Temple Bar - Disappointing?

SebBerkovich

Since the Temple Bar was put on a list of the 10 most disappointing tourist attractions there's been a lot of talk about it.

The Irish Times but up this article from the perspective of a Temple Bar resident. I've always thought that when people head into temple bar they know what they're getting into.

Does anyone go to temple bar not expecting a drunken mess?

jimmii

People who have spent any time in Dublin certainly do but its not exactly high up the list of things they advertise to tourists thinking of paying a visit.

strandroad

It's fine during the day, a couple of nice quirky places to check out. Avoid at night.

BMJD

SebBerkovich wrote: »

Since the Temple Bar was put on a list of the 10 most disappointing tourist attractions there's been a lot of talk about it.

According to one source...

I've been there many a time day and night and have never been murdered, vomited/urinated upon or charged €200 for a pint. People can go way OTT sometimes

SebBerkovich

BMJD wrote: »

According to one source...

I've been there many a time day and night and have never been murdered, vomited/urinated upon or charged €200 for a pint. People can go way OTT sometimes

Yeah, those lists are fairly frivolous - but it did get me wondering if people arrive at temple bar expecting more than just a load of pubs.

chris85

mhge wrote: »

It's fine during the day, a couple of nice quirky places to check out. Avoid at night.

I am not the biggest fan of it but it is what it is. During the day there is some cultural elements to it and some quirky shops. At night there is actually a few decent pubs/restaurants which I like around there. Foggy Dew is decent pub, albeit slightly expensive of late, Peadar Kearneys is good place for some live music (usually fairly busy and plenty of tourists also but thats not a problem), elephant & casltle (best wings in Dublin), cafe topolis (lovely italian on Parliament St.

There are certainly better pubs around Dublin but there are decent ones in there, and a few which should be avoided for charging too much for a beer.

Muahahaha

SebBerkovich wrote: »

Yeah, those lists are fairly frivolous - but it did get me wondering if people arrive at temple bar expecting more than just a load of pubs.

As someone who runs a B&B and comes into contact with tourists a lot it's my experience that they're largely disappointed with it. I've often had Americans show up talking about this amazing Temple Bar place only to hear later they spent an hour there and went elsewhere. I've often heard them say when they got to Temple Bar square their reaction is 'Is this it'? There is the type of tourist who comes here 'to drink with the Irish' and that lot love it. But they are in the extreme minority in my experience, most tourists wanted to be entertained rather than get drunk.

Temple Bar could have been so much more but the publicans took over and dominated the decision making of Temple Bar Properties. Drink was and still is the number one priority in Dublins 'Cultural Quarter', everything else is a sideshow.

It's sad really because most locals I know avoid Temple Bar like the plague. But there is a few gems like the IFI which has a restaurant with some of the cheapest prices in Dublin, the New Theatre and the Project Arts Centre. There is more to Temple Bar than just drinking but the powers that be only want to promote the drinking.

It only becomes dissapointing after 11 when the price of alcohol jumps 2 euros

fiachr_a

Temple Bar went downhill when all its record shops closed.

carlmango11

I think McDonald's, Starbucks, Supermac's and Costa moving in was the final nail in the coffin.

Is there not some sort of authority put in charge of the development of the area? How did they let it slide so drastically?

themandan6611

Noel Dempsey will sort it all out

chopper6

carlmango11 wrote: »

Is there not some sort of authority put in charge of the development of the area? How did they let it slide so drastically?

Because money is king in these situations...they dont care in the slightest about where the money comes from,or what tourists expect to see.

In fairness the Development Plan for Temple Bar did a good job given what they had to work with.

30 years ago it was a run down collection of georgian buildings,old warehouses and delapidated parking lots.

You needed to have a good reason to walk up that street where St John Gogarty's is now,the area was very unsafe not least because of the drop-in centre for the homeless in Fownes Street.

ProudDUB

It wouldn't be my #1 choice of a place to go at night. But to say it is a total waste of space is OTT. There are quite a few decent restaurants there. The cost of booze in the pubs is horrendous though. Some of the businesses there, are obviously only there to rake in the tourist dollar. Every city has them and if you have any sense, you avoid them like the plague. It doesn't matter what city you are in, you can recognize them as soon as you walk in the door. If you choose to stay there and not put a bit of effort into going somewhere decent, that's on you. There can be a great buzz in the area too, if there is big sporting event on & all the fans are congregating thre before and after the game.

Academic

I don’t think one can generalize, since I think there are generational differences. The popularity of Temple Bar as a stag/hen destination makes the point, I think.

But be that as it may, the bottom line for me is this: Dublin’s a unique city, and there’s so much else that’s worth visiting that it’s a bit sad for Temple Bar to be that high on any visitor’s to-do list, regardless of age.

