My favorite places in Dublin

It’s been 3 years since I started working for FieldAware, a Dublin based company. During this time I’ve been travelling quite often to the Irish capital.

So, If you are planning to visit Dublin, this is a small guide with tips and places I liked… Mostly food & drinks, I know :D.

Arrival

You’ll probably arrive to the airport. T1 if you are travelling with Ryanair, T2 if you are travelling with AerLingus.

AerLingus is pretty much the same price than Ryanair, you can check in bigger bags and the crew is usually nicer.

If you arrive late and you want some dinner, there are one McDonalds open on T1.

A taxi to the city centre costs around 25€, so it’s a good option if you are a group… or if you just don’t want to wait for the bus.

There are two main bus lines to the city centre, the Airlink 747 (ticket is 10€ with return) and the Aircoach (price depends on your destination). Line 16 is the cheapest option, but takes ages.

Going for a walk

Trinity College

I’m not really a monument guy, but a visit to Trinity College is mandatory.

The old and private University of Dublin. If you take a guided tour, one of the students will guide you through the buildings. It’s the best way to discover small traditions, legends and history. Guides aren’t paid by the university, so remember to tip him at the end.

Once you are on Trinity college, it’s good to visit the Book of Kells in the library. It’s one of the best New Testament books from the medieval era. Also, the library in the Harry Potter movies is inspired on Trinity’s one. There’s usually a big queue here, so befriend a university student and trick him to have priority access.

If you are lucky and it’s a sunny day, don’t hesitate and go to the bar next to the cricket field. You can buy some drinks there and have them lying on the grass.

Grafton Street and St. Stephens green.

If you want to go shopping, take a walk down Grafton Street. It’s a pedestrian street that starts on trinity college and finishes on St. Stephens green park.

It’s the centre of the shopping area south of the river. It’s not only shops you can find there, but good restaurants, and live music. You can find smaller, bohemian places in the streets around.

At the end of Grafton Street you will find St.Stephens green shopping centre. The top floor has amazing views, and you can get a tatoo, some paintings or maybe buy some other art stuff.

St. Stephens green is a big park, ideal to take a walk and lie on the grass (if you are lucky and it’s sunny). It’s pretty common to find lots of people sunbathing and having lunch there on summer.

¡Beware the swans! and the seagulls, they will fight for your food.

Leeson Street, the canal and docklands.

The area around St. Stephens green is full of offices and embassies. The buildings may look old, but as the facades are protected they are kept and everything else is usually built from scratch. It’s nice to walk around the typical Irish houses.

Curious fact, you’ll find a metal bar next to almost every door. I challenge you to guess what they are for :D.

From Stephens green, you may walk Leeson Street or Baggot Street to the Grand Canal.

There are several canals in Dublin, they are a nice place to take a walk. In summer there are lot’s of boats there and if you are lucky, you may see them crossing the floodgates. Also ¡you can find ducks! and very few seagulls… ¡I hate seagulls!

Walking the canal towards the east you will find Grand Canal Dock. The old port neighbourhood which once was full of industry is now a renewed area with nice buildings. One of the cool things to do there is look for the headquarters of the IT companies, like Google, AirBnb, Amazon…

O’Conell street.

Walking North from Trinity and crossing the river, you will find O’Conell street. Named after Daniel O’Connell, defender of the Catholics in Ireland.

There are some interesting buildings there, like the Eason building or the general post office.

The streets west to the Spire are another big shopping area.

The moment you cross the river to the North side you start seen strange people, so beware the drunks, the pick-pockets, the traffic and the seagulls. Just always beware the seagulls.

Temple bar

The street in front of Trinity is Dame Street. Between Dame Street and the river you’ll find Temple Bar. The neighbourhood with the most typical Irish pubs and restaurants. So typical, that you will find very little Irish people there.

Anyway, it’s another mandatory stop. You haven’t visited Dublin until you had a drink on Temple Bar.

There are two typical pubs there. The Temple Bar gives the name to the neighbourhood and it’s always full of people; and The Porterhouse, one of the first pubs to brew their own craft beer. Both have live music, although you’ll find it easier to sit on the Porterhouse.

¡¡Beware the chicken wings!! That’s a warning from now on. I don’t know what’s wrong with this people, but they really like their chicken wings spicy.

