Temple Bar

Temple Bar is the name of a street and of the whole small district around it, a tangle of narrow cobbled lanes between Dame Street and the south bank of the Liffey, and it is where almost every visitor ends up on their first night in Dublin. In the 1980s the area was earmarked for a bus station and much of it lay derelict; artists and small businesses moved in on cheap leases, and the state then backed its regeneration as a cultural quarter, which is why, under the hen parties and the souvenir shops, it is still home to some of the city's most interesting arts venues. The Irish Film Institute screens independent and classic films and has a good café and bar. Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, the Gallery of Photography and Project Arts Centre show contemporary work, and Meeting House Square, with its retractable canopy, hosts a food market on Saturdays and outdoor screenings in summer. But the main draw is the pubs. The red-fronted Temple Bar pub is one of the most photographed buildings in Ireland, and the area's bars have live traditional and folk music from early afternoon to late at night, every day of the year. It is loud, cheerful, crowded and expensive: a pint here costs noticeably more than a few streets away. The trick is to enjoy it for what it is — wander the lanes, catch a session, cross the Ha'penny Bridge at dusk — and then head to the classic pubs nearby for a quieter, better-value drink.

Walking it: start at the Ha'penny Bridge, the elegant cast-iron footbridge of 1816 named for the toll once charged to cross it, and duck under Merchant's Arch into Temple Bar. Follow Temple Bar street west past the famous pubs, detour into Meeting House Square and Eustace Street for the galleries and the Film Institute, and finish at the western end near Christ Church, where the lanes are quieter and the restaurants better. By day the district is pleasant and relaxed, with markets, street performers and vintage shops; from early evening it fills, and on weekend nights it becomes one long party, which is fun if that is what you want and a crush if not. Keep an eye on bags in the crowds, as anywhere busy.

Where to drink instead (or as well): the Palace Bar on Fleet Street, at the eastern edge of Temple Bar, is a beautifully preserved Victorian pub with a literary past. The Stag's Head, tucked down a lane off Dame Street, has stained glass and mahogany worthy of a church. South of Dame Street, the Long Hall on South Great George's Street and Kehoe's off Grafton Street are perfect old pubs, and Mulligan's on Poolbeg Street is famed for its pint of Guinness. For traditional music in a less touristy setting, the Cobblestone in Smithfield and O'Donoghue's on Merrion Row are institutions. A guided traditional music pub crawl, led by musicians, is a good way to learn how sessions work before you strike out alone.

Eating around it: Temple Bar's own restaurants are mixed, aimed squarely at visitors, but the streets on its fringes are among the best places to eat in the city. South Great George's Street, Drury Street and Dame Lane, a few minutes south, are packed with good-value bistros, wine bars, Asian kitchens and cafés, and Saturday's food market in Meeting House Square is good for a cheap lunch. Base yourself for a day around College Green, Dame Street and the Creative Quarter, and Temple Bar becomes simply the lively shortcut between them and the river.