Lonely Planet article criticising Dublin as tourist destination ‘doesn’t make for pleasant reading’

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238705#Comment_119238705

But talbot st is horrible! You may be surprised to hear this but every city has horrible streets even places like Zurich

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119236883#Comment_119236883

Galway and Cork are better than Dublin? Based on what? Which has the most tourist attractions, most museums, most theatres etc... How many boarded up shops are on Galway's main shopping street?

I don't like Madrid but full of hookers and pickpockets. Dublin out rates Madrid on many things

You may have your opinion but any measurable figure shows your opinion doesn't match reality.

mumo3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238663#Comment_119238663

Plenty to be had in Dublin (and nation wide) ... I had 3 small kids when the arse fell out of economy in the 2000's and even with me being out of work, we still did something every weekend with them... Dublin has loads on for free if you could be arsed to look for them!! But I'm not paying for hotels/ restaurants or taxis!!

I was a kid of the 80's recession and my parents did the same with us every weekend... Now I have a love for Museums and Libraries, and so do my lot which is a great thing to have

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238789#Comment_119238789

I like Galway and all but it's like 2 steets and a Supermacs surrounded by a giant traffic jam in the pissing rain.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238860#Comment_119238860

And yet most tourists prefer it to Dublin - funny that

Watch as the Dubliner's ego is so fragile he cannot even comprehend the idea that his fair city isn't infact the fairest in the land.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239004#Comment_119239004

How do you know this? Dublin gets far more tourists.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119235358#Comment_119235358

Ahh FFS you bitch about prostitutes in Madrid and are on about Barcelona.

Take a stroll around Las Ramblas of the evening before you make such huge pronouncements.

Every city has shyte areas, I have seen areas in Barcelona that would have made bad parts of Limerick look good.

The outskirts of Paris are terrible like a lot of European and indeed world cities.

But this is the thing, these cities have bad areas, but they are not the city centres which usually have a large police presence.

In Ireland it looks like the police are practicing for the World Hide and Seek Championships.

And the laugh is it is now probably more expensive in Dublin than beautiful cities like Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239009#Comment_119239009

Only 2 minutes to reply, clearly hit a nerve

Of course Dublin gets more tourists - it has the biggest international airport just outside the city. Tourists going anywhere on this island will more than likely transit Dublin. But the preference after experiencing Galway or Cork also is almost always anything but the big shmoke

growleaves

As someone said on the last iteration of this thread, Dublin is *representative* of Irish cities.

Waterford city very dangerous at night-time as well. Fights in Galway city etc.

There is a countryside vs capital city 'debate' in every country.

Didn't Paul Heaton even bring out an album with the brilliant title:

London 0

Hull 4

That's great fun and all but the real issue is with the whole country, as problems like anti-social behaviour, low garda presence, price gouging hoteliers etc. affect everywhere and transcend regionalist point-scoring

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239124#Comment_119239124

You're just making stuff up to suit your narrative. Where are you from?

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239144#Comment_119239144

Bray. And until recently I had a stake in a bus tour company which would often take tourists to most of the cities on this island.

There were very few who would elect to go back to Dublin, the rest of the country maybe, but few have the love/delusion for the dirty old town as the Dubs themselves.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239072#Comment_119239072

I prefer Barcelona for many reason and stayed on hotels on Las Ramblas and know what the street is like at night. Still dislike Madrid and vastly prefer Dublin

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239124#Comment_119239124

You still didn't explain how you KNOW tourists prefer Galway and Cork to Dublin. It is almost like you just made it up 🤗

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239247#Comment_119239247

well Bray is lovely, I like going there, other people seem to think it's a kip though. I don't know why you think people who like Dublin and like living there are delusional. I live in London for the time being, and as much as I love it I am looking forward to living in Dublin again, the pace of life and living near the sea and my favourite park makes for good living.

You are a stones throw from places in Dublin like Dalkey and Killiney, the whole coast into the city centre from there is beautiful, it's just weird you can think all that is a kip.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239348#Comment_119239348

As I said I have had plenty of dealings with visitors to this country, and the majority do not rank Dublin as their #1 attraction here once all is said and done.

How do you know they prefer Dublin after having seen outside it?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239473#Comment_119239473

Nothing wrong with liking Dublin, however believing its a rival to any of the European cities is a bit delusional

Also you live in London, so when was your last time back in Dublin? Have you seen the sorry state of it post pandemic?

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239621#Comment_119239621

I am back regularly, I live between both kind of, for the time being. Actually think it's quite nice lately with some of the new pedestrianisation and cycle lanes, and loads of new places to eat and drink.

