Do you plan to holiday in Europe this winter? If yes, then Dublin is where you should be going. Considered as the most friendly and lively city of Europe, Dublin attracts millions of tourists every year. Dublin has some of the finest tourist attractions to keep you and your family interested and enjoying yourselves. Here are a few places you can visit:

The Guinness Storehouse- The Guinness Storehouse is a very popular tourist attraction in Dublin. Tourists will miss the fun in their holiday if they do not visit the Guinness Storehouse. Tourists can check on the 250 year old history on the black stuff and enjoy themselves in the top bar in Ireland: the Gravity Bar.

Temple Bar- This place is located on the south bank of the Liffey River and offers some of the best restaurants and night clubs. They are best to visit after dark to have a great experience. Tourists can also visit the Irish Film Centre, National Photographic Archives, Gallery of Photography and the Temple Bar Gallery.

Dublin Castle: Tourists interested in knowing about Irish history should definitely visit Dublin Castle. It was built in the eighteenth century and is one of the oldest structures in the entire city. Tourists can visit the Undercroft, the State Apartments and the Chapel Royal.

Trinity College- This is the oldest university in Ireland. It was founded in 1592. The main attraction of the college is the Book of Kells. It is a beautifully decorated manuscript written by Celtic monks in 800AD. Apart from this, tourists can check on the buildings, printing house and the dining hall of the university.

If you are planning on spending your holidays in an exotic city complete with contemporary and historic cultural beauty, then Dublin may be the most appropriate place. Dublin, the largest city and the capital of Ireland is one of the top 25 cities in the world. Its rich culture and heritage places it on the ‘must-visit’ list of avid tourists.

Holidays are all about exploring new culture, places and meeting new hospitable people. Dublin will assure you a combination of all these activities at an affordable price.

Primarily renowned as a destination of Vikings, Dublin has witnessed the reign of many kingdoms. Dublin has also witnessed the beautiful works of William Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce. The National Museum of Ireland is one such historical building which has preserved the works of eminent scholars. Dublin has always been a centre for culture and art and this is evident from the rich collection present in the National Museum. Tourists can literally walk down through the pages of history by enjoying a magnificent trip to the Malahide castle. The enormous castle is without doubt one of the oldest historical sites in Dublin.

Dublin is endowed with a striking nightlife as well. One of the friendliest cities in Europe, Dublin is home to countless pubs, late-night eateries and lounging areas. Tourists can enjoy a wide variety of music that is performed on the streets of Dublin.

Dublin is also a popular shopping destination. Dublin also has plenty of retail stores spread across the city. Renowned departmental stores like Clerys and Arnotts are also present in Dublin. So stop fantasising and book a trip to Dublin for your holidays.

The capital of Ireland, Dublin is one of the most vibrant cities brimming with life and energy. Perfect for your holidays, this city will offer you some of the best times with a mix of historical as well as present day attractions.

Some of the attractions worth looking at in Dublin are the national gallery, the national museum and the national library which allow entry free of cost. You can traverse the length of the Guinness factory. This is the place where they make the perfect pint and you can undoubtedly sample some of the black bitter variety of the local brew at the Guinness factory at the end of the short trip. If you are a bit of a fan of the tipple, then the temple bar area in Dublin is a great place to try the local brew and flavours.

You can be a part of something different these holidays by finding out about the bloody history of Dublin as well as going through its night clubs and pubs, crawling with vivid night time revelers and packed to the seams.

If night clubs or pubs are not your thing, Dublin makes for good holidays for learning as the streets are full of friendly people and the architecture is stunning. The restaurants in Dublin are easy to find and offer a very unique blend of taste and local flavour.

Working people are always eagerly waiting for the weekends to arrive. Leaving the town on short breaks during weekends could actually further boost your energy levels. Take a tour to Malahide Castle on a weekend and experience its astonishing beauty.

A visit to this Castle will leave you mesmerised. Every detail of the Castle will engage you entirely, making this experience stand out from the many others that you have had.

Malahide Castle is set on 250 acres of park land in the seaside town of Malahide, and is one of the oldest in Ireland. The oldest parts of this castle date back to the 12th century. The Castle was a fortress as well, which was inhabited by the Talbot family for about 800 hundreds of years. Though it has gone through many alterations since then, it is generally still the same.

The Fly Model railway is situated on the grounds of Malahide Castle. Spread across 2,500 sq. feet, this is the world’s largest miniature railway exhibit. It is a collection of handmade trains, displaying models right from the oldest Irish trains to ones that still run.

There are special tours to suit leisure visitors and educational tour groups. These guided tours last for about thirty five minutes and are organised in various languages like French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German and Japanese, etc.

Malahide Castle is operated by Dublin Tourism Attractions together with Fingal Country Council.

A visit to Malahide Castle is a great weekend getaway. It is one of the many trips you are not likely to forget.

Over the May bank holiday weekend the country saw a huge 1.8 million British people decide to take an overseas holiday, claims the travel association ABTA.

