Going into town

Edgware

The pity is that Dublin has the potential to be a fantastic city. From the massive Phoenix Park along through historical Arbour Hill, Stoneybatter, Smithfield North Inner City and likewise from Ringsend/Sandymount along the southside to Drimnagh there are so many interesting features. It is a coastal city and a riverside city. A bit of imagination and determination to deal with street nuisances would help greatly

Zebra3

Too much air and noise pollution.

It's a kip because cars rule the roost.

Avoid it as much as I can.

Kewreeuss

I am beginning to think Dublin City is for tourists who fly in and those who live there.
Parking charges, traffic restrictions and cost of public transport inhibit casual visits. If I lived in ranelagh or contaref and had a bike I’d be fine.:D

Bobblehats

Thinkin about it meself

donvito99

Kylta wrote: »

Am a true blue ( it means born within the canals). Not many dubs go shopping in town anymore, they basically use the shopping centres on the outskirts. No parking and most of them have whatever shop you need. I personally think in the future dublin will be aimed at tourism. There already trying to keep the cars out off town. The clampers are like little fu¢king gremlins, its that bad that there even clamping in the outskirts too. Dublin is gone to expense for Dubs. I've been to prague and berlin etc, they seem to have an originality about them. People must remember that the brits ran this country a hundred years ago, so what your basically looking at is an old british city, thats maybe the equivalent of Leeds or Manchester. Definitely not the equivalent of London. Its still a great city dublin for tourist, but you won't find many dubs in the city centre

The thought of driving out to liffey valley and spending the day browsing the shops with the family pretending to be English... I'd rather die

I don't think I've ever seen town so busy, so it follows that the less cars there are the more pleasant it is and the more people will hang around ?? Makes sense to me

Fritzbox

Zebra3 wrote: »

Too much air and noise pollution.

It's a kip because cars rule the roost.

Avoid it as much as I can.

World's most popular tourist city is Bangkok.

Kylta

Kylta wrote: »

Am a true blue ( it means born within the canals). Not many dubs go shopping in town anymore, they basically use the shopping centres on the outskirts. No parking and most of them have whatever shop you need. I personally think in the future dublin will be aimed at tourism. There already trying to keep the cars out off town. The clampers are like little fu¢king gremlins, its that bad that there even clamping in the outskirts too. Dublin is gone to expense for Dubs. I've been to prague and berlin etc, they seem to have an originality about them. People must remember that the brits ran this country a hundred years ago, so what your basically looking at is an old british city, thats maybe the equivalent of Leeds or Manchester. Definitely not the equivalent of London. Its still a great city dublin for tourist, but you won't find many dubs in the city centre

As a Londoner, to me going into town is going up West. While London is choked with tourists all year round, you'll still find locals shopping in all the congested areas. Traffic and parking and congestion charges aside, public transport makes the difference between people shopping in the city or in suburban malls. Not that public transport is that cheap in London.

Dublin is a nice city that you can walk around fairly comfortably which is rare in a capital city, and while Leeds is nice enough it just doesn't compare.

Better Than Christ

Zebra3 wrote: »

It's a kip because cars rule the roost.

That's something that badly needs to change. There is far too much on-street parking, but also too many multi-story car parks. Whenever improvements to public transport, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure are mooted, they're welcomed by most business owners in the city centre, but a inordinately powerful organisation calling itself "Dublin City Centre Traders Alliance" always objects. Far from being an alliance of traders, DCCTA is a consortium of large retailers who also happen to own car parks. Their whole raison d'être is to oppose all sustainable development in the city centre in favour of lining their own pockets. Their car parks should be compulsorily purchased by the state, flattened and turned into affordable housing for people who work in the city centre.

Sam Hain

DubInMeath wrote: »

You forgot all the culchies looking up at all the buildings and public transport, while having a chance at getting the shift from someone who isn't their cousin.

says a Dub that persumably now lives in Meath LOL

Fann Linn

Sam Hain wrote: »

says a Dub that persumably now lives in Meath LOL

The flag on The Hill says 'Behind Enemy Lines'.

biko

Every Dublin thread in AH ends up with Dubs against the world. It's all so tired and done.

ziggyman17

Love going into town.. We go in once a week........Lots of lovely places to have a bite to eat.......The Long Hall, The Palace Bar, The Stags Head, Toners, to have a few nice pints of Guinness, an evening walk in Stephens Green Park is always lovely, once you know where to go and stay away from certain places then Dublin City is a great little town.....

donvito99

I can understand that some people just prefer to go down the local on a Saturday night and not get on a bus into and out of town, but can you imagine - as some here have suggested - living in a kind of giant Milton Keynes where you spend your day working in an industrial estate with ample parking and your weekends at shopping centre with ample parking near a motorway.... no thanks.

