The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow | Dublin

Why go?

You should visit the excellent museums, amble through the landscaped parks and engage with Dublin's myriad cultural offerings, but make enough time for socialising, the beating heart that makes this city thrive. Garrulous, amiable and witty, Dubliners at their ease are the greatest hosts of all, providing a life-affirming experience that will restore your faith in human nature. How many other places can you say that about?

What to do?

Dublin can trace its origins back over 1,000 years. From a small Viking settlement it has evolved into one of the most vibrant capitals in the world. A city rich in cultural heritage, by walking the streets of Dublin you will see the many reminders from our past, from the beautifully illuminated Book of Kells dating from 800 AD, to the splendid Georgian architecture, magnificent medieval castles and fine cathedrals.

Walk into the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street and you are magically transported back in time. A stroll through time will take you all the way back to 7,000 BC. Take time at The Treasury which features outstanding examples of Celtic and Medieval art, such as the famous Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch and the Derrynaflan Hoard. Gaze in wonder at the finest collection of prehistoric gold artefacts in Europe, which is to be found in Or - Ireland's Gold. Ramble through prehistoric Ireland and experience life at the same time of the Vikings in Viking Age Ireland. Medieval Ireland 1150 -1550, documents life in Ireland in the age of cathedrals, monasteries and castles.

The National Gallery of Ireland was established by an Act of Parliament in 1854 and first opened its doors to the public in January 1864. Today, the collection includes over 2,500 paintings and some 10,000 other works in different media including watercolours, drawings, prints and sculpture. Every major European School of painting is extensively represented. It also houses a renowned collection of Irish paintings. The gallery's highlights include the Yeats Museum, and works by Vermeer, Caravaggio, Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet. Enjoy visiting the National Gallery of Ireland and its award-winning Millennium Wing.

Check out the Docklands Christmas market running from 2 December to 22 December. Inspired by German traditions the stalls are decorated to create the illusion of a winter wonderland. Many stalls offer decorations as well as Christmas stocking fillers such as craft jewellery and art. Visitors also get the chance to taste traditional German specialties such as roasted nuts, raisins and bratwurst (German sausage) from The Swing Grill. In the evening time, the market is light up with hundreds of Christmas lights and the crowds are entertained by storytellers, carol singers and bands.

 Where to stay?

You could easily pass No. 25 Eustace St (www.irishlandmark.com) in Dublin's cobbled Temple Bar area without realising the treasure that lies within. An 18th-century merchant's house that sleeps seven, carefully restored using authentic materials and furnishings, is available to rent on a nightly basis. Climb the creaky stairs to the drawing room where you can play the Bechstein boudoir piano or lounge in the rolltop free standing bath and imagine what life was like as a Georgian city slicker.

Little has changed at Number 31 (www.number31.ie), iconic Irish architect Sam Stephenson's 1960s home and party pad, since the days when every visiting celebrity from Henry Kissinger to Ted Kennedy dropped in to its sunken lounge for a martini. Kilim rugs, a big open fire, mirrored cocktail bar and floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto an inner Japanese garden evoke the heady decade that once made this discreet guesthouse a magnet for Dublin's glitterati.

Where to eat?

Located on a busy balcony in the middle of the beautiful period building, The Pepper Pot (www.thepepperpot.ie) has a quiet but well-placed confidence about its produce, kitchen, and staff. It's the perfect spot for a post-shopping lunch, a pick-me-up Ariosa coffee and slice of 1970s-era Victoria Sponge with homemade raspberry jam, or a decadent Irish whiskey and pecan tart served on kitsch crockery. The menu is small but everything is homemade with a lot of love. Try the crumbly Guinness and pumpkin seed bread topped with local cream cheese and Burren smoked salmon, organic cabbage soup with chilli and caraway seed or the to-die-for black pudding, red onion marmalade and Cashel Blue cheese tart.

Blessed are the cheesemakers. Or so say the customers at Sheridan's Cheesemongers, intoxicated by the heady smell of cheese in all its glorious varieties, stacked in large wheels inside the door. Although the Sheridan brothers began almost 20 years ago in a Galway market, their little Dublin shop feels like a proper artisan institution where knowledgeable staff offer slivers of cheese to taste, knowing resistance is futile. They now offer a range of European cheeses and olive oils but this is the place to taste the wonderful produce of Irish farmhouses - Durrus, Coolea, Gubbeen or Milleen's all from Cork, St Tola's creamy goat's cheese from Co Clare or a crumbly Cashel Blue. Pair a chunk of melt-in-the-mouth Irish goat's cheese with a slice of apple and their Ditty's Irish oat cake and you'll be transported to dairy heaven.

Dublin's Capel Street, with its adult movie shops and pet supply stores, may not spring to mind as a place to go for a memorable gastronomic experience but that is what you can expect at Wolfes Irish Artisan Bistro (www.wolfes.ie). With the emphasis on quality Irish produce, delivered with skillful simplicity at astonishingly good prices, an evening spent in this relaxed Georgian setting (and funky industrial heated yard) is likely to be a contented one. Irish dishes such as beetroot and Ryefield goat's cheese risotto, dry cured bacon, cabbage and parsley sauce, followed by bread and butter pudding (a country classic) with Guinness ice cream feature on a menu that mixes the best of traditional fare with new ideas.

How to get there?

Air Malta operates daily flights to Dublin airport. Ryanair operates flights to and from Dublin airport on Mondays and Fridays. Easyjet operates flights to Belfast airport on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Belfast is a 2.5 hour train ride away from Dublin centre. Flights booked with Air Malta leaving Malta on 14 December and returning on 21 December were priced at €608.27 including taxes at the time of going to print. Ryanair flights leaving Malta on 12 December and returning on 19 December were priced at €158.02. Easyjet flights to Belfast leaving Malta on 13 December and returning on 20 December were priced at €130.04.