Pubs, bars and restaurants

The best thing in Dublin are the Pubs. Shops closes pretty soon, so there isn’t much to do after work… but to have a drink in a Pub, with friends.

Galway Breweries

Galway Breweries has some great crafter beer, also there are a couple of Pubs from them you will want to visit: Against the grain and Alfie Byrne’s.

Both are pretty similar, have LOTS of tap and bottle crafted beer. If you want a Guinness, this is probably NOT the place you are looking for… you can get much better here.

Against the grain is pretty much the old classic Irish Pub

Meanwhile Alfie Byrne’s is the pub under a 5 star hotel, so it’s somehow bigger and modern.

The butcher’s Bar

The butcher’s Bar is the typical bar for students, with some crafter beer as well. You’ll find it up the stairs, next to the Bull and Castle restaurant.

It’s kind of a different place, as it’s rather big and has very long, shared, tables.

Café en seine

The Café en seine It’s a great Parisian café, worth to visit on the inside. Really classy and has live music from time to time.

The bar with no name

Check it on Google Maps. It actually has no name, all you’ll see are some stairs and a snail sign. But fear not, upstairs you will find a very classy bar with a huge terrace.

Market Bar

The Market Bar is just in front of the bar with no name. It’s a bar inside the old market, a perfect place for a drink or some tapas. If you don’t mind the crowded places…

Fade St. Social

So you are in Dublin with your loved one and you fancy a romantic dinner. Fade St. Social might be your place.

It’s owned by Dylan McGrath, judge on the Irish version of Masterchef. So don’t expect it to be cheap, not too expensive either.

The place is split in three areas, a cocktail bar, a tapas bar and the restaurant. You want to go to the restaurant.

Here you can find really good meat accompanied with some delicious sides. Don’t forget to order the Banoffee for dessert!

The Church

As his name states, this is a cafe-restaurant… inside a church!

It’s usually crowded, so try to reserve in advance.

You can find the old graveyard stones on the square next to it.

Pablo Picante

Big yummy burritos… no need to say more. If you want room to eat them there go to the one in Clarendon Market

John Gogarty

So, John Gogarty is the typical place for tourists I agree, but, it’s also one of the few places where you can get traditional Irish food. One of the famous dishes is the Guinness stew.

Food Markets

I love Food Markets!

Just food, of different kinds, to take away, in the middle of the street. Lovely!

You can find whatever you like, falafel, german food, thai, sushi, burgers… just don’t try the paella. Beware! They close rather early, between 12:00 and 13:00.

They are a nomad business, so check the schedule on their website

Hanyang Corean Market

Hanyang is not the fanciest place, but is one of the weirdest place you can find.

It’s a supermarket with corean products, but there’s a restaurant on the back. Try the daily special (around 5€), a huge dish with rice and three sides to choose; or a special dish. I challenge you to finish everything!

Other stuff

Ok, I’m missing a lot of places, just trying to fit some personal favourites.

Don’t forget to check the internet for seasonal events, like the christmas market or Sant Patrick celebrations.

Hope you liked it, don’t forget to add your favourite places on the comments!

Dublin Skyline from leeson street

Cómo me quedé sin teléfono (IX y fin)

El verano pasado estuve un par de semanas sin teléfono, por culpa de una portabilidad. Partes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, y VIII

Moroso Reclamador

Por un fallo del distribuidor en mi última portabilidad, tenía un compromiso de permanencia. En estos casos cárgate de paciencia…

Tras realizar la portabilidad de Orange a Movistar, Orange me pasó un recibo en concepto de baja anticipada con compromiso de permanencia.

Mi primera reacción fue devolver el recibo y bloquear a Orange en mi cuenta. A partir de entonces no paré de recibir llamadas y cartas de una agencia de cobros amenazándome para que pagara un compromiso que no tenía que pagar. Por más que lo intenté, ofreciéndoles toda la documentación posible y enviado múltiples burofaxes, no hubo manera de hacerles entrar en razón.

Por lo que pudiera pasar, ya que de entrar en una lista de morosos puede ser un infierno salir, y podía tener problemas en el futuro con algún banco, decidí pagar la supuesta deuda y reclamar vía oficina del consumidor.

Y esto es lo que debería haber hecho desde el primer momento. Parece increíble que el pequeño, eso es el consumidor, tenga que pagar primero la deuda. Pero así es.

Tras presentar una reclamación en la oficina del consumidor, me indicaron que Orange tenía 20 días para contestar y que normalmente contestaba a tiempo.

