INFO:
Most goods in Ireland carry a hefty surcharge of 23% Value Added Tax (VAT). Thus goods that would be actually priced at € 100 will cost you € 123. Or, to reverse the process, without the added VAT a € 100 souvenir would only set you back by € 81.30.
The good news is that any goods purchased by non-EU visitors and taken out of the country within three months may qualify for a VAT refund. To avail yourself of this you need to get a detailed receipt showing name, address and the VAT paid.
Take these to the Customs office at your port of exit, have them stamped and the goods expected. These checked receipts can then be sent to the store for a refund of the VAT.
The use of a VAT Refund Agency is much more comfortable. They will act as an intermediary between the customer, the seller and the authorities.
For a (reasonable) charge these agencies either
- provide for an immediate tax-free sale at the point of purchase or
- refund the VAT paid at the airport or
- refund the VAT paid later (by cheque or credit card transfer).
Please note that no VAT is paid on books and children's clothing or footwear. And unfortunately VAT on services cannot be reclaimed.
On the bonus side - many services directly related to the tourism and hospitality industry now enjoy a reduced VAT rate.
Ok now for some suggestions of what to do and see in Dublin. I added a map at the bottom and circled the suggestions closest to our accommodations in red. Our accommodations are the BLUE DOT inside the circle and star.
Drinkers and Shoppers:
Old Jameson Distillery
The Old Jameson Distillery is an Irish whiskey tourist attraction located just off Smithfield Square in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening as an attraction in 1997, it receives between 300,000 and 350,000 guests per year. The Old Jameson Distillery is the original site where Jameson Irish Whiskey was distilled until 1971. It is now a visitors center that provides guided tours, tutored whiskey tastings, bars, a restaurant, and a gift shop.
https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/us/visit-us/oldjamesondistillery
Guinness Storehouse
Guinness Storehouse is a Guinness-themed tourist attraction at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening in 2000, it has received over four million visitors. The Storehouse covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped in the form of a pint of Guinness. The ground floor introduces the beer's four ingredients, and the brewery's founder, Arthur Guinness. Other floors feature the history of Guinness advertising and include an interactive exhibit on responsible drinking. The seventh floor houses the Gravity Bar with views of Dublin and where visitors may drink a pint of Guinness included in the price of admission, which was €18 in March 2015, described as "overpriced" by Condé Nast Traveler. In 2006, a new wing opened incorporating a live installation of the present day brewing process.
https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en?gclid=cohnrqh8imkcfdcygqodjvefgg
Temple Bar
Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. Unlike other parts of Dublin's city centre, it is promoted as Dublin's cultural quarter and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists. Popular venues include The Palace Bar, The Temple Bar Pub, Oliver St.John Gogarty's and The Auld Dubliner.
http://www.thetemplebarpub.com/
Grafton Street
Grafton Street is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city center, the other being Henry Street. It runs from Saint Stephen's Green in the south to College Green in the north. In 2008, Grafton Street was the fifth most expensive main shopping street in the world, at €5,621/m²/year. If you like street performers you will find plenty here.
RED LINE ON THE MAP
http://graftonstreet.ie/
Religious:
St Patrick's Cathedral
Built in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral stands adjacent to the famous well where tradition has it Saint Patrick baptized converts on his visit to Dublin.
The parish church of Saint Patrick on this site was granted collegiate status in 1191, and raised to cathedral status in 1224. The present building dates from 1220. The Cathedral is today the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (a church of the Anglican communion) and also serves as a popular tourist attraction in Ireland.
Today the Cathedral is open to all people as an architectural and historical site, but principally as a place of worship. Charges are made for those visiting for sightseeing and these contributions directly support the future of this holy and historic building.
http://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/index.aspx
Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the Church of Ireland. It is situated in Dublin, Ireland, and is the elder of the capital city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St Patrick's Cathedral.
http://christchurchcathedral.ie/
Cultural, Historic, Misc:
Trinity College & Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland or may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created c. 800. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.
http://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/
Chester Beatty Library
The Chester Beatty Library was established in Dublin, Ireland in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present library, on the grounds of Dublin Castle, opened on February 7, 2000, the 125th anniversary of Beatty's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.
http://www.cbl.ie/?gclid=CPz09Pv8iMkCFYM6gQodke0N9A
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the seat of the United Kingdom government's administration in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland. The Castle served as the seat of English, then later British government of Ireland under the Lordship of Ireland, the Kingdom of Ireland, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
http://www.dublincastle.ie/
St Stephen's Green
St Stephen's Green is a city centre public park in Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard, which officially opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880. The park is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street, and to a shopping centre named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of Dublin's Luas tram lines. It is often informally called Stephen's Green. At 22 acres, it is the largest of the parks in Dublin's main Georgian garden squares. Others include nearby Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square.
http://ststephensgreenpark.ie/
Notables but a cab ride away:
Leinster House Irish Parliament
Leinster House is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its members and staff. The most recognizable part of the complex, and the 'public face' of Leinster House, continues to be the former ducal palace at the core of the complex.
http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=697
Kilmainham Goal
Kilmainham Gaol is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the British, and in 1923 by the Irish Free State.
http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/kilmainhamgaol/
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