Dublin's Temple Bar area has long been a jewel in the crown of our capital's tourist industry, attracting flocks of curious foreigners every year to sample the various charms it has to offer. Locals, though, generally avoid it like the plague, wary of the over-priced food and drink and the throngs of bodies one has to manoeuvre through to get to the bar/bathroom/your mates.
Now, according to a report in the Huffington Post, it seems like the rest of the world might finally be catching up to what us Dubliners have known for quite a while: Temple Bar is a bit shit. Listed alongside the likes of Niagara Falls, Disney World in Florida and Las Vegas, Huffington Post writer Caroline Morse describes Temple Bar as "the rampant fleecing of drunken tourists" and that "it should be avoided at all costs."
It continues: "This small area caters to visitors competing to see how drunk they can get in 'authentic' bars and nightclubs (aka overpriced tourist traps). Avoid at all costs and seek out a pub literally anywhere else in Dublin for a better experience."
To be fair, there are a few decent spots in Temple Bar that us locals have sussed out (Garage Bar, Project Arts Centre, New Theatre - we're looking at you) but it's hard to summon up any resistance to the allegations put forth by HuffPo when you wander into one of the more tourist-y bars and get charged somewhere in the neighbourhood of €7.50 for a perfectly average pint of lager.
The article speaks very highly of Dublin in general, praising its "gorgeous architecture and green spaces" but some of the more tourist-friendly bars and restaurants in the area might be a little wary of any potential backlash that the Huffington Post article might have on their future business.
Source: Irish Times
