Ireland.com

County Dublin

Check out what's happening in Dublin City

Take a trip round Dublin Bay or shop on Grafton Street

Dublin punches way above its weight as a tourist destination.

It is the sixth most visited city in Europe, behind London and Paris but ahead of Amsterdam, Madrid and Berlin. Not bad for a city with a population of just 1.4m.

For any tourist, the city is a wonderful place to visit – the centre is about 3km square and all attractions are within walking distance.

For first-time visitors, there is plenty to see – for culture vultures the capital has all the country's major galleries and museums, while nature lovers can enjoy the city parks including Stephen's Green and Phoenix Park – Europe's largest.

For those returning to Dublin as visitors there will be plenty of change to observe.

And for all, there is plenty of craic – Ireland's hospitality is legendary and Dublin is no exception. The city is renowned for its theatre and music, contemporary and traditional. And the variety of pubs is phenomenal with trendy late night bars vying with traditional Victorian hostelries for custom. A new-found love of al fresco living (partly down to the smoking ban) has changed the atmosphere on the streets, with plenty of cafes and bars spilling out onto the streets adding to Dublin's ambience.

There has been an extraordinary amount of regeneration in the last twenty years and the City fathers now take its architecture and history seriously with conservation of the grand Georgian squares and elegant streets now the watchword.

Other pockets of Dublin have risen like the phoenix from the ashes with places such as the Docklands and Smithfield – an old pony market favoured by the traveller community – transformed into chi-chi residential districts.

The banks of the Liffey have been gentrified on both sides, with sculptures, a new walking bridge and a boardwalk making promenades by the river a possibility.