A guide by Azam
A trendy city-centre soup kitchen with fine hot sandwiches, soups and salads, bangers and mash for well under £10. Go for the excellent specials.
67 Dame Street; Tel: 00 353 1 6707119
The Amnesty International café, right in the heart of Temple Bar, is an oasis of calm (not to mention intellect and compassion) in an area dominated by overpriced restaurants and “pubs” stuffed with stag nights and rugby fans. Good strong and cheap coffee, tasty food, great reading material and much more besides, this place sticks out like a sane thumb.
Address: 48 Fleet Street, Dublin 2.
Telephone: (353-1)6776361
Website: www.amnesty.ie
Email: info@amnesty.ie
Opening hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:00-18:00.
Not only for the great collection of works by Jack B Yeats and family, but also for its Caravaggio and El Greco. Marvel at the architecture of the new Millenium wing.
Merrion Square West; Tel: +353-1-661 5133; www.nationalgallery.ie/
The entire chaotic contents of Francis Bacon's South Kensington studio painstakingly reconstructed. Bacon's last unfinished portrait is part of the gallery's excellent permanent collection.
Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square North; Tel: 00 353 1 222 5550; Open Tue-Sun; www.hughlane.ie/
The main centre for foreign and art movies in Dublin. The institute is in a lovely converted Society of Friends building and is a great meeting point for anyone interested in cinema. There are training events, movie seasons, a bar and specialist shop. A lovely place to hang out, although the food and service in the bar is a little substandard.
Eustace Street in Temple Bar
Probably Dublin's finest museum in this writer’s humble opinion. It’s housed in the magnificent Royal Hospital in Kilmainham and boasts regular touring exhibitions, from Andy Warhol and Anthony Gormley to Yoko Ono and Joseph Beuys and all points in between.
The galleries are airy and spacious, sensitive to installation requirements and free of any overt pretentiousness. In other words, you don't have to have a deep understanding of art to enjoy the place. There is a good (if pricey) coffee shop on site.
The grounds surrounding the gallery are suitable for leisurely walking; the main avenue leads you directly to Kilmainham Gaol (about 10 minutes walk). War Memorial Gardens are nearby and the National Museum is one Luas hop away from nearby Heuston Station. Essentially, it forms the heart of the emerging museum district, and the Guinness brewery is close to hand also.
West of the city centre, 10 minutes walk from Heuston Station (Luas and Intercity services). Tour buses from the city centre include a visit on their routes, and regular bus services from city centre (nos. 68, 69, 78A, 79); www.modernart.ie/
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