Rathgar is a suburb just to the south of Dublin city centre, it is a quiet, mainly residential area with a couple of guesthouses serving the visitor who wishes to stay in this part of the city. It is an easy drive or bus trip into Dublin, or even a walk as it's only just over 2 miles.
Rathgar Mini Guide
Most people visiting Rathgar would be visiting Dublin itself as it's so close, this is an extremely vibrant and cosmopolitan city nowadays, but still teeming with the history of Ireland through the ages. There are churches and museums galore in this city, some of the museums dedicated to people such as James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, both of whom were born in Dublin. For a more modern son of Dublin there is a statue of Phil Lynott, the former guitarist with Thin Lizzy just off Grafton Street. Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university and much of it including it's impressive library is open to the public.
Dublin as the capital of Ireland also has the seat of parliament – the Houses of the Oireachtas, if you contact your local Senator it may be possible to arrange a visit here to see exactly how the country is run. Dublin is also the shopping capital of Ireland and lots of people visit the city purely for this purpose. Grafton Street is still the main and most famous shopping street with it's flagship store, Brown Thomas, however all the major international chain stores are represented in the city as well, which can make for a very expensive trip!
Many people now visit Dublin for a weekend and hen and stag parties are extremely popular. The main night life area is Temple Bar which is a maze of streets in the old quarter of the city on the south bank of the River Liffey. There are lots of small quirky shops here and of course lots and lots of pubs and restaurants. You will find every sort of night life you can think of from a traditional Irish pub with live music and lots of “craic”, to sophisticated restaurants with cuisine from across the world, including Mongolian and Nepalese.
Of course people also come to Dublin for the sporting fixtures. The new Aviva stadium on the old Lansdowne Road site is the home of Ireland rugby and football and there are often games going on here, particularly at the time of Six Nations Rugby Championships or in cup qualifying period. For anyone interested in Gaelic Football or Hurling a visit to the Croke Park Museum is a must, this gives a unique insight to the history of the Gaelic sports. For horse racing enthusiasts there are the race courses at Leopardstown and Punchestown which has it's main 5 day festival every April, within easy reach of the city.