Dublin, Ireland - your first visit

If you are visiting Dublin for the first time you are probably wondering where you should start and what you should see. This will depend entirely on your interests and reason for visiting Dublin. You may want to go to Dublin because you have always been interested in Irish history, on the other hand you may have hear that shopping in Dublin is fabulous and you can't wait to check it out. Maybe you have Irish ancestors that came from Dublin and you want to check out where exactly they lived or maybe - you're just there for the beer. There are so many reasons for making a trip to Dublin. Here are some suggestions for the first time visitor:

The History Man (or Woman)

Anyone interested in Irish history should definitely visit Dublin Castle, the oldest part dates back to the 13th Century, although most of it was built after a fire in 1684. Take the Castle tour and you will learn all about the early Viking settlements and the Anglo-Norman Conquest. The Tour walks you through the centuries and brings you right up to date with a look at the table on which the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Dublin is very much a Georgian city and much of it was built in the 18th Century. Check out the breathtakingly beautiful architecture of the Customs House and the wonderful Georgian houses in Merrion Square and its side streets.

I would highly recommend a visit to Trinity College, which was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. Famous former students were the playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett, as well as the political writer Edmund Burke. If you see one thing at Trinity it should be The Books of Kells, consisting of richly decorated, illuminated manuscripts. It is thought to have been the work of monks from Iona who fled to Kells, near Newgrange after a Viking raid in AD 806.

The Shopaholic

If you like shopping you have come to the right place, there really is something for everyone. I would recommend a trip to Avoca in Suffolk Street. This is a fabulous store where you can have your pick of beautiful blankets and rugs and all kind of knitwear in wonderful colours. There is a homewear section for china, glass etc. and when you have spent enough on goods there is a wonderful cafe serving really scrumptious homemade food, and the cakes are 'to die for'. Avoca also sell their own recipe books and I would highly recommend them.

If your bent is more for designer clothes I would suggest you visit Brown Thomas, the big department store on Grafton Street or The Design Centre, which is in the Powerscourt Town House Shopping Centre. Here you will find high quality clothes at prices to match and there are several jewellery stores that are well worth a visit, if your budget is large.

If you are looking for tweeds, wool and Irish souveniers you might head for the House of Ireland, where the prices are not bad at all.

The Culture Vulture

If culture is your passion, you have come to the right place. When visiting Dublin you are immediately aware that you are in a city that produced many famous writers. James Joyce is everywhere and if you find yourself in Dublin on 16 June you can celebrate Bloomsday, like a Dubliner and take part in the Ulysses Walk, visiting the locations that Leopold Bloom visited on that day in Joyce's novel.

You should go to the Abbey or Gate Theatre where you might catch a play by Sean O'Casey, JM Synge or Oscar Wilde, or one of the modern innovate productions. The Abbey was founded by WB Yeats and Lady Gregory and is Ireland's National Theatre. You can see many fine productions here. The Gate Theatre has given to a start to a number of famous actors, including Orson Wells.

If culture is your thing your trip to Dublin would not be complete without a visit to the Writers' Museum in Parnell Square. It is in a lovely Georgian House and there are many displays relating to Irish literature, writers, playwrights and poets. You can also see the chair on which Mr Handel sat, during the first performance of his Messiah.

The Party Animal

I can imagine no finer place to party than Temple Bar. Here you will find many pubs and clubs and there is entertainment to be had into the early hours. According to your tastes you can find pubs with live traditional music, as well a clubs that go in more for dance and hip hop. Anyone who can't party in Dublin is nor worthy of the tag 'party animal'.

The 'Im only here for the beer' Type

If you are only there for the beer I expect you first trip will be to the Guinness Storehouse, which is based in St James' Gate Brewery. You should do the tour that will tell you how the brewery started and how the famous brew is made. You will be rewarded by a free pint of Guinness in the rooftop bar, with a fabulous view of the city.

You would then move on to the Jameson's Distillery in Smithfield. Once again you can do the tour and you will learn how the famous Whiskey is made and you also get a free glass of whiskey to taste.

All that should put you in the mood for exploring the many fine pubs of Dublin. If you like traditional pubs, try Davy Byrnes in Duke Street, which was mentioned in Joyce's Ulysses. The Brazen Head and Stag's Head are also worth a visit. The Brazen Head is also good for live music, as is O'Donoghue's.

There is never enough time for all the delights that Dublin has to offer, which is always a perfect excuse for another visit.