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Listings
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Airlines
Aer Lingus, 41 Upper O'Connell St and 13 St. Stephen's Green (tel 886 8888,
www.aerlingus.ie
); British Airways, 60 Dawson St (tel 1800/626747,
www.british-airways.com
); British Midland, Merrion Centre (tel 283 8833; Dublin Airport tel 677 4422,
www.britishmidland.com
); Ryanair, 3 Dawson St (tel 669 7800
www.ryanair.ie
).
Banks Banking hours are Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, except Thurs when they stay open until 5pm. Main high-street banks are the Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland; branches throughout the city centre. ATMs are widely available throughout the city. Bicycles Bicycles can be hired from: Bike Store, 58 Lower Gardiner St (tel 872 5399); Dublin Bike Tours, 3 Mornington Rd, Ranelagh (tel 679 0899); Track Cycles, 8 Botanic Rd, Glasnevin (tel 850 0252). Car rental Budget at the airport (tel 844 5150 or 874 5919), in the city (tel 837 9611 or 9802); Dan Dooley Kenning, 42-43 Westland Row (tel 677 2723); Thrifty Rent-a-Car, 14 Duke St (tel 679 9420); Windsor Car Rentals (tel 1800 515 800, www.windsor.ie ); plus all the usual desks at the airport. Counselling Rape Crisis Centre, 70 Lower Leeson St (tel 661 4911 or tel 1800 77 88 88); Samaritans, 112 Marlborough St (tel 872 7700); Well Woman's Centre, 73 Lower Leeson St (tel 661 0083). Departures Buses to the airport set off from Eden Quay (not all of them go into the airport compound, so check with the driver). For the ferries, take the DART service to Dun Laoghaire; or a bus (#53 or #53A) to Dublin Port from Eden Quay. Buses to all parts of the country (Bus Eireann) leave from Busaras or the streets immediately around (Eden Quay, Abbey Street, Talbot Street); enquiries all handled at the information office located at 59 Upper O'Connell St, opposite the main tourist information office (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-1pm; tel 836 6111). Officially approved private buses are generally cheaper: ask to see the bus information file at the tourist office. Unofficial buses may be cheaper still; they leave from various points around the city, especially on Friday and Sunday evenings. Check the Evening Herald for advertisements - weekend buses generally need advance booking. Trains to the limited parts of Ireland served by the national train system leave from Heuston Station (still sometimes known by its old name of Kingsbridge) on the southside (Cork, Waterford, Limerick, Killarney, Tralee, Athlone, Galway, Westport, Ballina, Claremorris) or Connolly Station (aka Amiens St Station) on the northside (Belfast, Derry, Portadown, Dundalk, Sligo, Arklow, Wexford, Rosslare Harbour). Mainline commuter trains serving coastal towns north and south of Dublin call at Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse Street stations. For train information call 836 6222. Embassies Australia, Fitzwilton House, Wilton Terrace (tel 676 1517); Canada, 65 St Stephen's Green (tel 478 1988); Denmark, 121 St Stephen's Green (tel 475 6404); France, 36 Ailesbury Rd (tel 269 4777); Netherlands, 160 Merrion Rd (tel 269 3444); Norway, 34 Molesworth St (tel 662 1800); Sweden, Sun Alliance House, Dawson St (tel 671 5822); UK, 31-33 Merrion Rd (tel 269 5211); United States, 42 Elgin Rd, Ballsbridge (tel 668 8777). Exchange American Express Foreign Exchange in Dublin Tourism's main office, Suffolk St (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm) and Thomas Cook, 118 Grafton St, give a fair rate; although the best exchange rates are given by banks . Ferry companies Irish Ferries, 16 Westmoreland St (tel 661 0511); Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. (tel 1800 551743); Merchant Ferries (tel 819 2999); Stena Line, 15 Westmoreland St (tel 204 7777). Gaelic football All the major games of the season are played at Croke Park (tel 831 2099). The championship season runs from mid-February, culminating in the All Ireland finals on the third Sunday in September. Prices reflect the status of the match, with stand tickets starting from ?20/€25.40 for semi-finals and ?25/€31.75 to ?50/€63.50 for finals. Gay Switchboard (tel 872 1055). Horse racing You shouldn't leave Dublin without experiencing Irish horse racing (and betting). Many of the bigger races are run out in Co. Kildare , but check out more local events at Leopardstown (tel 289 3994); its major jump-race festival is held on the four days after Christmas, while in early February its most prestigious steeplechase, the Hennessy Gold Cup, is run. Dublin Bus run a special service to Leopardstown on race days, leaving an hour and a half from Busaras before the first race (?3/€3.81 return). Tickets to the races range in price from ?8/€10.16 to ?10/€12.70, with an extra ?5/€6.35 to ?7/€8.89 for admission to the enclosure. Hospitals northside: Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Eccles St (tel 830 1122); southside: Meath Hospital, Heytesbury St (tel 453 6555). Dial 999 for an ambulance. Hurling As with gaelic football the important games are played at Croke Park; the championship season which begins in early summer finishes with the All Ireland final on the first Saturday in September. Laundry EXEL Launderette, 12 Main St, Donnybrook (tel 269 7172); Nova Launderette, 2 Belvedere St, just off Dorset St (tel 855 6736); Powder Launderette, 42a South Richmond St (tel 478 2655); Shirley's, 141 Rathmines Rd (tel 962 2228). Left luggage There are left luggage offices at Busaras (Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm), Connolly Station (Mon-Sat 7.40am-9.30pm, Sun 9.15am-1pm & 5-9pm) and Heuston Station (Mon-Sat 7.15am-8.35pm, Sun 8am-3pm & 5-9pm). Legal advice Free Legal Advice Centre, Administration office, 49 South William St (tel 679 4239). Pharmacy O'Connell's, 55 Lower O'Connell St (tel 873 0427), is open till 10pm daily. Phones At least half of Dublin's public phones now operate on CallCards, available from newsagents and garages. International payphones are available in the GPO. Photography One Hour Photo, 110 Lower Grafton St (tel 677 4472), or 5 St Stephen's Green (tel 671 8578). Police The main metropolitan Garda station is on Harcourt Street, just off St Stephen's Green (tel 873 2222). In an emergency dial 999. Post office General Post Office, O'Connell St (Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 10.30am-6.30pm; tel 705 7000). Rugby The big games - the Six Nations Championship matches held between January and March - are played at the Lansdowne Rd Stadium in Ballsbridge (tel 668 9300).
Travel agents
CIE Tours, 35 Lower Abbey St (tel 830 1888), is the biggest internal tour operator, if you want a bus trip around Ireland; Thomas Cook, 118 Grafton St (tel 677 1721), and Trailfinders 4-5 Dawson St (tel 677 7888,
www.trailfinders.com
), for general travel services; USIT, 19-21 Aston Quay, O'Connell Bridge (tel 679 1600), are experts in student/youth travel. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Ireland,
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