David Whitley shows us three different ways to make the most of a day in Ireland's capital.
PENNY PINCH
Grab a breakfast pastry at the Marks & Spencer coffee bar on Grafton Street (marksandspencer.ie; $2.35) before hitting up the free archaeology and natural history branches of the National Museum of Ireland (museum.ie).
It's an easy walk to Camden Street, a haven for quality cheap eats. The sandwiches at Listons (listonsfoodstore.ie; $5.75) are perfect for lunch.
Take a bus ($9.30 for a day pass) to Phoenix Park - twice the size of New York's Central Park - for peaceful walking trails.
Eat tapas before 7pm at the Market Bar (marketbar.ie; $18.90) to get a free beer. Then bed down in the George Frederic Handel Hotel (georgefrederichandelhotel.com; $73) in Temple Bar.
TOTAL: $100
EASY DOES IT
Kick off with eggs benedict at simple-but-superb Larder (thelardercaferestaurant.ie; $13.50) before taking a tour around Trinity College (tcd.ie; $13.50). The library, featuring the beautiful Book of Kells, is the highlight.
For lunch, feast at Vintage Kitchen (thevintagekitchen.com; $13.50), Dublin's arty, music-loving hip cafe du jour.
Take a cab (nrc.ie; about $16) to the must-see Kilmainham Gaol (heritageireland.ie; $8.10) for a tour through Ireland's penal and revolutionary history.
In the evening, enjoy perfectly spiced Indian at Jaipur (jaipur.ie; $27) before retiring to the handsomely intimate Cliff Townhouse (theclifftownhouse.com; $209) next to St Stephen's Green.
TOTAL: $300.60
SPLASH OUT
You'll be staying in the Docklands' hyper-cool Marker Hotel (themarkerhoteldublin.com; $338, including breakfast), so gorge on the impressive breakfast buffet.
Work it off by climbing 44 metres up over the Croke Park Gaelic football and hurling stadium on the Etihad Skyline tour (skylinecrokepark.ie; $27), then go to the two-Michelin-star Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud (restaurantpatrickguilbaud.ie; $67.50) for a magical lunch.
In the afternoon, take an hour-long tour on a horse and carriage ($94.50) from the nearby entrance to St Stephen's Green. Then finish with the wine-matched five-course tasting menu at Thornton's (thorntonsrestaurant.com; $203), which does French fine dining using Irish ingredients.
TOTAL: $730
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