Cuatro meses después (y un año desde el inicio del problema), obtengo contestación y me ingresan en la cuenta el recibo pagado incorrectamente.

Conclusión

Nadie frena a las operadoras, sólo hace falta ver lo mal que tratan a sus clientes.

Hay algo que no funciona con la legislación. Esta vez se me reclamaba poco dinero, pero… ¿Si hubieran sido 3.000 €? ¿Hubiera tenido que darles ese dinero y luego reclamar?

Los ciudadanos estamos indefensos y el próximo podrías ser .

Cómo me quedé sin teléfono (VIII)

Este verano estuve un par de semanas sin teléfono, por culpa de una portabilidad. Partes I, II, III, IV, V, VI, y VII

Mi Terminal

Por un fallo del distribuidor en mi última portabilidad, tengo un compromiso de permanencia. Esta experiencia me ha servido para darme cuenta del chollo que suponen los distribuidores para la operadora.

Si el distribuidor comete un fallo, la operadora alega que yo no he firmado el contrato con ellos, y el distribuidor alega que el operador no le ayuda con el problema. En definitiva, entre unos y otros el cliente se come los mocos.

Justo después de que este distribuidor intente darme largas, paso por el distribuidor de un amigo, donde sí tienen el terminal que yo quería con mi primera portabilidad.

Con el calentón no me lo pienso Así que inicio la portabilidad, y sin problemas, en una semana… ¡¡¡Lo tengo!!! ¡¡¡eoeooeoeoeeo!!!

Y todavía no me lo acabo de creer :).

Eso sí, me costará entrar en la lista de morosos por no pagar un compromiso de permanencia que no tengo que pagar. Y reclamaciones, juicios y lo que haga falta para volver a salir… pero… ¡¡¡Lo tengo!!!

Cómo me quedé sin teléfono (VII)

Este verano estuve un par de semanas sin teléfono, por culpa de una portabilidad. Partes I, II, III, IV, V, y VI

Estoy sin contrato ni compromiso de permanencia, huyo de mi distribuidor.

Compromiso de Permanencia

El plan es, vuelvo a mi operador anterior, con el terminal que ya tengo, y como si nada hubiera pasado. Eso sí, vuelvo sin compromiso de permanencia, que ya me canso de que me tengan agarrao.

Todo es tan bonito… hasta que la comercial se equivoca al hacer los papeles, y me pone permanencia de 18 meses.

– Oye perdona, habíamos quedado que si no me llevo terminal, no tenía compromiso de permanencia…

– ¡Ay!, Sí, perdona, vaya, ahora no me deja cambiarlo el sistema, lo cambiamos en el contrato, vuelve la semana que viene y lo cambiamos por teléfono en el sistema.

La semana siguiente estoy de vacaciones. Me paso cuando puedo, pero la chica está de vacaciones. «Vuelve la semana que viene». Tengo mudanzas por medio, estoy un poco liado, me paso un par de meses después. «Es que la chica ya no trabaja aquí, te digo donde trabaja y te pasas.»

Y hasta ahí aguanto. Yo hice el contrato con el distribuidor, no con una comercial. «Veremos a ver si podemos hacer algo desde aquí.»

Pues más les vale, porque en mi copia del contrato dice que no tengo compromiso de permanencia.

Cómo me quedé sin teléfono (VI)

Este verano estuve un par de semanas sin teléfono, por culpa de una portabilidad. Partes I, II, III, IV, y V

En una hoja de reclamaciones el distribuidor se compromete a darme el terminal solicitado en cuanto tenga existencias. ¿Será verdad?

Camino de vuelta

Desgraciadamente, para contratos de empresa, el procedimiento de reclamación se realiza vía burofax. Mi hoja de reclamaciones no sirve para nada :(.

El distribuidor se pone en contacto conmigo para indicarme que si no me llevo un teléfono antes de final de mes, darán de baja mi número de teléfono.

Después de varias quejas en todos los medios de atención al cliente del operador, y llamadas casi diarias al distribuidor (que ya empezaba a cansarse de mí), el distribuidor accede a cancelarme el contrato. Eso sí, manteniéndome el número sin compromiso de permanencia, para que pueda portar a otro operador.

Así que acudo a un distribuidor de mi viejo operador para realizar otra portabilidad, la segunda en un mes.