The favourite holiday destination for British people was Spain and this proved to be the most popular, with people taking holidays from the UK between 22nd and 25th May, which was the start of the half term break for schools in Britain.

During the May bank holiday period, the five favourite city break destinations that proved to be the most popular were; Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, New York and Rome said ABTA.

The top of the list for long haul holidays over the May bank holiday was Florida, with Turkey and Egypt being the next popular destinations with visitors who travelled outside of the euro zone.

The president of ABTA, Justin Fleming said: “In spite of the recession, passenger numbers this bank holiday weekend are very healthy, showing that the British love affair with foreign travel is as strong as ever.”

ABTA also released statistics from research conducted earlier this year which highlighted that 68 percent of British people were still prepared to spend the same amount of money on their 2009 holidays than they were the previous year despite the economic downturn.

Those people who prefer to take their city breaks in Dublin are in for a treat this year when Dublin’s street performance world championships hits Merrion Square.

The event sees a huge number of entertainment hits the streets of the Irish capital which means that onlookers are to be treated to everything from extreme contortionism and sword swallowing.

This popular annual event sees European holiday makers flock to Dublin year after year and this year’s event takes place between 18th – 21st June.

The world championships draws people with all sorts of wonderfully weird talents bringing street performers in from countries such as Tanzania, Japan, Australia and Russia to participate within the Irish competition and compete for what is said to be ‘the most coveted title in street performance’.

The free events programme offers its audiences a range of magicians, aerial acts, human fountains and many other types of artists who provide the whole family with entertainment.

There are over 120 acts/shows that perform in total and visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic to the grounds of the Square to enjoy the entertainment.

City break travellers are able to catch flights to Dublin from a large range of airports across the UK.

Holiday makers planning city breaks to Dublin later in the year are to be given the chance to see a world premiere in the form of the new stage version of the iconic and popular film ‘Shawshank Redemption’.

Shawshank is to have its debut at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre from 14th May until 20th June 2009.

The film and play are based upon another of Stephen King’s famous short stories which tells the tale of wrongful imprisonment of a man accused of murdering his wife along with her lover; the story sees the man keeping his faith and his hopes high for winning his freedom.

Lane Productions have decided to bring the famous film to the stage and they are also the same company behind the previous plays; Keano, Twelve Angry Men, Alone it Stands and I.

Performers in the stage show will include Reg Cathey star of TV dramas The Wire and Oz and Kevin Anderson, member of the prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company. If holiday makers miss the debut of Shawshank then they may be interested to know that following its’ run, the Gaiety Theatre is then set to host the world famous Riverdance, which is to arrive on stage on the 23rd June and run to 30th August 2009.

Holiday makers who are considering taking a city break to any of the following cities; Paris, Dublin, Belfast, Antwerp or London in April, may be interested to know that Leonard Cohen is set to tour Europe this summer with a string of concerts announced which includes these European cities.

The world famous singer and songwriter began his tour at the beginning of April in his first round of concerts which were held in North America; from here he is booked to play a whole host of cities in his native country Canada and across the US over the course of the next few weeks.

There has just been further confirmation that there will be follow up dates for several performances he is booked to do in Europe, as he his promoting his latest CD and DVD which captures his concert live at the O2 arena in London during 2008.

Leonard, now 74 years old, is to play his first European gig at Germany’s capital city, Berlin on 2nd June before he moves on to the cities of Antwerp, Paris, Liverpool, Dublin and Belfast for the remainder of April.

Tickets are available now for all of his concerts and they are anticipated to sell out quickly, particularly now Leonard’s latest songs are beginning to gain in popularity with a new generation of fans.

The annual Restaurant Week is to begin in Dublin on 20th April lasting for six days and will welcome some of Ireland’s finest and most visited restaurants, all of whom are offering special Dine in Dublin promotional rates of only €25 or €30 per adult, which will buy a full traditional three course meal from a huge array of menus and venues.

People taking a city break to Dublin will be interested to note that this is the only week in the year that Dublin gets to show all its talents together at fantastic prices along with some of the city’s most famous and exclusive restaurants taking part.

Dublin City Soul Festival

Dublin’s Soul Festival, which is the third ever held, kicks start on 21st May until 24th May and is a celebration of peace, unit and love.

So far some of the line up for the music arrangement has still to be published but will follow as:
The Soul Picnic – global superstars (VERY special guests are still to be announced), Acoustic Café & Singer/Songwriter of the Year which includes a completely free music concert. There will be other live music (to be published) and soul cinema including the Soul Fest Restaurant Trail.

Holiday makers who are visiting the event will see some of Ireland’s ‘Rising Stars’ parading through the city streets, cafes and bars. Soul Jam is on at The Sugar Club which stars Ms Nicki and The Memphis Soul Survivors and a very special guest star in Vince Johnson from the Plantation All Stars. There will be a live music trailer and a ‘Laugh Yer’ Soul Off’ event within Comedy Clubs.