What's your favourite city in Ireland and why?

Strabanimal

Mine has to be Derry.

Me and my gf from Belfast both love it.

The peace bridge, all the shopping, little-to-no chavs, the walls, the guildhalll, the boats, the lack of smokers, insane amount of good restaurants, cityside and waterside, lots of history, the walls, really friendly people. I could go on.

Coming from Belfast to Derry every 3 months it's insane the difference. It's just so peaceful and quiet there. Stressfree.

topper75

All your praise for Derry is valid certainly. I'm quite fond of it.

How many people (possibly including yourself OP) will post here with opinions despite not knowing all the cities?

How many people in the county thread had actually visited all 32?

theteal

Favourite city? Isn’t that like asking which was your favourite dentist visit? Are we supposed to like them? They’re really just a necessary inconvenience

biko

Besides Galway? I'd say Belfast.

suicide_circus

Londonderry, UK

Strabanimal

biko wrote: »

Besides Galway? I'd say Belfast.

No reasons?

PlaneSpeeking

suicide_circus wrote: »

Londonderry, UK

So edgy. Not.

retalivity

Strabanimal wrote: »

Mine has to be Derry.

Me and my gf from Belfast both love it.

The peace bridge, all the shopping, little-to-no chavs, the walls, the guildhalll, the boats, the lack of smokers, insane amount of good restaurants, cityside and waterside, lots of history, the walls, really friendly people. I could go on.

Coming from Belfast to Derry every 3 months it's insane the difference. It's just so peaceful and quiet there. Stressfree.

What?, derry has loads. Although they are 'nicer' than your average chav, unless you're one of themmuns.

MarkY91

Dubliner here.

I like going to Belfast. The city centre is nice, modern shopping area, fascinating history, titanic built there. Going up on Sunday for the night. We're gonna do the Ulster museum, botanical gardens, liberty hall etc. (Already did bus tour and titanic before)

I cannot really mention anywhere else as aside from Dublin and Belfast, all we have is large towns and it's kind of pathetic to think of Galway etc as a city.

Regards..Belfast wins for me (between places I've been to. Yet to visit Derry but it sounds amazing from the OP post)

SEPT 23 1989

Limerick surprised me

Going by press reports down through the years I had my knife ready as the train pulled into the station ready for battle

But no great city very friendly people and not too touristy

PlaneSpeeking

Belfast is great craic, lots to do for whatever your bag is.

Tons of time for Cork, picturesque in lots of places and people are lovely, very welcoming.


Someone asked about how many of the 32 counties you'd been to - interesting question! After a bit of thought, I've covered 21 I think

Derry
Antrim
Armargh
Down
Sligo
Mayo
Donegal
Dublin
Kildare
Laois
Tipperary
Galway
Louth
Meath
Westmeath
Limerick
Kerry
Cork
Waterford
Wicklow
Offaly

Hitman3000

Has to be Galway, great place for arts and culture. Love heading into the city for food and drink. Classed as a city but to me still has the feel of a small town. Close second Derry, as others have said. Leaving aside the obvious, Derry is steeped in history and the people are by and large incredibly nice. Plus my grandfather is from Derry. My Gran is from Kilkenny another beautiful place, Bulter castle and the Black Abbey.

Cienciano

TBH, all of them are nice in different ways. I'd take a weekend in any of them.

Strabanimal

MarkY91 wrote: »

Dubliner here.

I like going to Belfast. The city centre is nice, modern shopping area, fascinating history, titanic built there. Going up on Sunday for the night. We're gonna do the Ulster museum, botanical gardens, liberty hall etc. (Already did bus tour and titanic before)

I cannot really mention anywhere else as aside from Dublin and Belfast, all we have is large towns and it's kind of pathetic to think of Galway etc as a city.

Regards..Belfast wins for me (between places I've been to. Yet to visit Derry but it sounds amazing from the OP post)

The only modern shopping area we have is Victoria square and it's really nothing special. Plenty of people from Belfast travel from there to Derry or Ballybofey to do their shopping.

The places you are visiting are all in the better parts of South Belfast (literally the only good residential areas in the whole city), I live there (plenty of robberies), but I'm surprised you haven't seen all the smicks in the city centre yet.

