Dublin
Pints, poets and warm-hearted craic
You duck out of the rain into a snug pub where a fiddle is tuning up and a perfect pint of stout settles black on the bar. Dublin is a city of storytellers, Georgian doorways and literary ghosts, compact, walkable and endlessly easy to fall into conversation with.
How long to stay?
A day or two covers the heart: tour the Guinness Storehouse for a rooftop pint, see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, stroll medieval Dublin Castle and St Patrick's Cathedral, then find live music in a Temple Bar pub.
Friendly, witty and unpretentious. Conversation flows as freely as the stout, and strangers chat in queues. It rains often but the mood stays bright, fueled by music, pubs and a deep love of words.
The city center around Trinity College and Grafton Street keeps everything walkable. Temple Bar is lively but loud and pricey. The leafy Georgian squares of the south side, or Smithfield, are calmer choices.
Skip overpriced, touristy Temple Bar for your pints and seek out traditional music sessions in pubs like those on Camden Street or Stoneybatter, where locals drink and the trad sessions are the real thing.
May to September brings the longest, mildest days and a lively festival calendar, though never guaranteed sun. March around St Patrick's Day is festive but packed. Winters are dark and damp but cozy and cheap.
Dublin Airport (DUB) is 10km north of the center, with no rail link, but frequent Airlink and Aircoach buses reach downtown in about 30 minutes. Taxis are plentiful but slower in traffic.
Currency is the euro (not pounds). English is spoken, with Irish on signs. Pubs are the social hub; rounds are a custom, so offer to buy one. Tipping is modest. Bring a rain jacket always.