Do you think Bray or other towns in Ireland are rivals to the beautiful towns of the same size in France, Austria etc.? Of course not. Even towns and villages here in England are far more aesthetically pleasing and better run.

Dublin is what it is, and lots of people live here and are happy.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238789#Comment_119238789

nightlife in galway is (was a few years ago anyway) is better. cork was named by lonely planet as one of the 10 must see cities in the world about 10 years ago. dublin just has better infrastructure due to our over-centralised approach to things such as transport.

now, dublin is a nice city and has its charm too, but its not amazing either. i always compare it to guinness - its the one most people will have heard of but if you are a little more adventurous you'll find way better stuff

i honestly cant think of any way that dublin is better than madrid, im genuinely curious?

completedit

They paved (quaint relatively decent) paradise to put up a hotel and some glass buildings for some MNC. That is fine but that is what Dublin has become. It's there to serve the financial order and if some Irish and Europeans make a bit of money while they're here great but ultimately they're here to serve themselves. This is what we are told we should value; JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS. Doesn't matter if the soul of the city/country is wiped out because that isn't something that you can quantify but you can wave the Irish flag and talk about how high our GDP is and how great we are that some American tech firms decide to set up here. There's no utopia and there's never been a golden age but the type of city that Dublin is becoming is terrible imo. I don't care what type of society Ireland was like before, the city is losing its humanity. It's turning into a soulless dump. But for the one's who make a fist of it they can live out their capitalist wet dream.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239621#Comment_119239621

How many people and where were you asking them? I don't think your experience is anything close to relevant as we have lots of reports from independent sources which don't match your view. The most popular sites are in Dublin.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239800#Comment_119239800

How on earth is nightlife better? Dublin has far more options.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239848#Comment_119239848

i havent been for a few years but i would say quality over quantity......

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239473#Comment_119239473

I know you are delusional on lots of things, but Bray is lovely???

Bray's location is nice and along a section of seafront has improved drastically over recent years, but the main street is a shell with empty derelict buildings.

Some of the housing estates like Fassaroe and Boghall Road are not very nice at all and you had drug related hits going on.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239701#Comment_119239701

Bray and most other towns in Ireland in no way stack up against beautiful towns in some other European countries.

Granted they will stack up ok to very rural towns in middle of France or towns in say industrial areas of Britain.

Every country has some cr**holes and some places that time seems to have forgotten.

One thing I find is that towns in Europe usually have is a lot more history, usually meaning more historic buildings, cathedrals, museums, etc.

We don't and it is really down to our colonial past and being a colony of our nearest neighbour.

Wars and different rulers were also good for the creation of appealing towns, just see all the white towns in Andalusia, all the cool towns and villages in the likes of the Dordogne, all the lovely places in Italy.

Someone mentioned Dublin having more museums, theatres, etc than likes of Galway.

Well if you compare Dublin to most other European cities that are either capitals or of similar size I was say Dublin has much less.

The one thign people need to recognise, whether they are a fan of Dublin or not, and I think the Lonely Planet points to this, is that the cost of living and staying in Dublin has become way too much.

And that facilities and services have not grown to match the growing population.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239963#Comment_119239963

Yes you are right. You could say Dublin, Athlone, Galway etc. are sh*t compared to Euro cities of the same size. We all know this. Ever been to Aix-en-Provence? I have a friend from a place called Konstanz am Bodensee in Germany, same population as Galway, it blows Galway out of the water on aesthetics, public transport, the public realm etc.

That doesn't mean you can't enjoy our sh*tty towns and cities for the different things they offer to Europe. I just think these pile-ons on Dublin are unfair from the rest of the country given Dublin is part of Ireland and things are pretty much the same nationwide. Planning is terrible, our county councils are useless, public transport is sh*te nationwide, etc. etc.

Oh and yes, I like Bray, some lovely buildings and a gorgeous setting.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239862#Comment_119239862

How would you have any notion what they are like? Did you visit all the night clubs in Dublin? Variety is also very important and limited quantity in Galway shows little variety so not seeing how they have quality compared to Dublin. There is no doubt that Galway can compete because it has so little and it is all the same

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119236175#Comment_119236175

The thing about London or Paris is that their sh1tbox areas are not just off the Champs Elysees or Trafalgar square. The problem with Dublin is that the Sh1tbox areas are so close to city centre especially on the Northside once you venture off O'Connell street. In Paris these areas would be further out from the City centre. I lived in Paris and I loved it, never felt unsafe in it, yes it can be dirty but it is a city and us humans are dirty creatures.

rob316

There's this false pride thing too about my city cork. "Cork is great" it's not it's been allowed go to ruin. Lack of policing, failure to tackle an endemic heroin problem, not taxing owners of direlict properties into oblivion until they make them presentable let alone habitable.

