City of charm

IT all started with a week off work in early November, nothing planned, and scepticism over all the hype about cheap flights available on the Internet. Dublin is a place I have always wanted to visit, so out of curiosity I keyed in the dates on the Ryanair website, flying from Leeds Bradford Airport, and came up with £9.95 per person each way.

Book it Danno, I thought, but in the short time it took to book the hotel the fights had gone up to £14.95 each way. Still very cheap, so I grabbed them.

The reason I hesitated in the first place was because I wanted to stay at the Arlington Hotel as I had heard it was the place to be in Dublin. My tip is to ring the hotel first or visit its website and check room availability for several dates. Then get surfing for the cheapest flights to match and book while you are still online.

It all worked so well and the Arlington and its Knightsbridge Bar certainly lived up to its recommendation.

Situated just to the side of O'Connell Bridge and overlooking the River Liffey, it couldn't be more central. It has only been open for a couple of years but it has a timeless feel - as though it has been there for ever.

We arrived after the short morning flight armed with a list of places to see and things to do, but after checking in we were drawn into the wooden panelled candlelit bar and decided to have lunch. We could have whiled away the afternoon listening to the music and soaking up the atmosphere in the huge yet somehow intimate room.

It took all our resolve to tear ourselves away, but needing to walk off our lunch and having just enjoyed a pint of Guinness, we decided to go and see how it was made.

The former Guinness Hopstore has now been transformed, to the tune of £30 million, into the Guinness Storehouse.

Six floors take you up and around a central glass atrium - shaped like a Guinness glass - on a fascinating journey through the history and brewing process. It leads to the rooftop, where we found the highest bar in Dublin - the glass-walled circular Gravity bar. Here you can enjoy a near-360 degree view of the city while you enjoy a pint.

Next stop was the Old Jameson Distillery where the art of whiskey making is explained. Although no longer a working distillery, a lot of the old equipment has been preserved to give visitors an interesting insight into the way things used to be, culminating in a little drop of the 'water of life' at the end of the tour.

We spent the next day visiting Trinity College to see the ancient Book of Kells and the magnificent Old Library and then just strolled through the streets, seeing the sights and popping in - just to give our legs a rest you understand - to one or two of Dublin's famous old pubs. The Stag's Head and the Palace Bar were my favourites.

It is well worth setting some time aside for some shopping too, with all the top labels to be found in and around Grafton Street, O'Connell Street and the many shopping centres. Prices seem to be cheaper than at home. I was miffed to see a pair of boots in a shop in O'Connell Street £14 cheaper than I had just paid for them in York.

Later it was back to the Arlington and the place was buzzing. Every night the hotel puts on a free live band and dance show, so after a superb dinner in the restaurant we joined the throng to watch the Irish dancing and foot-tapped, clapped and sang along with the Celtic Cowboys. It's amazing how many Irish songs we have soaked up over the years.

Which brings me to the statue of Molly Malone on the corner of Grafton Street. I had always imagined from the sad song we sang at school that Molly would be a poor consumptive waif, trying to earn a meagre living selling fish on the streets of Dublin.

Instead she is portrayed as a very buxom young woman displaying her more than ample charms - along with the cockles and mussels. No wonder she is affectionately known locally as the tart with the cart.

We didn't see the statue of Anna Livia as she was boarded up and due to be moved, but we understand the waterfall at the head of the famous Floozy in the Jacuzzi is now known as Viagra falls, but that's Dublin for you!

It's a city with a sense of humour and one of the friendliest places I have been to. I'm so glad my curiosity got the better of me.

Fact file

The Arlington Hotel

23-25 Bachelors Walk, O'Connell Bridge, Dublin.

Tel: 353 1 804 9100

e-mail: arlington@tinet.ie

To check availability the website address is www.arlington.ie

The hotel is offering two-night mid-week breaks from £109 per couple sharing, including full Irish breakfast. The offer is for breaks taken between Sunday and Thursday until the end of February, excluding Christmas and New Year and major international events.