I am off to Dublin next month for the weekend; can you recommend any thing I shouldn t miss

Natural History Museum

A. There are a great many sites to see in Dublin, you'll be hard pushed to cover them all especially as Dublin is considered to be one of the best places to party in Europe. If you do recover from an inevitable hangover in time, check out some of the following destinations:

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Trinity College: Built in 1592, this is the oldest university in Ireland. It is situated in the heart of the city and is a big tourist attraction (it also houses 10,000 students). A few of its main attractions include the Book of Kells (housed in the treasury room), a Latin transcript of the four gospels decorated by Irish monks, it dates back to 800AD; the printing house (1740), the long room (library) and the dining hall are also spectacular sections of the campus.

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Dublin Castle: Dublin Castle can be found on Cork Hill next to the Temple Bar area. The original Norman structure was built in the 13th century although only the Record Tower survives from the first construction. A few places of interest within the castle include the Portrait Gallery, the Wedgwood Room, the Royal Chapel and the Chester Beatty Library, which houses a fantastic collection of Middle Eastern and Asian books. Today the castle provides a backdrop to elections, tribunals and state events.

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Temple Bar: this area is found in the heart of the city and houses lots of pubs and bars and is one of the best places to hang out in the evening. It is also home to Dublin's oldest street Fishamble Street that was the site of an archaeological dig in 1980 and found to be a Viking enclave.

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Guinness Brewery: Located at St James Gate, the brewery dates back to 1759. A trip here will include an audio-visual history of the brewery and of course a pint of Guinness.

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Phoenix Park: is a huge area of parkland, occupying 700 hectares (1750 acres) of land (twice the size of Central Park in New York). It is home to Dublin Zoo, Ashtown Castle, and the Aras an Uachtarain (home of the Irish president).

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St Patrick's Cathedral: is the oldest church in Ireland and is believed to date back to the 12th Century in its present form, a wooden church was built on the same site in the 5th Century after St Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, used a well on the site to baptise his first Christian converts. Unsurprisingly, the cathedral is located on Patrick Street.

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Christchurch Cathedral: dates back to 1169. It is a very impressive stone building that house the remains of the Norman knight Strongbow (Robert de Clare) and the heart of Lawrence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin at the time of Strongbow's invasion. DVBLINIA: Located beside Christ Church Cathedral, is a multi-media presentation of Dublin's medieval heritage.

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Kilmainham Jail: Built in 1795, the jail has played an important part in Ireland's history and has imprisoned many Irish over the years, including Eamon de Valera, Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Charles Stewart Parnell and Robert Emmet. The jail closed in 1924 and remains the largest unoccupied jail in Europe; a guided tour provides an excellent background to Ireland's turbulent past.

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Leinster House: built in 1745, this is home to the Irish parliament (Oireachtas), including its lower (the Dail) and upper (Seanad) houses.

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National Museum: Established in 1890, the National Museum houses collections that date back to 7000 BC.

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National Gallery: The National Gallery opened in 1864 and houses work by Jack B. Yeats, Lavery and Leech.

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Q. Is it easy to find additional tourist information once I arrive in the city

A. There are a few branches of the Dublin Tourist Centre (run by the Bord Failte, the government agency that promotes Ireland as a tourist destination) around the city. Their main telephone number is +353 1 605 7799 and branches can be found in Suffolk Street and Baggot Bridge Street (it also has a branch at the airport and the Dun Laoghire ferry terminal).

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Q. When is the best time to visit

A. The weather is the same as it is in the UK, with summer providing the most sunshine, but also the most crowds. Springtime in Dublin is highly recommended. If you want to experience Dubliners at play visit on 17 March to celebrate St Patrick's Day or on 16 June for Bloomsday when the work of Dublin's most famous son, James Joyce is celebrated.

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Q. Is it easy to fly into Dublin

A. Dublin International airport has direct connections with most major cities in Europe and the US. The airport is located to the north of the city (about 7 miles out from the city centre) and has a great Airlink shuttle bus to the centre of town. If you arrive at Belfast International Air Port in Northern Ireland, you can travel direct to Dublin via bus or train - the Enterprise train runs a non-stop service between the two cities and takes two hours.

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Q. Is it easy to get around the city

A. Dublin lies on the east coast of Ireland (Eire). The city is split in half by the River Liffey and it is very easy to walk to all tourist sites within the centre, alternatively you can hire a bike as the city centre is relatively flat and it is easy to cycle through, although the traffic can be heavy at peak times.

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By Karen Anderson