Edgware

ziggyman17 wrote: »

Love going into town.. We go in once a week........Lots of lovely places to have a bite to eat.......The Long Hall, The Palace Bar, The Stags Head, Toners, to have a few nice pints of Guinness, an evening walk in Stephens Green Park is always lovely, once you know where to go and stay away from certain places then Dublin City is a great little town.....

There are nice pubs in that stretch from Westland Row up to Camden St. Can't say the same for the North Inner city until you go to Stoneybatter

Thelonious Monk

Kewreeuss wrote: »

I am beginning to think Dublin City is for tourists who fly in and those who live there.
Parking charges, traffic restrictions and cost of public transport inhibit casual visits. If I lived in ranelagh or contaref and had a bike I’d be fine.:D

What so Dublin should be designed for people who don't live there and drive in from surrounding counties? No thanks!

andekwarhola

Kylta wrote: »

but you won't find many dubs in the city centre

Nonsense.

Zebra3

Candie wrote: »

Dublin is a nice city that you can walk around fairly comfortably

It's actually not.

A nightmare for cyclists too.

Better Than Christ

Zebra3 wrote: »

It's actually not.

A nightmare for cyclists too.

It's a nightmare for cyclists, but it's a nice city to walk around - plenty of parks and squares and some lovely architecture. It would be even nicer if car usage was heavily discouraged and you didn't have to press a button to request 'permission' to get from one side of a street to the other.

Thelonious Monk

Better Than Christ wrote: »

It's a nightmare for cyclists, but it's a nice city to walk around - plenty of parks and squares and some lovely architecture. It would be even nicer if car usage was heavily discouraged and you didn't have to press a button to request 'permission' to get from one side of a street to the other.

Parts of it are a nightmare to walk around. I work (or used to maybe) in Baggot st area. There's barely enough room for pedestrians on part of Baggot st and especially Merrion row, so at lunchtime you have people doing 80km down the street while pedestrians are pushed out onto the roads. It's dangerous.
I mean it isn't too bad but it could be so much better, if there were less cars.

GT89

Yes I find Grafton and Henry Street are much more pleasant places to shop than Dundrum or Blanchardstown. For me I'm as quick getting into town on a bus than sitting in traffic to get in to park in places like Dundrum or Blanch. Around Christmas these places are nightmares and town is just as good.

wakka12

jimwallace197 wrote: »

So, as if people from the country don't get the opportunity to travel abroad and see other cities. Stop acting like Dublin is the centre of the world.

And how often do you get to abroad like? Once/twice a year?

Dublin is a nice city by our standards in Ireland

wakka12

Kewreeuss wrote: »

I am beginning to think Dublin City is for tourists who fly in and those who live there.
Parking charges, traffic restrictions and cost of public transport inhibit casual visits. If I lived in ranelagh or contaref and had a bike I’d be fine.:D

Ahh, speak for yourself..I think Dublin a much nicer city today than it was in the past because cars have been given less prominence in the city. It is so important for quality of life for locals, not just tourists. Tourists simply like nice enjoyable places, as do locals.

Strumms

GT89 wrote: »

Yes I find Grafton and Henry Street are much more pleasant places to shop than Dundrum or Blanchardstown. For me I'm as quick getting into town on a bus than sitting in traffic to get in to park in places like Dundrum or Blanch. Around Christmas these places are nightmares and town is just as good.

Yes, it’s much nicer especially in summer to duck in and out of shops in town then the whole giant shopping center boring humdrum.

I know of one place.. Brown Thomas car parking where access to parking and the route out of it are a doddle. It’s an upmarket enough spot but parking is actually cheaper then the iilac or jervis or at least was... easy to access and get away from.

Better Than Christ

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

Parts of it are a nightmare to walk around. I work (or used to maybe) in Baggot st area. There's barely enough room for pedestrians on part of Baggot st and especially Merrion row, so at lunchtime you have people doing 80km down the street while pedestrians are pushed out onto the roads. It's dangerous.
I mean it isn't too bad but it could be so much better, if there were less cars.

Billy Connolly used to do a funny routine about trying to cross the road at the Dawson St/Nassau St junction. Once you get onto the island, that's it, you're stuck forever. There are so many areas like that (off the top of my head, Dame St and Parnell St are particularly bad), where you can have a hundred people dutifully waiting three or four minutes for the little green man while Very Important Men in single-occupant cars zoom past, blasting their horns at anyone who dares to impede their Very Important Journey.