Dublin originally began as a Viking trading post called Dubh Linn (Dark Pool), which soon amalgamated with a Celtic settlement called Baile Átha Cliath (Town of the Hurdle Ford) – still the Gaelic name for the city. As most of the early city was built of wood, only the two cathedrals, part of the castle and several churches have survived from before the seventeenth century. The fabric of the city dates essentially from the Georgian period, when the Anglo-Irish gentry began to invest their income in new town houses.

Membership of the European Union has infused money into the city, and you'll see new buildings everywhere. It's the collision of the old, charming Dublin with the new, stylish Dublin that makes it the energetic, cosmopolitan city it is today.

Eating Out
Over the last decade, eating out in Dublin has become a far more international affair than it was before. Like any other city, it was brimming with Italian restaurants, but now there are a healthy helping of Indian, Japanese, and Thai restaurants also. This is largely due to the sudden influx migrants to the Irish capital, and many of these Asian restaurants can be found north of the River Liffey on Moore Street and, in particular, on Parnell Street.

The highest concentration of restaurants can be found around the cobbled streets of Temple Bar, Dublin’s tourist quarter. Due to the high volumes of tourists which constantly populate this area, you won’t find too many bargains. The quality of food is still good with many locals visiting the area for a bite to eat regularly.

Instead Georges Street on the southside of the River Liffey is where you can find one of the most established selections of eateries, while Parliament Street, not far from here, and Chatham Street off Grafton Street has a cluster of Italian restaurants.

Prices for meals vary, but you should be able to find a good quality main course in and around the €10-15 mark. For the best value look for ‘Early Bird’ specials, where restaurants do starter-main course combinations for anything between €15-€20.

Things to See
Dublin does have various attractions on both sides of the River Liffey. The best known of these is the Molly Malone statue at the bottom of Grafton Street, Ireland’s flagship shopping street on the southside of the city. It is also on the southside that you will find most of the city’s museums, along with both its cathedrals.

The northside of the city also has places of interest for tourists looking for things to see and do. These include some other museums, but more than anything else, the people and the atmosphere on city centre streets such as Moore Street and Henry Street have to be witnessed.

Like with most capitals, you need to venture out of the immediate city centre to discover what else it has to offer. Just west of the city centre you will find the Phoenix Park, one of the largest city centre parks in the world. North of the city centre on the DART line are Malahide and Howth, two of the most picturesque suburbs in the city, while south of the Liffey you will discover Dun Laoghaire and Dalkey, home to Bono among others.

Entertainment
A friend once said to me, “Italians are good at cooking, and that’s why there are Italian restaurants everywhere. The Irish are good are drinking, and that’s why there are Irish bars everywhere”. He had a point. Dublin is heaving with pubs and its nightlife is unrivalled in Europe.

Just as with restaurants, most of Dublin’s pubs are located in Temple Bar, although this part of the city is almost exclusively populated with tourists all year long. On weekend nights it can get particularly rowdy due to noisy crowds of stag and hen parties who sing their way through the streets.

Instead Georges Street, just south of Temple Bar, has got some of the city’s best bars. Two streets parallel from here is one of the city’s strips – South Wiliam Street which has bars from top to bottom. Wexford Street and Baggot Street are another two of the city’s streets famed for their selection of bars.

One of the biggest changes in Dublin’s social life over the last number of years is the emergence of trendy bars all over the city. But of course, the biggest change is the fact that, just like as in California and New York, you can no longer smoke in the city’s bars or nightclubs.

Getting Around
On foot: Dublin is easily explored on foot and as it is relatively flat it won’t take up too much of your energy to do so. The northside’s main thoroughfare is O’Connell Street, the widest street in Europe. To get from here to St Stephen’s Green at the end of Grafton Street, the heart of the south inner city, will take no longer than 15 minutes.

By bus: Dublin’s double-decker buses serve nearly all areas of the city and run between 6.00am and 11.30pm. They are reasonably priced (journeys cost between 95c and €2.35). Although services are curtailed at weekends, there are always buses running regularly enough.

By DART: This train service, with the exception of three city centre stations Pearse, Tara and Connolly, is mainly used to travel to coastal suburbs on the north and south sides of the city. The number of destinations the DART serves is limited but it is a lot quicker than the bus.

By Luas: Dublin’s tram-like network the Luas is the city’s newest mode of public transport. There are two lines – the red and the green line. The red line serves west Dublin while the green line links southern suburbs to the city centre. Both the city’s main train stations and the bus station also have Luas stops.

By taxi: During the day getting a taxi is fairly easy but at night time it can be next to impossible. Taxis are marked with yellow signs on top of the cars and are all metered.