Wanderlust World Wanderlust World You can go the very touristy route for having a pint by heading to the Temple Bar area and entering one of the pubs such as, The Oliver St. John Gogarty. This pub is old, traditional and often has live Irish music. However, this pub is aimed at tourists and mainly attracts tourists. You will find you are surrounded by more foreigners than local Dubliners. At night Temple Bar is packed, rowdy and is often the site of hen/stage parties.
For a more real Irish pub you need to head off the well beaten tourist path and find the well beaten path of the locals. For this head over towards Grafton St. This area and its many side streets are home to some of Dublin city center's best pubs. If you want a hip, designer pub head to Dakota on South William St. Here you will find comfy seats and trendy Dubliners. For a more traditional Dublin pub head to Grogan's, also on South William St. Grogan's is an old, shabby and small Dublin pub that still has its old fashion charm. Grogan's is also known for serving one of the best pints of Guinness in Dublin.
One way to see the best Dublin attractions is spending one day on the Dublin Hop On/Hop Off bus tour. This tour will take you past all of the most popular sights in the city so you don't miss any and give you a nice view of the city. You can pick which ones you most want to see and easily visit a number in 1 day. Stops on the Dublin bus tour include Trinity Collage, Dublin Zoo, Old Jameson Distillery, Guinness Storehouse, Christchurch and Dublin Castle. A friendly guide will speak to you on the tour about the local area.
Dublin has excellent shopping and any visitor should try to set aside a little time to spend on Grafton Street. Make sure to visit Brown Thomas, Dublin's old and posh department store full of designer goods. BT2 is an excellent shop to visit if you want the latest in trendy gear. Head up Nassau Street (at the bottom of Grafton St and parallel to Trinity Collage) to find some nice tourist shops selling a variety of Irish goods and souvenirs. Parallel to Grafton St, on Dawson St, is Hodges Figgis, Ireland's biggest and best bookshop.
In the evening head out and enjoy a good meal. Dublin has many excellent restaurants and cuisines. The Bistro or Shanahans on the Green are known for their steaks. If you want American style food there is a TGI Friday's near Stephen's Green. Also by Stephen's Green is an excellent, intimate Italian restaurant called Il Posto. Wagamama's serves great Japanese cuisine and Saagar is one of the best Indian eateries in Dublin.