Regarding price gouging, I'm all for a free market but it's just ruining our reputation for tourism. Ireland is an absolute rip off, other countries don't jack up hotel prices when ed **** Sheeran is in town. They are glad people are coming to spend money that's enough.

Patlanta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238167#Comment_119238167

"Culshie with chip on shoulder whinges about Dublin. And boy do some of them have a chip on their shoulders. In other news water is wet."

Likewise Dubs with chips on their shoulders call them culshies and the cycle continues...

asdfg87

Seeing Madrid was mentioned earlier i checked booking,com 2 nights midweek july 3* €160, exact same nights Dub 3* €310.

Dub Jacksons Hotel Madrid city centre.

Bit cynical

Dublin has always been a bit of a rough and expensive place. That's part of its charm.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119238167#Comment_119238167

I'm a Culshie and I love Dublin.

I've never ever engaged in this rural county vs Dublin thing. I think it's just so stupid, from both sides.

You're exhibiting a bit of that yourself.

I can tell you now living in a Culshie town that lack of policing here does not have the serious consequences as it does in Dublin.

There is no equivalent in Culshie land that compares to the Liffery boardwalk or surrounding area, or anything that compares to the junkies that hassle you for money the minute you walk out of Houston station after landing in from Culshie land.

Parts of Dublin city have all the allure of the bottom of a refuse bin that hasn't been collected for months.

That is not a criticism of Dublin, it is a criticisms of the way Dublin city is managed.

And I still love Dublin city, Wibbs.

maninasia

Im from Dublin and 7th best city to visit title is truly laughable. Large parts of the city venter are a kip and unsafe. Loads of what look like refugees or roma hanging around in the daytime along with usual amounts of junkies. Rough looking. I guess they being serviced by bnbs and hotels and drug treatment centers in the area. O connell st and Talbot st dont feel particularly safe or nice day or night. Dublin city council wrecked the place.

maninasia

It is not 'grand'.

Recent returned , parts of dublin feel unsafe day and night, and I can look after myself, no way I would let my family go to some places there at night including the main thoroughfare O connell st. I keep my head down and moving there seriously scummy late at night betwen the drunks and the junkies and what not.

Had to walk back through northside twice recently due to taxi situation, really **** feeling after a night out.

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241785#Comment_119241785

Yeah I really should have been clearer. I like culshies, it's that minority that irritate. And I'd also prefer to live in a rural town in most respects. The only bits of Dublin I like 24/7 are the leafy suburban bits. The city centre has most certainly gone downhill in the last few years. There were always "dodgy areas", but the main parts of the city were generally pretty OK and safer than many European cities. But due to our all too usual lack of planning and worthwhile investment over decades that has certainly changed for the worst. And it's visible in the daytime, where once the ferals only tended to come out after dark. And it will almost certainly get worse unless we, or rather the gombeens in charge so something concrete about it. And pigs might fly. So it'll get worse.

olestoepoke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119235008#Comment_119235008

I lived in NYC for 16 years, one of the first things I noticed my first few days back in Dublin was the lack of police presence. It is truly amazing in a large modern European city.

olestoepoke

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2021&region=150

Ireland consistently ranks in the top ten in the EU for crime and safety and it's clear Dublin plays a large part in this. There was also an article I read last week where Dublin ranked alongside Denmark as one of the most expensive places to live in the EU.

Tom Mann Centuria

I wouldn't want to live in Dublin, but then I wouldn't want to live in any large City. I had a great time when I had a long weekend up there just before covid hit though.

I actually see more rough sleepers/day walkers in my home town in the UK (of just over quarter of a million people) when I visit than on my last trip to Dublin.

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119239701#Comment_119239701

Is that the new Failte Ireland slogan? "Dublin is what it is"

tara73

havn't read all the five pages comments, so I only reply regarding that article and the opening post: good article for tourists to get informed what they can expect, neutral and telling how it is. nothing about junkies or Luas sh** which definetely is a big problem in the City Center, so article is actually on the positive side. so opposite what opening poster insinuates...

shocking prices though, that's unreal. who's booking that, Dublin must be devoid of tourists...

Thinking this since a few years now, Dublin is more and more becoming the New York of the seventies...(sure not in size though)

Patlanta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241785#Comment_119241785

Why call yourself a culshie / culchie though, it's a synonym for a hick or a hillbilly. I'm from quite a rural background and still wouldn't call myself a culchie. As for a living in a 'Culshie town', I'd be surprised if some of your 'townie' neighbours would go along with or appreciate that epithet especially if it's one of the larger towns. Also 'Culshie land' for rural Ireland or outside Dublin is pretty disparaging.