Cheers,

Ac

Kiltennel

People need to stop approaching this from an Irish point of view. You're a tourist, you've heard of this great place called Temple Bar that is supposed to be the epitome of Irish culture. You're really looking forward to it and you get there to find it's filled with crowded overpriced pubs and generic ****e clubs. If you do there during the day instead, you'll probably bump into the group of junkies that always seem to be at the Crown Alley / Fleet Street corner of the square. Some love it, others find it very disappointing. Completely understandable.

Muahahaha

carlmango11 wrote: »

I think McDonald's, Starbucks, Supermac's and Costa moving in was the final nail in the coffin.

Is there not some sort of authority put in charge of the development of the area? How did they let it slide so drastically?

Agreed. I'm not against McDonalds or Starbucks or anything but the very fabric of Temple Bar was that it is was only populated by independent traders selling quirky goods. They had a little haven of the city that was multinational free but now they've let them in they've taken away from the uniqueness of the area. It really is a clusterfcuk and I can only see it getting worse as there seems to be no plan or long term vision for Temple Bar.

Aard

Kiltennel wrote: »

Some love it, others find it very disappointing. Completely understandable.

Like most places really.

Aard

Muahahaha wrote: »

Agreed. I'm not against McDonalds or Starbucks or anything but the very fabric of Temple Bar was that it is was only populated by independent traders selling quirky goods. They had a little haven of the city that was multinational free but now they've let them in they've taken away from the uniqueness of the area. It really is a clusterfcuk and I can only see it getting worse as there seems to be no plan or long term vision for Temple Bar.

The "independent traders selling quirky goods" you talk about have always been transient. They set up in a cheap space, the surrounding area becomes popular, they get priced out and find somewhere new. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Temple Bar is nothing different. Its uniqueness might relate more to its cobbled lanes and pedestrian friendliness. Both of which can easily be replicated elsewhere.

I'd argue that Temple Bar needs to continue diversifying in order to regain its charm. At the moment it only fulfils a few functions, so it's only going to draw a certain crowd. By allowing different uses to come in, there is more reason for a greater diversity of people to be in Temple Bar.

hfallada

It's gentrification. Over time run down areas are renovated, residents move out and higher income people move in. It has happened all over the city eg ringsend. It has also happened in places like Williamsburg, Brooklyn where 15 years ago there was nothing but drug addicts and struggling artist. Now willamsburg is an extension of manhattan with rents higher than most of manhattan. It's filled of luxury apartments and shops but people still feel like its authentic Brooklyn.

Temple bar can still be authentic even through its highly commercial now. But the high prices for drinks is now from greedy multinationals. But from Irish pub owners who feel they can rip off anyone. This is obviously not unique to temple bar. I imagine the board of temple bars development didn't have the interest of anyone other than business.

But look on the plus side. Temple bar was supposed to be demolished for a bus station and despite record land values in the city. None of the bus stations were redeveloped. Temple bar would probably still be a bus depot today

endacl

Every city needs a Temple Bar. Keeps the nice pubs clear for the rest of us.

drumswan

Are you all forgetting that Temple is rammed with punters every weekend? Its not my cup of tea but its obviously attracts somebody.

Sam the Sham

carlmango11 wrote: »

I think McDonald's, Starbucks, Supermac's and Costa moving in was the final nail in the coffin.

Is there not some sort of authority put in charge of the development of the area? How did they let it slide so drastically?

Part of TBP's brief was to increase foot traffic in the area. I think this was a condition on their funding. So instead of coming up with innovative ways to increase traffic, they just went for the obvious with the results that you see now.

Strumms

It has a reputation among tourists as 'the place to go' for craic and whatnot. Listed in all the tourist guides and promoted by the powers that be as somewhere to behold. What is there exactly ? A bunch of rip off pubs... One or two decent restaurants but there are so many great restaurants a stones throw away. Also it's populated with sub scum loitering around the main square during the day and has a rep for unprovoked violence at night. Considering the press it gets I'm not surprised people are disappointed and a little let down by 'the hype' when they get here.... I advise anyone who mentions it to keep clear as I do myself.

Aard

I imagine a lot of the continued appeal of Temple Bar for tourists is, as mentioned above, that it is featured in all the tourist guides. A lot of those guides, however, simply rip-off previous guides without doing their own research. There was a time when Temple Bar was a bit of a diamond in the rough, but now that the rest of the city centre has a diverse offering of pubs, restaurants, cafes, and cultural venues, there's no reason for Temple Bar to be singled out like it is.

Aard

Considering that the original article was on Huffington Post, it's ironic that the same site has a new article on cities with interesting street art. Opinions on Huffington Post and streetart aside, the new article completely contradicts their previous one on Temple Bar. Quote: "we've put together a guide of the top cities around the world", in which Dublin and specifically Temple Bar features.

