- Huge and diverse amount of restaurants, pubs, art and entertainment venues.
- Center of Dublin's nightlife.
- Very vibrant atmosphere in evenings and at night.
- Can be very crowded with large numbers of loud groups of party-people.
- High prices.
- Beware of pickpockets, aggressive drunks and frankly unhygienic conditions later in the evening.
- Area between the Bank of Ireland, Dame Street, Parliament Street and the Liffey.
- Once noted for Brothels, then for the workshops of craftsmen - until turning into a near-slum after the Second World War.
- Area was earmarked for industrial re-development, this was stopped in favor of establishing a "bohemian quarter".
The "mixed feelings" mentioned above are certainly grabbing me when I think of Temple Bar. The area was seedy and run down, earmarked for a railway terminus that never was built. Then the council decided to scrap the plans and replace them with a freeflowing area of cheap rents, business incentives, cobbled streets and "youth culture". From brothels to bistros Temple Bar went - and hasn't looked back since
What you will find today are numerous restaurants, cafes and pubs, hostels and hotels, as well as small shops selling everything from fishing tackle to drug paraphernalia with stuffed leprechauns and tattoo parlors in-between. Also located in Temple Bar are the Irish Film Centre, the Project Arts Centre and DESIGNyard. All well worth a visit. Most visitors, however, come for the beer.
This transforms Temple Bar during the cause of the day - mornings are dull, afternoons start slow, the evening has the area filling up with the dining crowd and tourists. And the later it gets, especially on the weekends, the less desirable Temple Bar can become. Obnoxious drunks, unidentifiable pools of semi-liquid consistency, pickpockets and very aggressive behavior can be encountered.
My recommendation therefore is to enjoy Temple Bar before 11 pm, unless you are prepared for some detrimental encounters. And always remember: What may be one man's "lively evening" is another man's pandemonium!
