To ask MN where to go in Dublin...?

[QueenArseClangers]

Off to Dublin the end if January with DH and youngest DC who'll be just 2 then.
We have 3 nights to have a good nosey about, been before but that was ages ago with the rest of the DC so hopefully this'll be a bit more relaxed with just one.
It'll be cold and dark in the evenings but we'd like to make the most of the days. Where would you recommend to visit/see/eat?

Leprechaun museum! It's awesome and the kids will love it

The zoo it's really good & easily accessible, book online for handyness.

Open top bus tours might appeal, just jump of whoever you want. & back on again.

*Dont jump randoms

*jump of wherever!

Defo Leprechaun museum. Loved the guides.

Ha ha! I'll make sure we don't jump on any random people then LadyMary!
Forgot about the zoo, DD'll love it! And the leprechaun museum sounds ace.

Second the zoo, it's excellent. Loads of great museums, though 2 year old attention spans may be limited - Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham has lots of running around space outside. There are good playgrounds for toddler fun in St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, both in the city centre. Or get the DART (local rail) out to the port at Howth and have seaside fish and chips.

The Natural History museum. It's free entry and it's a really old fashioned museum full of stuffed animals in glass cases. Sounds rubbish, but it's not at all, it's great.

I agree with the zoo-it's brill!. If it's too expensive, you could potter around Phoenix Park where it's located (we went last week and saw a big gang of wild deer). You can rent bikes there with a trailer for your toddler.
Irish Museum of Modern Art is fab, as Leedy says and we brought our boy when he was very small.
You could go to the Natural History Museum off Merrion Square-it's free and kids love it!
You have to see St. Stephen's Green and as already mentioned, there is a great playground.
I would get a day ticket for the DART and go to Howth on the north side. Turn to the left after the DART station and walk along a lane way (trust me!) and you come to a beach. You can see the planes flying in to Dublin Airport and let your toddler go mad in the sand. If you walk on straight to the harbour, you'll see the fat hungry seals. And there is a great playground further on up.
Then hop back on the DART (hopefully the little one has a nap) and go to Bray on the south side. Cheap and cheerful with arcades and a pebble beach. The Sealife Aquarium is right on the beach and we enjoyed it when our boy was small.
What kind of food are you in to?. If it's Asian, head up to Parnell street for some cheap eats. When I was a nipper, we were brought to Captain America's on Grafton Street (it's upstairs-near the St. Stephen's Green end). Child friendly but a good buzz!
Henry Street/Mary Street for cheap shopping and Grafton Street for higher end.
Any questions-feel free to ask!

The viking splash tour? Although I don't know if they do it in January. For family friendly dining, Milanos is excellent. Lots of lovely posh restaurants too. Book of Kells in Trinity College.

Also, the National Gallery on Merrion Square is great.

Tayto park is fab, it's just outside Dublin- you could possibly get a bus?!
It's a mix of a zoo and a theme park. We loved it!

www.taytopark.ie/

Prefer the west coast myself, West Cork, Kerry, Galway. Not a fan of Dublin city centre at all, but I'm a country boy so I don't like cities anyway.

The Ark centre in Temple Bar is great for small kids.

Oh yes, the Ark is excellent, they usually have something interesting on for littlies. Have a look at their web page before you go as you often have to book for events.

We did Dublin in January last year and loved it. Been before but years ago. We did all the 'tourist' bits - Guiness Factory, Kilnainham (sp?) Gaol, Jameson etc but no kids with us would recommend a day trip upto Glendalough if time and funds permit. Can also recommend the zoo and the massive park that the zoo is set in, it has wild deer apparently. Another recommendation for the hop on hop off bus too! Enjoy.

Motorway to Cork.

The zoo is excellent, and you'd be right in Phoenix Park where the deer roam free like something from the opening scenes of a Jane Austen.

I second taking a trip to Howth- it's a beautiful little seaside village ten minutes from the city centre with some lovely bars and restaurants.

The three museums in the city centre (Natural History, Art and Irish History) are fantastic and a great day out- they're all a short walk from each other near Merrion Square.

I'm not sure if it's still on, but the Dublinia exhibition near Christchurch Cathedral, near Temple Bar, is very good, particularly for kids- really interactive. The cathedral itself is open during the day and you can walk around the cellars which is great craic.

Georges Arcade on Georges' Street is great if you fancy a little shopping- it's full of little stalls selling art work, clothes and jewellery which I love! There's a BBQ joint and Mexican on the same street, both really great and not expensive.

Stay away from Temple Bar- it's a dear hole and you'll get much better food nearer Grafton Street and you won't be paying €8 a pint.

All of the above, especially the zoo. The phoenix park where the zoo is sited is brilliant - the deer roam freely and the tea rooms beside the zoo are quaint and worth a stop- there is Ashtown castle and visitors centre just down from the zoo. It has a nice coffee shop, and good running around space for the kids. The papal cross where JohnPaul II visited is on top of a hill and its the ideal spot for kids to roll down from.

The Lambert puppet theater is on the dart line and well worth a trip.

The science museum in trinity college is good. As is the little museum of dublin on stephens green. Feed the ducks in the green while your there too.

This place, Imaginosity is brilliant for kids.