ArchXStanton

Kilkenny,great buzz about the place,I like Galway as a city,the locals are a bit arseholey though

Fr_Dougal

Belfast is class. Easy to get around, fantastic restaurants, and plenty to do. They’ve come on a long way in the last 10 years or so.

Graces7

Killarney. It should count! My favourite place ever and I was gutted to leave the area.

Hated Galway. Traffic lights and traffic jams

PlaneSpeeking

Graces7 wrote: »

Killarney. It should count! My favourite place ever and I was gutted to leave the area.

Hated Galway. Traffic lights and traffic jams

Killarney is beautiful, I was there for the Irish Open a few years ago. Just lovely.

Strabanimal

Strabanimal wrote: »

Mine has to be Derry.

Me and my gf from Belfast both love it.

The peace bridge, all the shopping, little-to-no chavs, the walls, the guildhalll, the boats, the lack of smokers, insane amount of good restaurants, cityside and waterside, lots of history, the walls, really friendly people. I could go on.

Coming from Belfast to Derry every 3 months it's insane the difference. It's just so peaceful and quiet there. Stressfree.

Was going to say Derry, too. I've only visited it twice and it's gorgeous, very quaint walking on the walls in the autumn with the trees and the old church off it. The Guildhall was a hive of markets and music last time I was there. Really chilled-out atmosphere, as you say.

It's a pity, however, that the Bogside looks so deprived, still. It might as well be [insert less salubrious area of Dublin]. They've already built over many of the most infamous sites of Bloody Sunday (such as where the priest is waving the handkerchief) with dark depressing dour council brick everywhere. It does nothing for the city. Leave the Free Derry Corner landmark, but gut the rest (it's not like those houses are "historic").

Hitman3000

Graces7 wrote:

Killarney. It should count! My favourite place ever and I was gutted to leave the area.

Killarney is not a city.

PlaneSpeeking

Deleted User wrote: »

Was going to say Derry, too. I've only visited it twice and it's gorgeous, very quaint and a walk on the walls in the autumn with the trees and the old church off it. The Guildhall was a hive of markets and music last time I was there.

It's a pity, however, that the Bogside looks so deprived, still. It might as well be [insert less salubrious area of Dublin]. They've already built over many of the most infamous sites of Bloody Sunday (such as where the priest is waving the handkerchief) with dark depressing dour council brick everywhere. It does nothing for the city. Leave the Free Derry Corner landmark, but gut the rest (it's not like those houses are "historic").

Agreed, it needs investment but there's a peace about the place generally that you thought you'd never feel - I stood on the Peace Bridge and felt a city that had had enough of the past and just wanted to move on. And were doing so largely.

Few quid more wouldn't hurt things.

Strabanimal

Hitman3000 wrote: »

Has to be Galway, great place for arts and culture. Love heading into the city for food and drink. Classed as a city but to me still has the feel of a small town.

I started this hoping to hear more about Galway. Plans to visit it were cancelled this summer due to unforeseen circumstances. A lot of people up here seem to like it and put it as the #1 spot in Ireland but it's such a long travel from Belfast.

suicide_circus

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

So edgy. Not.

Hitman3000

Strabanimal wrote:

I started this hoping to hear more about Galway. Plans to visit it were cancelled this summer due to unforeseen circumstances. A lot of people up here seem to like it and put it as the #1 spot in Ireland but it's such a long travel from Belfast.

If going there, it's better to go when a specific event is on. Last week the arts festival was on and at present the races. The city can be a bit messy at night this week due to celebrations or drowning ones sorrows. It's nice to spend a couple of days in the city but after 2/3 days you would need to explore further.

wakka12

Dublin, because its the only city that feels the size of international cities

Belfast I wasnt a fan of at all, it had some nice places like titanic quarter and the cathedral quarter but overall I thought it was a very messy city with loads of dereliction and vacant plots and a lot of car parks and too may busy roads and it just have me bad vibes

Galway and Cork just feel like towns but they are both quite lovely places to visit

DickSwiveller Returns

Limerick

DickSwiveller Returns

I really like Kilkenny, too. The people there are sound. I always noticed that with the Kilkenny hurlers. Always come across as really decent lads.

topper75

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Limerick surprised me

Going by press reports down through the years I had my knife ready as the train pulled into the station ready for battle

But no great city very friendly people and not too touristy

Given that the vast majority of inhabitants are sound and not scummy, how exactly did Limerick earn such a rough reputation? How did the scum manage to characterise the city in the minds of other Irish people?

