Culture for free!

There are two museums that I love in Dublin and both of them are free:
- Chester Beatty Library: The collection of rare art objects and manuscripts from Middle-Eastern and Extreme-Eastern is amazing! The first floor gathers mainly precious books and the second floor is entirely dedicated to religions.
Check http://www.cbl.ie/ for more info!
- National Gallery: This huge museum possesses 54 rooms and 11 000 pieces of art…among which paintings from Yeats, Veronese, Caravage (The arrest of Christ), Rubens (Annonciation), Rembrandt (Young Woman…my favorite!), Goya, Greco…It’s absolutely fantastic!National Gallery, Leinster Lawn, Merrion Square West; 661-51-33

Four Court Hostel: Great Value!

Before finding my apartment, I spent a few days in this lovely, fun hostel which is very cheap. Rates are around €16 for a 16 beds dormitory, €25 for a 4 beds dormitory, and €33 for a double room. The breakfast is included. You have access to the laundry, to Internet and there is a cloak-room where you can leave your luggage. The two living rooms (TV, music player, billiard table available) are always crowded with people from all around the world willing to make some friends and the reception is young and dynamic. The hostel is located on Merchant’s Quay, five minutes walking from Temple Bar and all the pubs. Definitely a great address!Four Court Hostel, 15-17 Merchant’s Quay; 672-58-39; www.fourcourtshostel.com

From the airport ...no need to pay a cab!

Instead of paying a cab, you can take a bus Airlink for €6 (€3 for children). The buses nº747 and 748 go directly to the train station Busáras and O’Connell Street. Most of the time, the driver agrees to drop you very close from the place you want to go to.There are buses every 15 minutes from 6am to 11pm.

Free stuff!!!

It's unbelievable! On the Dublin waste website you can get second-hand stuff for FREE!
You can either give your unwanted goods instead of throwing them away or pick them up. It's completely free of charge.

If you want to trade an item?

You go to www.dublinwaste.ie you click on Free Trade and you set up a Dublinwaste user account and list your items. You can also include a photograph and give some details. Then you leave your contact details.

If you want to get things for free?

You go to http://www.dublinwaste.ie/ you click on Free Trade and you select a category (furniture, electronics, clothes, CDs, televisions...) and browse the items.
When you see something you like you just contact the person and go to have a look at it.

There's another website like this one: http://www.jumbletown.ie/ but on this one you can have a chat online with the buyer and ask him questions regarding the item.

Cheap Banking

I just found out that only four Irish banks (AIB, NIB, Ulster Bank and Permanent TSB) offer the best deals for your day-to-day banking, with no fees or bank charges even when you're overdrawn!

Cheap Apartments

As any young person when I came to Ireland, I wanted a nice apartment in the city centre. But I quickly realised that not a single person can afford to rent an apartment in Dublin 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The suburb of Dublin is more reasonable. For example Dublin 8 or Dublin 7 is quite close to the city centre and the rents are affordable.

You can go to these websites to find accommodation:

www.daft.ie
www.myhometolet.ie
www.let.ie
www.findahome.ie

Another solution is to share an apartment or even a house with other people. In this case a selection is made by the tenants in order to find the person who will suit their way of living and requirements. Just make sure you can get on well together.

If you go to these websites you can post an ad:

www.daft.ie
http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/5041_1.html
http://www.vaveeva.com/flats.aspx

Cheap Restaurants

Restaurants in Dublin are very expensive. A plate of pasta can be at €20-€25. I advice you to go to the restaurant early (before 7.30pm) so you can take an early bird menu and pay less money.

If you like pizzas:
Steps of Rome is one of my favourite restaurants. It’s an Italian restaurant in Chatham Street (near Grafton Street). It may be small (8 tables) but the food is delicious and very cheap. You can eat pizzas, pasta, Mediterranean starters and home-made desserts. Everything is freshly-made and so good!
You can eat in or take away a pizza or just a slice. The restaurant is run by Italians and there’re always plenty of Italian customers, I guess it’s because the food tastes as if it was made in Italy!

If you’re very hungry:
You can have copious menus for a low price at Pizza Hut. The food is good, maybe a bit greasy. They also have nice menus to share with friends.

If you’re hungry in the night:
You can still grab a slice of pizza in a pub called: Difontaine’s in Crown Alley in Temple Bar. They have freshly-made slices of pizza to take away.