Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [81]
There is a dearth of quality pools in the city centre – most are small, crowded and not very hygienic. An excellent exception is the Markievicz Leisure Centre (Map; 672 9121; cnr Tara & Townsend Sts; adult/child €6/3; 7am-8.45pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5.45pm Sat, 10am-3.45pm Sun), which has a 25m pool, a workout room and a sauna. For the admission price you can swim pretty much as long as you like; children are allowed only at off-peak times (ie any time except for 7am to 9am, noon to 2pm and 5pm to 7pm Monday to Friday).
Cycling
Compact and flat, Dublin should be ideal cycling territory, but traffic congestion, road works and the limited, poorly thought-out network of cycle lanes – cars and buses encroach with impunity – make pedalling your way round the city something of a dodgy obstacle course. Still, if you keep your wits about you it’s the fastest way to get around the increasingly congested centre.
Bike theft is a major problem, so be sure to park on busier streets, preferably at one of the myriad U-shaped parking bars. Overnight street parking is dodgy; most hostels and hotels offer secure bicycle-parking areas.
Irish Cycling Safaris ( 260 0749; www.cyclingsafaris.com; University College Dublin, Belfield; tour €25; 10.30am Sat, Apr-early Oct) organises a Dublin cycling tour taking in the full scope of Dublin Bay from north to south. They also organise nine highly recommended, week-long themed tours (€670, Apr-early Oct) of the countryside. Each group cycles at its own pace, with a guide following in a backup vehicle. The price also includes bike hire and hotel and B&B accommodation.
Recommended bike shops:
Cycle-Logical (Map; 872 4635; 3 Bachelor’s Walk) A shop for serious enthusiasts, with top-quality gear and info on cycling events throughout the country. It does not do repairs.
Square Wheel Cycleworks (Map; 679 0838; South Temple Lane) Quick, friendly and excellent for repairs.
Bike hire has become increasingly more difficult to find because of crippling insurance costs. Typical hire costs for a mountain bike are between €15 and €25 a day or up to €90 per week. Raleigh Rent-a-Bike agencies can be found through the following businesses:
Cycleways (Map; 873 4748; www.cycleways.com; 185-186 Parnell St) Dublin’s best bike shop, with expert staff who pepper their patter with all the technical lingo. Top-notch rentals.
Eurotrek ( 456 8847; www.raleigh.ie) Rentals, repairs, advice and guidance for all cycle-related affairs.
MacDonald Cycles (Map; 475 2586; 38 Wexford St) Friendly and helpful, great for the amateur enthusiast.
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WALKING TOUR
Dubliners of old would assure their ‘bitter halves’ that they were ‘going to see a man about a dog’ before beating a retreat to the nearest watering hole. Visiting barflies need no excuse to enjoy the social and cultural education – ahem – of a tour of Dublin’s finest, most charming and most hard-core bars.
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WALK FACTS
Start Lower Camden St
Finish Ormond Quay
Distance 2.5km
Duration One hour to two days!
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Start in the always excellent Anseo (1; Click here) on Camden St, which pulls a seriously hip and unpretentious crowd on the strength of its fabulous DJs. Head deep into the city centre and stop at Dublin’s smallest pub, the Dawson Lounge (2; Click here), for an appropriately diminutive tipple, before sinking a pint of plain in the snug at South Anne St’s Kehoe’s (3; Click here), one of the city centre’s most atmospheric bars. Discuss the merits of that unwritten masterpiece with a clutch of frustrated writers and artists in Grogan’s Castle Lounge (4; Click here) on Castle Market, a traditional haunt that admirably refuses to modernise. A couple of streets away is one of the latest contenders for coolest bar