I think myself perhaps that Limerick has big problems marketing itself. They have put all their external image eggs in the rugby basket. Which is limited in size.

I'm fond of all the cities. They all have their pros and cons. However, I couldn't choose a favourite anymore than I could choose a favourite child.

aidoh

Dublin > Cork > Belfast > Galway > Derry > Limerick > Kilkenny > Waterford

All great spots but that'd be the order of my favourites.

DickSwiveller Returns

topper75 wrote: »

Given that the vast majority of inhabitants are sound and not scummy, how exactly did Limerick earn such a rough reputation? How did the scum manage to characterise the city in the minds of other Irish people?

I think myself perhaps that Limerick has big problems marketing itself. They have put all their external image eggs in the rugby basket. Which is limited in size.

I'm fond of all the cities. They all have their pros and cons. However, I couldn't choose a favourite anymore than I could choose a favourite child.

Basically hysterical media coverage over a family feud where a few people were killed. Gave it a bad reputation. That said, Limerick probably has some of the worst housing estates in the country regarding deprivation, anti social behaviour etc. For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3SYExmOk4A&t=225s

I love Limerick, though. My grandparents live in the city and I always find the locals very down to earth and friendly.

snotboogie

theteal wrote: »

Favourite city? Isn’t that like asking which was your favourite dentist visit? Are we supposed to like them? They’re really just a necessary inconvenience

Nothing like the buzz of a big city, just walking around Hong Kong Island or Manhattan is an experience in itself, then you have the food, the nightlife, the sights, the attractions.

Hitman3000

topper75 wrote:

Given that the vast majority of inhabitants are sound and not scummy, how exactly did Limerick earn such a rough reputation? How did the scum manage to characterise the city in the minds of other Irish people?

There was only a few rough estates in Limerick and I'd go further to say it was only a handful of families that gave these estates the reputation they got and ergo the rep the city got. Stab city was coined by the media. The people in Limerick should have fought back against the scumbags instead of allowing them free reign.

Cookie_Monster

Belfast / Derry are not in Ireland:

Aside from that Galway is my favourite. Great vibe, great bars, nice and compact.

6541

Castletown (hardy Bucks style)

Stephen15

Visited Derry once on a day trip from Donegal and I wasn't impressed at all. It felt like a very a grim place full of council estates with murals and tricolours, poundshops, dodgy looking takeaways and abandoned looking buildings it was also freezing cold in the middle of August.

road_high

DickSwiveller Returns wrote: »

I love Limerick, though. My grandparents live in the city and I always find the locals very down to earth and friendly.

Defo second this. I don't got to Limerick all that much but the people always strike me as very friendly with no airs or graces- I remember stopping for lunch in one of the big shopping centres and just chatting away randomly to a lovely older couple. You just wouldn't get that in Dublin or Galway, people are lot harder and more cynical. Limerick reminds of a city full of country people (in a good way that is).

road_high

Stephen15 wrote: »

Visited Derry once on a day trip from Donegal and I wasn't impressed at all. It felt like a very a grim place full of council estates with murals and tricolours, poundshops, dodgy looking takeaways and abandoned looking buildings it was also freezing cold in the middle of August.

I hate to agree with this- but I didn't like Derry at all- again a day trip from Donegal for me too. I was sort of taken aback at the amount of pawn shops, cash converters and tough looking people everywhere. To find a decent restaurant for lunch wasn't easy. I live in Kilkenny which is a much smaller place but reckoned it was leagues ahead in terms of pubs, nice shops and restaurants and ambience.

Cookie_Monster

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Belfast / Derry are not in Ireland:

Aside from that Galway is my favourite. Great vibe, great bars, nice and compact.

