There’s already a Frommer’s Ireland Day by Day Guide, and now comes the 2nd edition of the guide to the country’s capital: Dublin Day by Day. At 184 pages and with hundreds of colour photos, it manages to be a comprehensive guide at a very reasonable price.
The pocket-sized guide promises to provide readers with ‘The Best of Dublin’, whether you have one day, two days, or three days in the city (or more, of course). To help it do this there are 19 self-guided tours on different themes that you can follow, and 33 maps to show you the way. The book isn’t specifically aimed at the budget or the luxury traveller, but tries to cover all price ranges.
Best Places to Eat in Dublin
As an example of the price ranges covered, the restaurant reviews range from the top end Michelin-starred Chapter One and Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse and Grill, to less expensive choices like the cheap and cheerful Chili Club and the Indian vegetarian restaurant, Govindas. In all there are nine pages of restaurant reviews, with each place getting a one paragraph summary, plus all the details of contact, opening hours, and specific prices for entrées or set-price meals. In addition there’s a two-page map showing restaurant locations, and a page of ‘Dining Best Bets’, giving the author’s top choice under different headings like the best for sea views, best pasta, best hotel restaurant, and even the best eccentric pizzas (the wonderful Gotham Café).
Best Places to Stay in Dublin
The Lodging section follows the same format, although with only seven pages of reviews but three pages of location maps. Choices range from best value for families and best cheap apartment through to hip boutique and designer chic. Again, all the information you need is in there, including specific prices of rooms.
Dublin Self-Guided Tours and Walks
The suggested tours are spread throughout the book, and do a good job of introducing visitors to the best of Dublin. The 1-day tour focuses on the must-see highlights, then there’s a second day-long tour which covers more of the sights, and a third day which adds in the next level of interest. The fact that the historic General Post Office building is only included on the 3rd day shows just how much there is to see and do in Dublin.
The General Post Office building is also included in one of the themed self-guided tours, the one for Dublin’s Heroes, which covers mainly writers and politicians. Other themed tours include Dublin with Kids, Vikings and Medieval Dubh Linn, and Georgian Dublin. The book also includes a series of Neighborhood Walks, but with both the walks and the tours it would help to have an estimate of the time it would take the average person to do them. The stops on the walk do have a note of how long you might want to spend in each one, but an overall estimate of both time and distance covered would help. Also, in the Grafton Street walk there was one point where the text on the page was different from the route shown on the map.
But minor quibbles apart, these Frommer’s Day by Day guides are excellent value for money, well laid-out, bright, colourful, and informative. An excellent guide to the city of Dublin, with some recommended day trips and excursions too.
Buying Frommer’s Dublin Day by Day
Dublin Day by Day by Emma Levine is published by Frommer’s at $13.99 in the USA, $15.99 in Canada, and £8.99 in the UK. More details on the Frommer’s website.
Mike Gerrard - Mike is an award-winning travel writer who has worked for National Geographic, the London Times, and many other clients. ...
