24 hours in Dublin for under €25

So you’ve just arrived in Dublin and you want to see what mayhem you can exact with minimal damage to your pocket? Well, maybe not mayhem, but some fun and excitement. We’re willing to take on the challenge and hopefully leave you with some change to spare.

9 am Breakfast Time

To start your day, stroll over to Trinity University and pay a visit to The Buttery in Parliament Square. The place has “Student Survival Packs” that will fill you up for as little as €3.50, but they also offer cereal, smoothies and a full Irish breakfast for cutthroat prices not to be found anywhere else in Dublin. After this, you can choose to traverse the cobbled squares of Trinity or maybe pay a visit to the wacky menagerie that is the Science Gallery on the East side of the University.

10:30 am St. Stephens Green

Time to get the blood flowing, so enjoy a walk around Dublin’s most popular park, with a range of hidden alcoves and interesting statues to keep you entertained for an hour or two. Maybe you can feed some leftover breakfast to the hungry birds that navigate the park lake or people watch from a sunny patch of grass.

Noon Coffee Break

Hatch and Sons are just off St. Stephen’s Green and this high-end restaurant offers decent filter coffee for €1. Buy 5 and you get your 6th one free. You can’t beat that value.

1 pm Lunch Time

Are you seeing a pattern? We have food on our brains in ISI, but the food is great in this city, so why not enjoy it? Oxmantown, a stone’s throw from school, is renowned for their sandwiches and for just €5.50 you can choose from Ham Hock and Grilled Gruyére, Pastrami and Sauerkraut, Roast Pork, Chicken and Stuffing and many more options. They also offer €2 coffees if you are still craving some caffeine. If you happen to be exploring on a Saturday, the Temple Bar market is a haven for foodies with filling lunches coming in at €5/6.

3 pm Free Museum

They’re many free museums that you can visit in Dublin city from historical interest like, The Archaeology Museum or Collins Barracks to quirkier places such as, The Chester Beatty or Hugh Lane Gallery. If you’re willing to fork out some cash, The Little Museum is a brilliant introduction to Dublin city with nearly all the artefacts donated by local Dublin people. You can easily while away two hours in the museum and it will only set you back €4.50 with a student card.

5 pm Time to find some Dinner

It isn’t difficult to eat dinner in Dublin for under a tenner, there’s a range of places that offer great food and even better variety without causing your purse too much of a strain. If you want to have a cheap eat, visit one of the many delis located in Spar or Centra and grab a roll packed full of goodness for around €3.50. Alternatively, pay a visit to Capel Street and you’re in an international food mecca, with traditional Vietnamese Pho in Aobaba, a Brazilian buffet in Boteco or D2, Kimchi wafting from Arisu, Sushi in Musashi or traditional Irish cuisine in the Boar’s Head all in the €6 – €10 marker.

7 pm Time for a Pint

Steer clear of Temple bar if you want value for money, the popular watering hole is a favourite among tourists, but you can expect to pay 1 or 2 euro extra for your pint of Guinness. Instead, escape the tourist trap and head for Merrion square where the popular nightclub Howl at the Moon offers any drink for €2.50 on a Wednesday and seasonally on a Thursday. If you want to shave off an extra 50 cent, cross the city in search of Dicey’s situated on Harcourt Street and you can pick up a pint for as little as €2.

2 am Still Hungry?

Do as the Irish do and purchase a huge bag of chips from Leo Burdocks in Temple Bar Square. The Dublin takeaways have been making and selling the typical Irish dish of Fish and Chips since 1913. Beshoff’s, their rivals, also make a mean bag of chips and you can find them on O’Connell Street. It’s not a complete bag without the salt and vinegar, so if you say yes, be prepared for the heartburn.

Spot the idiom:

Cutthroat: To bring about someone’s downfall. To be ruthless.
A stone’s throw: A short distance.
Fork out: To distribute or supply something.