Ireland | Dublin
Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Based in mid east of Ireland, Dublin is situated on the famous river Liffey.
The city has a world-famous literary history, having produced many prominent literary figures, including Nobel laureates William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. Other influential writers and playwrights from Dublin include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift and the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker. It is arguably most famous, however, as the location of the greatest works of James Joyce Dubliners is a collection of short stories by Joyce about incidents and characters typical of residents of the city in the early part of the 20th century.
There is a vibrant nightlife in Dublin and it is reputedly one of the most youthful cities in Europe - with estimates of 50% of inhabitants being younger than 25. Furthermore in 2007, and again in 2009, Dublin was voted the friendliest city in Europe.
Dublin is a popular shopping spot for both Irish people and tourists. Dublin city centre has several shopping districts, including Grafton Street, Henry Street, Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Jervis Shopping Centre, and the newly refurbished Ilac Shopping Centre. On Grafton Street, the most famous shops include Brown Thomas and its sister shop BT2. Brown Thomas also contains "mini-stores" such as Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton on its Wicklow Street frontage.
The country side surrounding Dublin is speckled with some of Europe’s finest golf courses, while the famous K Club, which hosted the Ryder Cup Tournament in 2007 is less than 40 minutes from Dublin City centre.
Annual events include:
- St. Patrick's Day Festival, 17 March
- Dublin Horse Show, August
- Bulmer's International Comedy Festival, September
- Dublin Fringe Festival, October