Cavan
Grafton Street joins Trinity College (No. 1 Grafton being the residence of the Trinity College Provost) and St. Stephen's Green and is referred to by local Dubliners as "the top of Grafton" and "the bottom of Grafton." Actually, the street is short, requiring no more than five minutes to walk from one end to the other. I trust it may take you longer since the array of sights is outstanding since everyone comes to browse, particularly on a Saturday afternoon.
Pedestrianized since the 1970s, Grafton is the number one shopping street in Dublin, but it is also home to much more. In addition to some of the city's most select shops such as Marks and Spencer and Brown Thomas, it is also home to The Dublin Bookshop and Hughes & Hughes in the Stephens Green Centre and the landmark Bewleys Oriental Cafe where you can refresh yourself after an exhausting day of shopping.
For booklovers there is also Hodges Figgis, Easons and Waterstones on Dawson Street which runs parallel to Grafton and for the serious collector, Cathach Books on Duke Street, a well stocked antiquarian bookshop.
Grafton Street has no pubs, but a number of traditional watering holes are close by. In fact some of the surrounding streets boast a number of the city's best known pubs and literary places of interest. Powerscourt Centre is also close by as is Dáil Éireann, the Irish houses of Parliament, the National Museum, the National Library, the Dublin Civic Museum (currently closed for refurbishment) and the Mansion House, home of Dublin's Lord Mayor.
The Fitzwilliam and the Shelbourne hotels on St. Stephens Green are excellent places to stay, but as well, there are some fine three-star tourist class hotels in close proximity, a couple of them being the Mercer which describes itself as a luxury boutique hotel and the Grafton Capital.
Some Grafton Street links:
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