Tourist Information, Dublin

Favorite thing: Location: Europe
Local Time: GMT
From 25 Oct 09 to 28 Mar 10 GMT
From 28 Mar 10 to 31 Oct 10 GMT +1
From 31 Oct 10 to 27 Mar 11 GMT
From 27 Mar 11 to 30 Oct 11 GMT +1
Capital City: Dublin
Population: 4 million
Area: 70,282 square km, 27,136 square miles.
Language(s): English, Irish
Dialling Code: 353
Emergency: Police, Fire & Ambulance: 999 or 112
Directory Enquiries: 11811
Driving: Driving is on the left. European licence i.e Pink UK licence or International Driving Permit required
Electricity: 220V AC 50Hz

Currency: Euro (EUR 1 = 100 Cents)
Notes: EUR: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500
Coins: EUR: 1, 2. Cents: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50

Credit Cards/Travellers Cheques: Credit cards and travellers cheques are widely accepted

Opening Hours
Bank: 1000-1600 Mon-Fri
Office: 0900-1700 Mon-Fri
Shops: 0900-1730 Mon-Sat (larger stores & shopping centres open late Thur-Fri evenings & 1400-1800 Sun)

Public Holidays
2009
1 Jan New Year's Day, 17 Mar St Patrick's Day, 13 Apr Easter Monday, 4 May Bank Holiday, 1 Jun Bank Holiday, 3 Aug Bank Holiday, 26 Oct Bank Holiday, 25 Dec Christmas Day, 26 Dec St Stephen's Day.

The minimum drinking age is 18 years
Tipping: Not necessary when a service charge has been added to the bill. Discretionary tips in restaurants & for taxis around 10%
Operator is 10 and directory enquiries 11811. If you are visiting and not sure if you need a visa, you should check out www.irlgov.ie
Most tourist attractions are opened from 10am to 5pm 7 days a week. Some of the attractions do close on Monday check the free newspapers.
Dublin had several newspapers. The Times and Independent are broadsheets, the Sun and Mirror are tabloids. The Evening Hearld comes out in the afternoon, good if you're looking for a place to stay or a job. Also check out www.daft.ie if you want to find a house to share or place of your own if your thinking about staying long term. We have 6 TV stations, one which is in Irish and the other 5 english. Most pubs are on the digital platform and will show most big sporting events. Smoking is not permitted like the states smoking is totally banned in public places. Check out the following link for more information on Dublin. www.discoverdublin.ie

Favorite thing: You can find the tourist office in Suffolk Street in a beautiful 19th Century building that was formerly a church.The staff are very friendly with a wealth of knowledge and will help you with almost anything from your hotel to tours around Ireland and local information on buses and ferries. Inside this beautiful building they also have a small shop selling books and souvenirs and a restaurant upstairs. The tourist office also has locations in the following areas. If your thinking about calling home open an account with www.swiftcall.com, you will save a considerable amount and never use hotels as there is always hidden charges. A new tourist office has just opened in Dame street, beside Trinity College, have not been in there yet so can't give you an opinion.. but will test them soon..

Arrivals Hall, Dublin Airport
Ferry Terminal, Dun Laoghaire Harbour
The Square Towncentre, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Upper O Connell Street, Dublin 1

Favorite thing: Normally we are so tight over here that no one leaves a tip. However, we are starting to take our hands out of our pockets and leave at least a 15% of the total bill.. Of course that is if your happy with the service... Most Irish people don't complain enough and therefore the service won't change. Normally in hotels expect a service charge of between 10 and 15%, this however does not always go to the person that has served you so if the service was good you might want to leave them a tip. No tipping takes place in pubs unless you have someone serve you, it really depends on what you want to leave that person, anything from 1 Euro to 5 depending on how many people you are. Taxi men do expect a tip but l believe they make enough money and never tip them having heard all the excuses of not having change etc. This has changed and you do get a receipt if you want one. Always best to ask as there are some Taxi men out there just looking for tourists to rob...if you feel the taxi man deserves a tip about 10% of the bill is the norm. In hotels porters expect about 1 to 2 euros.

