Renowned travel guide Condé Nast Traveler has told its followers to avoid Temple Bar, Grafton Street and the Full Irish Breakfast if visiting Dublin.
In its slideshow on the website titled "What Not to Do in Dublin", Dublin-based writer Emily Westbrooks offers alternatives to what she describes as "tourist traps" prior to St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Among the most controversial in the "Don'ts" is Temple Bar, where Westbrooks says "you'll be surrounded by crowds of tourists, and will pay twice as much for a pint." Also, she advises against Grafton Street, which is "lined with chain stores", suggesting the Creative Quarter as better location for the discerning customer.
Although she also tells travellers to avoid the Full Irish ("heavy fare at best and gluttonous at worst") as well as hop-on, hop-off tours, the slideshow article is far from a hatchet job on the capital as Westbrooks suggests many appealing attractions in the city that she describes as full of "charm and history".
In the "Do's" she recommends tourists to go outside the city centre to Glendalough or Newgrange, visit the free museums, use the city bikes and try some of the fine local fare, which Condé Nast say will help a visitor to Dublin get "the most out of Ireland's beautiful capital."
