Edinburgh (beyond the ghost walks and the fact there's great architecture and history)!

If you do go to the south of Ireland/Republic then you will be looking at paying for everything in Euros and the exchange rate is not looking fantastic, whereas in Belfast everything is still in sterling, and it really does go a long way. It also has fabulous architecture, there's plenty of space, some great places to eat and drink, and some really fun tours to do - I'll never forget doing one of the famous Taxi trips round the Falls and the Shankill, or the City Sightseeing Tour as just a couple of examples. And if you have got the time, a day trip up to the North Coast will give you a very different view of Northern Ireland than the one the English media portrays...not just the Giant's Causeway, as stunning as that is it gets very busy these days, but the walks along that coastline are truly stunning and some of the produce used is so fresh and delicious it can't be faulted.

To reduce the travel I would recommend Bath, beautiful city and great history and architecture.
If you want to go further, Vienna, or Amsterdam would be on my list.

I was really disappointed by Dublin TBH. Lovely seafood, but otherwise no. The Book of Kells stuff is crowded out with tourist tat and Trinity Dublin is one pretty view and that's it.

I am slightly biased, too, because I found Dublin much more accepting of men cat-calling etc. It's the only place in the last decade I have gone to a pub friends in the area said was quite decent, and had men ribbing me for ordering a pint and not accepting it when I tried to end the conversation.

You mention that you're thinking about this trip happening in March 2022.

I can safely say that in March 2022, having not had a St Patrick's Day parade in the past 2 years, there will be one hell of a hooley around the Paddy's day in 2022. No where will be celebrating that more than in Ireland, whatever part of the country you go to.

A very strong vote for Edinburgh, I was going to say to make sure you avoid 6 nations match weekends as hotel prices will rocket but it looks like all the March games are away. Ireland are home to Scotland on 19th March so that'll be a double whammy with St Paddy's day weekend!
www.scottishrugby.org/fixtures-and-results/internationals/2021-22/guinness-six-nations-2022/

@emmathedilemma - good shout - I did realise ( not the same thing ) when we went to Dublin U2 were playing - DH & I laughed our socks off when he walked past a massive poster advertising it -) who knew - well clearly everyone else apart from us - & explains why we could not get any inexpensive accommodation in the city centre - we laugh about it to this day - I have a photo of him standing by the poster. God love him - he spotted the poster and said "could this be a clue " - I had spent days on the internet trying to get a reasonably priced hotel. I had not spotted that

I've been to Dublin 3 times and Edinburgh twice. Compared to other uk cities I found them both a bit meh.

Unless you have problems with your vision, Edinburgh could never be described as 'meh'.

If I want to go to Belfast from 10-13 March, does that clash with anything (like Four Nations) and should I avoid that weekend?

or even Six Nations - well and truly showing my age there!

Unless you have problems with your vision, Edinburgh could never be described as 'meh

agreed!

@ChocolateDeficitDisorder I'm also very curious as to what other UK cities could possibly have someone describing Edinburgh as meh!

(Bath? London? Birmingham?? Winchester??? Chichester????)

@ColinTheKoala - looks fairly free of events, but give the Tourist Office a call to double check, they were very friendly when I lived there and can tell you all about the craic at any given moment. ;)

Both are good for weekends but Edinburgh is more physically attractive if you like being outdoors.