Dublin 9, Dublin City

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The Botanic Gardens (Botanic Road; 01 804 0300; www.botanicgardens.ie; open 9am daily) are in Glasnevin and provide a great (free!) morning or afternoon out for visitors to Dublin. They are only a few minutes bus or taxi ride from the city centre and guided tours are available at various times of the day; the tea rooms are not especially pretty, but well worth knowing about - everything is made freshly on the premises, and salads include fresh herbs form the walled garden when available.

Further out from the city is DCU (Dublin College University) which is home to Ireland's newest and most exciting multi-venue performance space - The Helix (Collins Avenue, Glasnevin; 01 700 7000; www.thehelix.ie). The Helix is a multi-venue arts centre that comprises three auditoria serving a mixture of high quality music, drama and entertainment. Since its opening in 2002 by President Mary McAleese, The Helix has generated an impressive reputation for staging cutting edge and diverse theatre and music.