Favorite thing: The legal age to buy alcohol in Ireland is 18. Some clubs and pubs will serve you only if your over 23. Most pubs with bouncers will look for some form of identify... wish l had that problem. The bouncers can be very agressive, when they say no they mean no and no amount of chat will change their minds. My advice is to walk away ..muttering unreconisable words in whatever language takes your fancy, because lets face it, they are not on the door for their intelligence... so the chances of understanding what you say to them are slim. Don't say Pogue mi thon.. that means kiss my arse....and just about every tourist uses that phase. But don't let me put you off, there are some really great pubs and clubs in Dublin which can be a very enjoyable experience especially if your looking for Traditional Irish Music venues, and some really old fashioned pubs where they pull a great pint of Guinness. See my pub page for more information.

Favorite thing: Almost all Irish people are friendly. You do get the odd drunk annoying you for money. We don't have a summer but never mind, its still an exciting place to visit and as l said very friendly. In fact actually we do get some sunshine and you will find Irish people in teeshirts even if it's cold outside lapping up the little bit of sun that comes through the clouds on the way to England...June, July and August are probably the best months to visit Ireland but only for the weather. Then again a lot of people would disagree because our weather is so unpredictable. It's usually warm and its also the liveliest time of year with festivals on throughout the country. During September and October would be a better option if you want to avoid the hundreds of tourists and also reasonably mild weather. You can catch a game in Croke Park of the hurling and football finals.

Other months the weather is pretty bad but no queues. And people tend to be more relaxed. This year 2010 in January the weather has been recorded as the coldest in 28 years with snow, sleet and rain.

Favorite thing: The Dublin Tourism Centre is located on Suffolk Street, at the heart of downtown Dublin, in what used to be St. Andrew's Church (Dublin Tourism bought the church in 1995 when the number of parishioners had dwindled down to only two!). It is therefore very easy to spot, and it's a good place to go to get more information about what to see and do in Dublin. There are plenty of brochures available, and there's an information counter where you can get help booking tickets, among other things. It's also a good place to go when you're looking for souvenirs. I found that most souvenir shops in Dublin were extremely tacky, but I was able to find a few decent items at the Tourism Centre (and I got some more at the airport because believe it or not, there was a better selection and it was cheaper!). We also stopped by a few times during the week to use the public restrooms :o)

The Dublin Tourism Centre is open daily, from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm (10:30 am to 3:00 pm on Sundays). Website: http://www.visitdublin.com

Favorite thing: The Dublin Tourism Centre is located just past Grafton Street on Suffolk Street, here you can pick up free information leaflets and get personal advice on: things to do, what's on, places to visit and to eat and drink. Browse the shop for a wide choice of local books and maps, postcards, prints, gifts and souvenirs.

Favorite thing: As a very tourist-orientated city Dublin is well equipped with Tourist Information Offices. Not only are the offices keen to dispense advice but also can assist with hotel and hostel booking, theatre and concert tickets, bus tickets and information and city tours. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly and between them speak several languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, English and, of course, Irish!

The main office is on Suffolk Street, in the restored former Church of St Andrew, with other offices situated on O'Connell, at the airport and at Dun Loaghaire ferry terminal.

The tourism website is also well worth a visit with loads of useful info and some downloadable discount vouchers. Click here to get there: Dublin Tourism

Favorite thing: There is a Tourist Information desk located inside the Dublin Airport, so if you arriving by air, this can be a very useful place to check out before you head to the city center.

They can provide you with maps, information about transportation, and you can even purchase your Rambler Ticket from them as well .

You can also obtain information about the outerlying areas of Dublin and hotel information as well.

Favorite thing: The Statue of Molly Malone stands outside the Dublin Tourism Center on Suffolk Street at the heart of Dublin's city center. This tourist office was one time St. Andrew's Church. Besides finding accomodations and information on Dublin, there is a great Tourist literature and book shop which is open all year round.

While waiting for your enquiry number to be called, the visitor can relax in Fionn McCools Sandwich Bar.

address: Suffolk Street, Dublin 2

Fondest memory: I'll miss the friendly banter and Irish lilt of the voices when they're giving you you don't understand.

for addresses to all the tourist offices check on this website:
www.visitdublin.com/seeanddo/touristoffices/dublin.aspxons