Like most cities, Dublin has its faults but also its good points, leafy suburbs, variety of things to do, maritime location, nearby mountains etc. but referring to those outside Dublin or from rural Ireland as 'culchies' just feeds into a them-and-us scenario where both sides ignore the positives and concentrate on the negatives of the other side. It exists between other capitals and the rest of the country but it's not as deep or widespread as in Ireland probably for historical reasons and it's time we moved beyond it.

Spanish Eyes

Quality of life for the natives is very important as well as for tourists.

There is no excuse for housing thousands of refugees in Dublin City Centre, when it is out of reach of both natives and visitors alike who have to pay through the nose for it. That is not working out for anyone.

A big problem I think is the fact that Dublin City Council is being run by a woke leftie group who refuse point blank to improve the city. That's my view, in their eyes it is far more important to house the homeless and provide drug treatment within the city centre. So that means that everything else takes second place. Improving the look and feel of the city is not going to happen until the SJWs acknowledge that homeless, drug, alcohol, and crime are not acceptable, need to be policed, and the people experiencing these issues need to be handled a lot more critically than with kid gloves.

My apologies if I sound intolerant, and await Godwin's Law any minute, but until the City Manager and DCC wake up and look out for the city and EVERYONE in it, not just "the vulnerable" Dublin is going to become a no go area regardless of how expensive it is to live there for those who have to pay for it themselves. It is just not worth it, you just have to look at all the excuses bandied about regarding the state of the place to see where the decision making is done. It is not for you or me anyway.

I am a native Dub. I love the city but don't like it much and the way it is run anymore though. Sadly.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119241992#Comment_119241992

I think people should aspire to a higher standard of city, not just say 'tis grand', shur tis the same everywhere else cop out talk.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242806#Comment_119242806

Where are you from?

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119242761#Comment_119242761

Why do you think there is thousands of refugees living in Dublin city centre? There isn't and the city centre is defined by the canals so where do you think these refugees are?

blackvalley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119236146#Comment_119236146

Off topic to a degree but im curious why you are so dismissive of Tripadvisor . Im lucky enough to travel quite frequently and i would always check out reviews with them before booking hotels , restaurants or indeed any attractions . I find that a quick scan through reviews generally gives a reasonable picture of what to expect . If you dismiss reviews by those who are just impossible to please and those that are basically advertising I feel that you get a fair result . I have decided to avoid locations and visit locations due to reviews and can honestly say that I have never been sorry for my decision . Perhaps iv just been lucky with my choices but thats my experience .😎

Spanish Eyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119243254#Comment_119243254

Why do you think that despite the large number of new hotels built in Dublin over the past few years, there is a shortage of rooms available and hence the extortionate rates? That's right, hotels being commandeered for Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers, and our own homeless too.

Hotels in the capital should not be used for this purpose.

Dr. Bre

Another Dublin thread - how boring

AlanG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240133#Comment_119240133

Another way of looking at it is that this is a great thing about Dublin. Paris, in particular has gone to great lengths to keep poor people away form the tourist and rich areas. Paris is overall a far less safe city than Dublin but they have created Ghettos with little public transport to areas of employment so that wealthy people dont have to bothered seeing what half the city is actually like. It makes it a far nicer city center for tourists but perhaps more would be done for the poor if there was more integration.

sweetie

Living and working close enough to the city centre I agree it has disimproved in a lot of ways over last couple years. In comparison I had two recent trips to

i) Barcelona - 3 years since my last visit. Always love it and felt very safe and stayed, ate and drink for very little money in Poble Neu district but wasn't near the city centre this time. Luckily my hotel was booked well in advance.

ii) san francisco - ten years since my last visit, the city centre has really gotten rough, my wife and daughter felt uncomfortable around Union square and that even extended to the bart train network. Tons of homeless everywhere (tended to be confined to mission and haight districts before) All touristy things quite a bit more expensive than Ireland and many not worth the money and run down like the zoo and the water parks we attended. expensive and dlipated train system and expensive hotels. Uber wasn't too bad and clothes and fast food qood value but overall the states wasn't great and won't be rushing back.

Floppybits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244161#Comment_119244161

Maybe so but if you look at the majority of complaints about Dublin most of them are about "the locals" and their carry on on the streets and public transport. I'm not saying what they have done is Paris is any better than what they have done here, for me the answer would be to have stronger Garda presence in the city centre to deter and deal with the troublesome element. For me most of the problems in city centre come from the lack of a Garda presence and once a certain element see that then they will take advantage.

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119244161#Comment_119244161

In fairness, that is a lie - it's not like the election of Sarkozy after years of Socialist rule meant all trains and underground let alone buses were suddenly diverted to avoid poor areas