With an eight year old and full time jobs, we never really get time to do things for ourselves. Luckily our son has very accommodating grandparents so we do get one child-free weekend a month.

Normally we just catch a movie, go out for some food and spend the rest of the time cleaning and doing jobs around the house. But really, life’s too short, so we thought we really must be a bit more adventurous and visit a few places we’ve not seen before. We were keen to visit Dublin because we’d heard about its amazing shops, friendly people, good food and, of course, the infamous craic!


The Guinness Gravity Bar

Cardiff Wales Airport is a stone’s throw from where we live and with two flights costing less than £300 return in total, the weekend wouldn’t break the bank. We opted to pay £16 each and check out the airport’s exclusive 51° lounge before the flight. With the comfy leather seats, complimentary snacks and drinks and a quick glance over the papers made the short wait a very pleasant one. Our flight with Aer Arann took less than one hour and in no time at all we landed in Dublin.

From the moment we got on to the bus from the airport, we found out how friendly Dubliners are! The driver dropped us at the head of Grafton Street and we had a little walk through to our hotel, The Fitzwilliam, a five star hotel opposite St Stephen’s Green.

As you can expect from a quality five star hotel, the room was beautifully appointed, spotlessly clean and, best of all, had a balcony overlooking the park. The little touches of handmade chocolates and a bowl of exquisitely presented winter berries added that special touch. The hotel staff were immaculately turned out and very accommodating.

With so much to fill our two day visit, we hopped on to one of the Dublin city tour buses to see the sights. This gave us a good idea of which sites we wanted to see. Our route mapped out, we made our way to the Kilmainham Jail and were given a guided tour of its fascinating history which included visiting the cells and seeing the signatures of famous prisoners on the wall.

Our next stop was the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History which was at the time under refurbishment, so didn’t have all of its exhibits in place. Our next stop was the famous Guinness Storehouse which produces two and a half million pints a day, which also gave us the opportunity to try a pint of ‘the black stuff’ for ourselves in the best vantage point in the city, The Gravity Bar (see main pic).

Ravenously hungry we made our way to Temple Bar, Dublin’s Restaurant Quarter, to a bar that had been recommended to us called Gallagher’s Boxty. We ate the most amazing seafood chowder with soda bread washed down with the obligatory half of Guinness while tapping away to the Irish three piece band.

Fantastic seafood chowder at Gallagher's Boxty House. Dublin is blessed with some exceptional eateries - I would highly recommend Gallagher's for it's astonishingly good food and excellent customer service. The staff here made us feel so welcome.

Back to the hotel, we finished off the evening with cocktails in the bar and had a relatively early night in readiness for the following day’s sightseeing.

With a hearty Irish breakfast under our belts, we again hopped on to the tour bus and headed off to the National Print Museum (my husband is into print in a big way!) and then we had a very pleasant leisurely stroll through the St Stephens Green park to my favourite part of the trip – the shopping! Now, if shopping is something you live for, as I do, then Grafton Street has it all! Big name brands and smaller independent boutiques were calling me in to seriously abuse my credit cards.

I couldn’t contain myself! Thoroughly shopped out, we dropped our bags back at the hotel and headed to Temple Bar and Gallagher’s for some lunch. We got chatting to the manager about local food and he kindly brought us over some complimentary oysters to try.

We both decided that the mini break really did feel like a week away and did wonders to invigorate our spirits. Dublin reminded us what it feels like to be relaxed. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip and one that we will definitely do again!

Stay at The Fitzwilliam Hotel The ultimate in contemporary style and Irish warmth located within a few minutes walk of Dublin's famed Grafton Street, Temple Bar and Trinity College, at the very heart of Dublin's city centre. Meticulously designed by Sir Terence Conran, this contemporary hotel enjoys superb facilities throughout and offers guests a haven of peace within a bustling capital city. Ring today for details on rates and special offers. The Fitzwilliam Hotel visit www.fitzwilliamhotel.com St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2 T +353 1 478 7000 F +353 1 478 7878 E enq@fitzwilliamhotel.com

Get yourself a Dublin Pass
To gain access into Dublin’s top visitor attractions for value for money, convenience and variety - it’s the only way to go!

Go by bus
Catch one of the Dublin city tour buses, or the Viking Splash Tour and see the city by land and water.

Hit the shops - Southside
Grafton Street, located between Trinity College and St Stephen's Green is the smarter shopping area with fashionable stores such as Brown Thomas, the department store catering for many designer showcases, both foreign and local.

Dublin's leading and most exclusive jewellers, Weirs, is also here, as well as the most popular of the famous Bewley's Cafés. Other principal shopping streets in the area include Wicklow Street, Dawson Street, and South Great Georges Street.

The nearby Powerscourt Towncentre is one of the nicer, albeit smaller, shopping centres in the city and close by is The Georges Street Arcade, an indoor market well worth a visit.