If you go to Ireland in July or August, you can expect reasonably warm weather, longer days and a lively menu of festivals. However, this is peak season, which presents some challenges if you're wanting a bit of solitude. Spring and autumn can also be delightful seasons, with smaller crowds of tourists. Winter weather can be downright inhospitable, but Ireland (the west coast in particular) does look beautiful in the rain, and there's nearly always a pub nearby to duck into. However, in many Irish towns restaurants and B&Bs close down around October and don't reopen until Easter. With a few advance phone calls you can avoid getting stranded somewhere with no place to sleep or eat.

Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland, located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region. The city has been Ireland's capital city since mediæval times. It is also the largest city on the island of Ireland. Dublin enjoys a maritime temperate climate characterized by mild winters, cool summers, and a lack of temperature extremes. Dublin is a major cultural centre in Ireland and it is the origin of many prominent artists and writers such as James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker, and Roddy Doyle. Dubliners is a collection of short stories by James Joyce about incidents and characters typical of residents of the city in the early part of the 20th century. Ulysses, also by James Joyce, a novel set in Dublin, is full of topographical detail and is both acclaimed and controversial.

The National Print Museum of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, the Chester Beatty Library and three centres of the National Museum of Ireland are located in Dublin.

Temple Bar is an important place for night life and often people from Great Britain and beyond visit for the weekend.