My wife and I are taking a trip to Eastern Europe in July 2008. Our return flight to the US includes a one night stay in Dublin. Does anybody have suggestions for a hotel, restaurant, or sight to see in our limited time (about 24 hours)?

Thanks!

I always stay at the Hilton Airport Dublin before my flight out.

It's a brand new hotel. Nothing spectacular, but very nice, clean rooms with all the latest perks.

www.hilton.co.uk/dublinairport

They run a free shuttle to the airport as well as a free evening shuttle to the small nearby town of Malahide.

If I'm staying in Dublin, I usually catch the Airport Bus to the airport the afternoon before, and then catch the free Hilton shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

www.dublinbus.ie

I hit Malahide for evening dinner and couple of drinks.

www.malahide.ie/channels/touristguide.htm

Airport hotels: maybe overpriced. I prefer to spend my time in the City.

AirLink Bus (#757?) begins service from O'Connell Street to Dublin airport about 5:00AM. It runs every 15-or-20 minutes after that. The 05:15 bus took about 25 min. I'm sure the later ones take longer because of traffic. It's a double decker bus and it has luggage racks.

I've stayed at the Wynn's Hotel on Abbey Street and walked the 100m-or-so to the Bus stop on the opposite side of O'Connell St. It's not a bad location for a 'base.'

I've also stayed at not-so-nice hotels, also on Abbey St., other side of O'Connell

If you're seeing one sight go to Kilmainham Gaol hands down. It will provide a really good overview of Irish history.

Hotel would depend on budget really. Jurys Hotels are pretty good value for pretty central locations if you're looking for a standard 3 star.

Restaurants, again, depends on budget/preference. Cafe, Bar, Deli is a pizza, pasta, salad place that is located in the old Bewleys buildings. Its more cafe-ish than restaurant but is good value but quite loud. For a great restaurant try Chapter One, its modern Irish, and expensive. Or I really like Le Gueuleton, rustic French food but you can't book.

I recommend the Westin Dublin. Great location, near Temple Bar but not in it, so very quiet, very classy. Right next door to Trinity College Dublin. That has the one thing I would pick- the Book of Kells and the Trinity College Library. Gorgeous bookshop too.

If you have an evening, do the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. A google search for that string will take you to the company, and you can reserve online.

Cheers, and lift a Guinness for me! I'll still be in Iraq then, but very close to coming home.

what do you think of a night out and an irish dancing show with dinner?

there is Johny Fox´s along with others.

Thanks to all! - these are great suggestions and exactly the type of info we were looking for

We are very excited for our trip (Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Dubrivnik, Kotor) and were very lucky to end up with a flight that required a stay in Dublin (another place we have never been).

64driver, I will lift a Guinness for you - and wish you a safe return home

Ooops - just noticed I misspelled Dubrovnik above...that was a typing mistake, not ignorance

Definitely see the Book of Kells. The room you enter first tells about the history of the book and the process of making it. Excellent and fascinating displays!

One more thing. If I had only one night in Dublin, I'd spend the evening at a pub that is known for its traditional music sessions.

Trinity Lodge (trinitylodge.com) on South Fredericks Street is my favorite place to stay in Dublin. It's a Georgian townhouse a few streets from Grafton Street (the hub of city centre) and within a stone's throw of Trinity College (where I went for postgrad). The hotel is a little pricey, but is comfortable and well appointed, with some fun Graham Knuttel paintings throughout. If your flight isn't too early in the morning, they have a lovely Irish breakfast. It's also two doors from Dunne and Crescenzi's restaurant and wine bar, which offers great food and wine and a rustic, lively atmosphere. If you do book, however, try for a back room; on occasion the club across the street can be loud letting out at 2 am.

If you like larger hotels, my husband and I sometimes stay at the Westbury, just off Grafton, which is always nice.