Grafton Street

Dublin's upscale shopping street
Talk of the town: The street is rife with performers and buskers, most famous of which is Glen Hansard of The Frames, who went on to make the hit film 'Once' - in which he played a Grafton Street busker.

Popular plate: There are refreshment opportunities at every step, but we recommend local institution Bewley's Cafe.
Even if you've zero interest in 'doing the shops', there's no escaping Dublin's most famous retail street, not least because it links two of the city's most visited areas, Temple Bar and St Stephen's Green.

The street is only quiet in the middle of the night, and at the weekends can feel as crowded as a pond in frog spawning season. There's a good range of familar high street names, as well as some Dublin exclusives, most notably the seriously swish department store Brown Thomas, where you can pick up anything from Christian Dior couture to Tipperary crystal.

For more interesting, independent shops, slip off into the side streets: Wicklow Street, William Street South and Drury Street should be explored.