As you’d expect from a city popular with visitors from all over the world, Dublin is a great place to drive, whether you’re staying in the city itself or using it as a base to explore the rest of Ireland’s cracking cities and serene scenery.

There are some key differences to driving in Ireland most notably that all road signs changed from mph to kph in 2005. Limits are 120kph on motorways, 100kph on national roads, 80kph for local roads and 50kph in all built-up areas.

Seatbelts are compulsory for the driver and all passengers and mobile phone use is illegal. You can find a useful guide to other Irish driving laws online. It’s also a good idea to keep some change or a card handy for the Republic of Ireland’s toll roads.

The centre of Dublin itself is very busy, with a one-way system in parts. It may be best to park just outside of the city and continue into its heart on foot. If you plan to avoid the centre altogether, you can use the M50 Orbital, but be aware that this has barrier-free tolling and you’ll have to pay online or via phone to avoid a charge.

The M1 leaves Dublin, heads past the airport and goes on to Drogheda and further north to Dundalk. The M4 leads west, the M7 south-west and the M3 north-west to Kells. If you plan on heading south, you’ll initially take the M50 and then the M11 – it’s a route that skirts the east coast. 

Dublin is a city with attitude to spare. It may have more than 1000 years of history to tell you about, but it also has an eye on the future, with cool areas and a sense of change among the old classics. The River Liffey splits the city into the northside and southside – you get to enjoy the best of both.

Small is beautiful

Dublin’s history can be explored at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College and Dublin Castle - but it can also be discovered at some quirkier places, too.

The Little Museum of Dublin takes a different approach, with all its items donated by the public, telling the story of the Irish capital in the 20^th century by the people who experienced it. It’s guided tour only, so book ahead and experience a local perspective – highlights include a first edition of James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and even a tour by a stand-up comedian.

Hugh Lane Gallery is home to inspiring modern art, but perhaps most unusual of all is the Francis Bacon studio. It was relocated to Dublin in 1998 from London and is exactly as the celebrated artist left it after his death – complete with brushes, unfinished pieces, furniture, boxes of Champagne and even the dust.

Dining in Dublin

You may need to find a new notch on your belt after a visit to Dublin. The food scene has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, mixing the old with the new, while it has a coffee culture to rival most international capitals.

Murphy’s Ice Cream on Wicklow Street use free range eggs and organic sugar to conjure up flavours such as caramelised brown bread, Dingle sea salt and baked banana Irish rainwater sorbet.

Chapter One is an old hand. In the basement of the Dublin Writers Museum, the Michelin-starred restaurant has more than 20 years of fine dining behind it, playing on Irish food traditions to create contemporary dishes. Expect wild turbot, salt marsh duck and Clarenbridge oysters.

For something less formal, Jo’Burger is a local favourite with three branches. Build your own burger including bush peach curry sauce and Emmental cheese, or perhaps peanut chilli sauce and coriander. The same owner also serves up superlative steak at Bear and pizza at Skinflint, while his Crackbird offers moreish fried chicken.

Music and mummies

St Patrick’s Day in March might be the loudest Dublin gets, but it’s a lively city whenever you visit, helped in no small part by its love affair with music. You can hear traditional music at dozens of venues across the capital.

Irish myths and legends also contribute to Dublin’s charisma, with many a landlord claiming their pub has ghosts. Rumour also has it that eerie Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison, houses the ghosts of inmates, while St. Michan’s has a spooky secret – five vaults that contain dozens of mummified corpses. While the atmosphere preserves the mummies, the coffins are rotting, so that body parts are revealed. You can even gently touch the finger of the long-dead giant they call ‘The Crusader’.

Stay in the city or get behind the wheel and head out to see the lush green landscape of Ireland that lies mere miles away. Car hire in Dublin offers the opportunity to see this exciting, one-of-a kind city your way.