Dublin Docklands Xmas Market

jamieh

Hi all,

Has anyone been to the Docklands Xmas market yet this year?

I'm in Dublin on Saturday and thinking of heading there for a look. Interested in hearing a few reports first...

neilthefunkeone

jamieh wrote: »

Hi all,

Has anyone been to the Docklands Xmas market yet this year?

I'm in Dublin on Saturday and thinking of heading there for a look. Interested in hearing a few reports first...

Its not great.. You wouldn't need to spend much time there to see all the stalls..

Go after dark if you can.. at least it looks a bit nicer with the lights Christmas lights!!

jamieh

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Its not great.. You wouldn't need to spend much time there to see all the stalls..

Go after dark if you can.. at least it looks a bit nicer with the lights Christmas lights!!

That's a pity isn't it.

Are there any markets in Dublin worth checking out?

chickenbutt

Does anyone know how long the markets in the docklands run until?

Princess Peach

jamieh wrote: »

That's a pity isn't it.

Are there any markets in Dublin worth checking out?

I went to the one at the Square Tallaght and it is not worth checking out. Very few stalls and nothing great really.

olaola

The Winter Wonderland in Royal Hospital is worth a gander. Some of the cafes are nice, typical German Christmas market food. The stalls are ok. Rides are a bit of craic and the icerink looks good.

I am pie

Will probably not go to any this year, all the ones i went to last year where pretty grim. The one at the IFSC was particularly bad last year. Can't see it improving much.

Fact is Dublin does not have a decent Christmas market. Location is probably the main problem. The one in Belfast is OK, not so much better in terms of what is actually being sold, but it does become a focal point of Christmas in Belfast, there are loads of people passing through during the day and at night in the bars. The beer tent and lavery's bar set up are better than the Dublin versions.

It would be the equivalent of having the Xmas market in Stephen's green and putting two decent sized bars in there.

nibtrix

The IFSC christmas market is abysmal this year. All the stalls seem to be for jewellery or woolly hats, very little in the way of christmas decorations or gifts.

The food is much worse than last year, all the german sellers seem to have moved to the market at Kilmainham hospital so instead of nice spicy bratwurst you can only get hotdogs... There's not even a gluhwein (mulled wine) stall, you can get a hot whiskey, hot port or mulled wine from a van.

I did hear from someone that the Kilmainham market is ok for food, but bad for other stalls, but I haven't been so can't recommend one way or the other.

Angry Troll

nibtrix wrote: »

The IFSC christmas market is abysmal this year. All the stalls seem to be for jewellery or woolly hats, very little in the way of christmas decorations or gifts.

The food is much worse than last year, all the german sellers seem to have moved to the market at Kilmainham hospital so instead of nice spicy bratwurst you can only get hotdogs... There's not even a gluhwein (mulled wine) stall, you can get a hot whiskey, hot port or mulled wine from a van.

I did hear from someone that the Kilmainham market is ok for food, but bad for other stalls, but I haven't been so can't recommend one way or the other.

yep, the docklands christmas market was really just a bad joke this year and a shadow of its former glory…in some other thread somebody explained that the german company who used to run it had to cancel due to excessive cost or something…so as i see it, the thing took place anyway, run by somebody else, and was a complete and utter disappointment, totally devoid of any “german” christmas atmosphere, hardly better than the “christmas market” on henry street…anyone have more info on what really happened?

olaola

I've been to the Kilmainham one a few times (live around the corner) it's good. Friends were VERY impressed. They've lots of food options. We especially like upstairs in Cafe Grell, the ladies are literally straight out of Germany with little English. So it's a bit of a mountain hut in Austria vibe. With similar food - Gulash suppe, bratwurst, currywurst, waffles, heisse schokolade and some great Paulaner lager. There's a Porterhouse mini-bar too, which I have yet to try.

Stands for stuff are ok - lots of gloves, hats etc. I got a very decent wooden Christmas candle holder for €6.50. Nothing like the German markets, but you'll be able to get something. The rides are a bit of craic, and the rink looks decent. Haven't been to the circus. There's a Spiegel bar, which has bands on - looks great inside. And it's all heated etc. But during the day there are a lot of kids. Prob best to go after 8 if you want to avoid the nipper-invasion. Worth a visit. And it's free in, so you can peruse at your leisure.