My point: Temple Bar means different things to different people, some think it's great, some think it's awful.

Cianos

I was glad to see the article, because it's embarrassing to think of the thousands of tourists that come to Dublin to experience the city, have a few drinks and enjoy the nightlife, go to Temple Bar as the first port of call (because everything ushers them that way) and are greeted by plastic pubs with no character, charging close to €8 for a pint.

I can imagine the average tourist thinking "Well if this is the best that Dublin has to offer, I'm sorry I came to this city."

At least the article suggested going anywhere but Temple Bar for a good time, and hopefully readers will do just that, to get a more genuine and rewarding experience of the city.

Warper

Temple Bar is a kip. Totally understandable the way tourists feel about it. It is a rip-off zone which turns really messy after dark. Asshole bouncers there as well with the price of booze scandalous. Disappointing is an understatement

SebBerkovich

Waterford Whispers had a very good take on the situation, i liked this a lot:

Huffington Post Listed On Templebar Publicans 10 Most Disappointing Websites List

Ben D Bus

Cianos wrote: »

I can imagine the average tourist thinking "Well if this is the best that Dublin has to offer, I'm sorry I came to this city."

Surely the average tourist is aware of the concept of a tourist trap? And knows that every city has one.

dRNk SAnTA

I think part of the problem is that everybody seems to have a different idea of what Temple Bar should be.

Some, like Frank McDonald, seem to wish it was filled with alternative art galleries, museums, bakeries, quirky shops.

Some people look at Temple Bar as an "Irish Culture" centre - it should have more authentic pubs, and music and food and crafts for the tourists.

Some people look at Temple Bar as a Nightlife spot - the main issue for them is that it's now full of tourists, crap pubs and rip off prices.

The way I look at it - it is what it is. We have to work with what's there. It's extremely popular, rents are probably quite high. You're not going to create a genuine alternative quarter now.

But there's no excuse for it being tatty or dirty, for the quality of the entertainment to be poor, for buildings to look like ****e, for homeless people to be allowed dominate the place, for the severe lack of visible gardaí in Dublin's #1 tourist trap. The place could do with a bit more class.

I don't think it needed a McDonalds, Supermacs or a Costa Coffee - I think the Temple Bar Development people should at least have a policy promoting independent retail rather than chains. And is Noel Dempsey the MOST qualified person to fix these problems?

SebBerkovich

For certain people Temple Bar is exactly what they expect and Helps them with the Dublin experience they're looking for and i guess thats alright.

Just don't like to think that people might show up in dublin looking for something cultural in the "cultural quarter" and assume that this is what Dublin has to offer.

maryishere

Several times over the past few months I had visitors (friends / relatives ) from abroad visit Ireland. They had read a bit about Dublin first, and had heard of Temple Bar, and wanted to visit. They were all disappointed..."is this it?" , type of thing. It suited me to bring them there as I was working in Dublin anyway, but maybe in the competitive international list of tourist attractions it is not very impressive. One weekend I brought them down the country to a thatched Irish pub, live music, turf fire, friendly locals, cheaper prices....people hate getting ripped off for drink.....that was more like it.

RDM_83 again

I don;t really go out in Temple bar even when I lived there for two years, but it is what it is, yes most of the bars there are overpriced tourist traps but any tourist that makes the slightest effort in terms of research will know what its like, if you have the money to spend its not that bad a place to head out, the Foggy Dew, the Mezz, the Porterhouse, the Palace are all pretty nice and the Turks Head isn't too bad (and these are all just off the top of my head I am sure there is ones I am forgetting or don't know).

What Temple bar is good for is its convenient for tourists, I've been too a fair amount of European cities and sometimes I have wished for a Temple bar equivalent in a city you don't know well its good to have an area where you know there is going to a cluster of busy bars any night of the week.

In terms of the pricing yes its stupidly high in some of the bars but if you compare it too the normal 'tourist bar' mark up which can be expected in nearly any country/city of around 20/30% it actually works out ok, its just that in Dublin the 'normal' price is so high to begin with.

Cianos

If there were more alternative spaces (Exchange was one such place which was forced to close up recently) encouraged/supported within the area, rather than facilitating the likes of McDonalds, Costa, Starbucks etc ultimately devouring the place and eradicating any true charm and character, then the drunken messiness would be forgivable.

A cobbled street does not a cultural quarter make.

Aard

Why not facilitate places like the Exchange AND McDonalds? McDonalds made their building look fantastic, unlike the previous tenant.

Ben D Bus

Some sound advice from CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/06/10/dont.do.in.dublin.matador/

SebBerkovich

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Some sound advice from CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/06/10/dont.do.in.dublin.matador/

There's some really good advice there actually, which surprises me, usually i find CNN articles (on any topic) are terrible.