Mid morning snack: check. In the right mood to sit down somewhere nice and ponder: check. But where to go?

If you're looking for a quaint place to eat on your own, somewhere you can nip out for a quick break while you guzzle down your morning juice or coffee, or searching for the ideal spot to have a lunch picnic with a few mates, we've got you covered.

Here's our list of the best places to sit outside and enjoy your lunch in the sun!

10. Grand Canal Dock

By night it's home to a troupe of giant red glow sticks, by day it's a lovely open space to kick back and listen to the water lap up against the edges of the basin. You can often see people taking wakeboarding lessons in the water too, which adds a nice little visual accompaniment to your tasty treats.

9. Pearse Square Park

This is a nice quaint park and is easily within walking distance of the hustle and bustle of Grand Canal Dock, but is a good bit more sheltered. We all know sunny days in Dublin are deceptive, after all; they can often just be code for bright, windy days.

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8. The Grand Canal

The banks along the canal between the entrance to Grand Canal Dock and Portobello bridge is of the prettiest stretches of space in the city and a delightful place to camp out for your coffee break.

The only thing holding this place back from being higher up the list is the somewhat short supply of benches in parts, these precious seats can be snapped up pretty quickly!

7. The Garden of Remembrance

A nice quiet place in Parnell Square to relax and enjoy your snack. Entry to the Hugh Lane Gallery is free and just a couple of steps away, if you're hungry for a bit of culture for a pre-lunch dessert. Go on, you know you want to...

6. The Iveagh Gardens

The Iveagh Gardens is one of the most elegant and calming places to sit down and relax in the city centre – a hectic madhouse at lunch, but an oasis of calm in the mid-morning.

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5. Dublin Castle

We all know it's hard to find a comfortable place to collect your thoughts near Temple Bar, so that's what makes the garden within Dublin Castle's walls all the more special! The Vikings really were thinking ahead when they built this safe haven...

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4. Herbert Park

Arguably one of the finest parks the city has to offer, even if it is a little bit outside the city centre – a perfect retreat if you work around Ballsbridge or Donnybrook. Having a bite to eat by the duck pond is sure to put you in a good mood.

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3. St Patrick's Park

With huge beds of colourful flowers and one of Dublin's finest medeival buildings as a backdrop, this park beside St Patrick's Cathedral is a quality place to go for a bite.

2. Stephen's Green

Stephen's Green pretty much has it all. It's the biggest park in the city centre and has a plentiful supply of different spots to get lost in, or be seen in. The arch by Grafton Street is also one of the handiest meeting points in the city – the perfect setup, in other words.

1. Merrion Square

A little piece of trivia: Merrion Square contains an example of every old style lamp post seen around the streets of Dublin. Have a gawk next time, most lamp posts are completely different.

It's the little touches like that that make this the most pleasant place to grab a snack outdoors.

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