Ireland is an island on which both Belfast and Derry are situated, so both cities are indeed in Ireland.

DickSwiveller Returns

road_high wrote: »

Defo second this. I don't got to Limerick all that much but the people always strike me as very friendly with no airs or graces- I remember stopping for lunch in one of the big shopping centres and just chatting away randomly to a lovely older couple. You just wouldn't get that in Dublin or Galway, people are lot harder and more cynical. Limerick reminds of a city full of country people (in a good way that is).

Yes, sums it up perfectly.

yourdeadwright

I don't get the love for Belfast, It's come on know doubt but its still got a very strange vibe about the place, Iv been a number of times in the last few years and just can't warm to it,
Kilkenny and Galway are great just amazing atmosphere's In both  ,
Not a fan of Cork City I can't put my finger on why, its just not very charming
Dublin can be great if you have an afternoon to wander around the south side of the city,
Haven't been to Derry yet but should get up there this year .,

Hector Bellend

Flying Fox wrote: »

Ireland is an island on which both Belfast and Derry are situated, so both cities are indeed in Ireland.

They're U.K cities on the island of Ireland.

road_high

Hector Bellend wrote: »

They're U.K cities on the island of Ireland.

You wouldn't advertise that too loudly in most parts of either city- not unless you wanted to keep both kneecaps that is.

Hector Bellend

Dublin because it's home.

Other than that it's a throw up between Galway and Kilkenny. Theyre both easy to get round even compared to Dublin

Enniscorthy deserves an honourable mention

Hector Bellend

road_high wrote: »

You wouldn't advertise that too loudly in most parts of either city- not unless you wanted to keep both kneecaps that is.

Even though it's a fact?

PlaneSpeeking

Hector Bellend wrote: »

Even though it's a fact?

It's not. It's one side of a complicated argument.

The wrong side, obvs.

Voodoorasher2

tho I have not been to all the cities.

(I was Voodoo_rasher until I lost my password)

I am also the Antichrist

Stephen15

I have to say many of our 'cities' particularly Cork and Limerick feel like they are just trying to imitate Dublin with the same shops and general atmosphere rather than being trying to be unique and different. Galway does try but the entire city centre of Galway just feels like Temple Bar.

Prospectors

biko wrote: »

Besides Galway? I'd say Belfast.

I spent 4 years in college in Galway and it remains top of my list for nightlife and entertainment. It's just got a great buzz about the place.

jobbridge4life

1. Dublin
2. Limerick
3. Cork
4. Waterford
5. Belfast

I'd include Kilkenny but then really would have to start looking at towns of a similar size.

I love Waterford, so, so much potential but i feel it is still recovering from some massive blows.

MarkY91

Strabanimal wrote: »

The only modern shopping area we have is Victoria square and it's really nothing special. Plenty of people from Belfast travel from there to Derry or Ballybofey to do their shopping.

The places you are visiting are all in the better parts of South Belfast (literally the only good residential areas in the whole city), I live there (plenty of robberies), but I'm surprised you haven't seen all the smicks in the city centre yet.

Does snicks mean scumbags? I don't claim it to be a city without scumbags. But the Victoria Square area looked really nice. Maybe I'm just bored of Henry Street in Dublin and how crap it looks.

Belfast surely has a gritty side to it in parts which in ok with as it ties in with your recent past which of course is an interesting period to learn about so I guess that's why I don't mind.

MarkY91

topper75 wrote: »

Given that the vast majority of inhabitants are sound and not scummy, how exactly did Limerick earn such a rough reputation? How did the scum manage to characterise the city in the minds of other Irish people?

I think myself perhaps that Limerick has big problems marketing itself. They have put all their external image eggs in the rugby basket. Which is limited in size.

I'm fond of all the cities. They all have their pros and cons. However, I couldn't choose a favourite anymore than I could choose a favourite child.

I've never been to Limerick but growing up, it's always been known to be a hellhole full of scumbags and a place to never visit. But the more I read about it as an adult, it sounds like a pleasant enough place and I wouldn't mind a visit when out west.

I too would love to know why it's got such s bad reputation of being a kip full of scum.