When you arrive in a new place for the first time, it's nice to be able to go off the beaten track instead of getting swallowed up by tourist traps.
You'll get a real feel of the city if you live like a local, venturing off the beaten trails and the tourist routes. We've drawn up a renegade itinerary for anyone looking to discover the real Dublin.
Follow this plan – and share it with any visiting locals you come across – for two days filled with amazing food, great sights, fantastic pints and a whole load of craic!
Looking for a hearty breakfast to set you up for the day? Look no further than Brother Hubbard, or their sibling café Sister Sadie, depending on where you're staying. Their menu has all sorts of amazing dishes with semolina pancakes, middle eastern breakfast plates and the option of adding a heap of pulled pork to most dishes.
1pm - Grand Canal Dock
After filling up on food, ease yourself into the day with a leisurely walk around Grand Canal Dock. The architecture is just stunning and it's a really gorgeous place to chill for a few hours, or wander around looking for all the international offices in the Silicon Docks.
From Grand Canal Dock you can walk up the length of the canal as far as Portobello, there's plenty of cool barges, statues, wildlife and swans to feed.
Considering you're in the neighbourhood, it would be rude not to stop into one of our favourite pubs. Known to locals as 'the Shaw', it's a bar with great music, a massive heated smoking garden and an old bus that houses one of Dublin's best pizza kitchens.
Pizza and a pint cost €10 before 8pm, but we recommend getting a side of their homemade garlic mayo on the side – it's the stuff dreams are made of! You could end up spending the rest of your evening here listening to tunes and playing pool without even noticing time passing
The night is rolling in, so it's time to get on the beer! P Mac's have a massive range of craft beers from across the world, as well of loads of board games and a really fun atmosphere. It's also pretty central, so you've got your pick of the cities' clubs and pubs right beside you if you feel like going for a dance later on in the night.
Saturday nights were made for dancing, and while some tourist guides would send you in the direction of Harcourt Street, we reckon you should check out Dublin's best club night, Mother. Housed in the basement of a hotel, Mother takes it back to basics with a retro and modern synth-pop dancefloor fusion at Copper Alley.
Expect everything from the Human League to Electropop, Numan to Murphy, Lennox to La Roux, Depeche Mode to MGMT, with sweet synth synergy. A night dancing at Mother is equivalent to three gym sessions, so you have to check it out!
No matter what time you wake up at following the antics of the night before, one thing's for sure: You. Need. BRUNCH!
White Friar Grill do the best in Dublin, and their bloody mary with chorizo-infused vodka will bring you right back to life. Their menu is perfection, with 10 types of eggs to choose from as well as unreal wings and ribs, and a full cooked breakfast that you'll struggle to finish.
No matter how full you are though, you just have to try the Belgian waffles for dessert they're covered in nutella, caramelised bananas, chantilly cream, ice cream and toasted hazelnuts – insanely good!
3pm - Afternoon Adventure
So you'll either be full of beans after brunch, or in desperate need of a nap – but that's okay because we'll give you a few options for what to do with the rest of the afternoon. Provided the weather is nice, you can head to the Iveagh Gardens or St Stephen's Green for a few hours and soak up the sunshine.
A mere one-minute walk from the café, you'll find Pyg, a great spot for Sunday night drinks. They're all about squeezing every last drop out of the weekend, and Pyg Sundays means 40% of all drinks.
If you thought traffic was very slow this morning, it was because of this. A Luas power outage caused significant disruption for Dublin city commuters on Wednesday morning (10 December). Due to the power fault, there is no tram service operating on the red line between Smithfield and Connolly / The Point and on the […]
It comes just a few months after their final farewell gigs. This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on any sales generated from it. The Wolfe Tones have announced their return to the stage with two massive Dublin gigs. That’s right, the Dublin-formed group who played their final farewell shows in June […]
If you thought traffic was very slow this morning, it was because of this. A Luas power outage caused significant disruption for Dublin city commuters on Wednesday morning (10 December). Due to the power fault, there is no tram service operating on the red line between Smithfield and Connolly / The Point and on the […]
It comes just a few months after their final farewell gigs. This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on any sales generated from it. The Wolfe Tones have announced their return to the stage with two massive Dublin gigs. That’s right, the Dublin-formed group who played their final farewell shows in June […]
If you thought traffic was very slow this morning, it was because of this. A Luas power outage caused significant disruption for Dublin city commuters on Wednesday morning (10 December). Due to the power fault, there is no tram service operating on the red line between Smithfield and Connolly / The Point and on the […]
It comes just a few months after their final farewell gigs. This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on any sales generated from it. The Wolfe Tones have announced their return to the stage with two massive Dublin gigs. That’s right, the Dublin-formed group who played their final farewell shows in June […]
F-Spine operations began last month. Residents in Finglas have raised concerns about F-Spine bus changes. Such concerns were raised at a public meeting on the BusConnects Finglas routes which took place last night. F-Spine operations began last month and were immediately met with complaints and controversy. Locals criticised daily cancellations, frequency cuts on the 23, […]
F-Spine operations began last month. Residents in Finglas have raised concerns about F-Spine bus changes. Such concerns were raised at a public meeting on the BusConnects Finglas routes which took place last night. F-Spine operations began last month and were immediately met with complaints and controversy. Locals criticised daily cancellations, frequency cuts on the 23, […]
Looking for a sp00k this Halloween, you won’t need to stray too far from the capital It’s perhaps unsurprising that was first settled around the 7th century and has gathered a few scary stories and haunted spots in that time. Through the years Dublin has been the setting of all manner of crimes, from graphic […]
Comedian and actress Rosie O’Donnell became an unexpected hero last night in Dublin, performing the Heimlich manoeuvre with her friend Kiki and her cousin on a 90-year-old woman who was choking during dinner at the Dylan Hotel. O’Donnell, currently in Dublin preparing for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, recounted the dramatic incident in an audio message, […]
Robin Gill: The Irish chef behind acclaimed London restaurants returns to Dublin for a burger pop-up collab with Dash Burger This Saturday at Hen’s Teeth from 17:00 Robin Gill’s voice carries the easy lilt of someone who grew up within earshot of Dublin Bay, though his culinary career has largely unfolded across the Irish Sea. […]