Dublin Travel Guide (Dublin, Ireland)

Dublin Tourism's main office is housed in a converted church on Suffolk Street (July & Aug Mon-Sat 8.30am-6.30pm, Sun 10.30am-3pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm; tel 1850 230330, www.visitdublin.com ). The office is always incredibly busy, but it has much of the most frequently needed information posted on the walls, and a vast collection of literature and maps (not all of it is free), as well as a bookshop and café. A room-booking service for accommodation in Dublin is also available and costs £3/€3.81, although if you have a credit card you can avoid the queues by using the private booking service recommended by Bord Fáilte (tel 1800 668 668) instead for the same price. Other branches of Dublin Tourism's offices are at Dublin Airport (daily 8am-10pm; tel 844 5977), the port at Dún Laoghaire (opening times vary according to ferry times, minimum hours daily 9am-8pm; tel 284 6361) and at Dublin Port (June-Aug for ferry arrivals). Bord Fáilte has a much smaller office at Baggot St Bridge (9am-5.15pm; tel 1850 230330, www.ireland.travel.ie ). An excellent branch of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board at 16 Nassau St (tel 1850 230 230, www.ni-tourism.com ), provides a high standard of service.

The USIT office is situated on Aston Quay just opposite O'Connell Bridge (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-1pm; tel 602 1600, www.usitnow.ie ). USIT not only books bed and breakfasts during the summer but also has its own hostel, budget hotel and a travel agency offering student discounts on ferries and flights. Call in here for Travelsave stamps , ISIC cards and information on everything that's going on in Dublin.

For listings of Dublin events, the best sources are the fortnightly magazine In Dublin , which you can pick up from any newsagent, and the Dublin Event Guide , free from the tourist office and most cafés around the city. The Irish Times and Evening Herald have theatre and cinema listings daily; the former also does a good weekly overview in its Saturday edition.