Stag

DUBLIN is known for great Guinness and cracking craic in the music-filled pubs of Temple Bar.

But what can you do if you’re not there for a boozy break with your mates and are instead travelling with your nine-year-old daughter?

It turns out that the Irish capital is also ideal for families to have, as hometown heroes U2 sang, a Beautiful Day.

My daughter Piper and I had made the short hop by plane on a Friday afternoon, checked in at the basic, but clean and friendly, easyHotel Dublin City Centre and headed straight out for shopping time at landmark department store Arnotts, which dates back to 1895.

Refuelling beckoned, so we headed to The Woollen Mills, a renowned restaurant by the pretty Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey.

Great coffee, great steak and, according to Piper, great chicken wings.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

Mains are from £16.50 and I’d go back to try their fry-up brunch.

With a big sightseeing Saturday ahead, we had an early night and were raring to go the next morning.

Our Beautiful Day began at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, a short walk or tram ride east of the city centre.

It might sound a tad dull, but it’s one of the best museums I’ve been to and Piper loved it.

With tickets from £13, it’s a state-of-the-art experience that tells the story of the estimated 70million Irish-heritage people across the world.

It features 20 interactive galleries that bring to life their journeys overseas, past and present.

It turns out that the Irish capital is also ideal for families to have, as hometown heroes U2 sang, a Beautiful Day

Piper particularly loved the sports section, where she got to try out hurling, a fast and furious Gaelic team game similar to hockey.

And there were numerous touchscreen activities and quizzes.

Besides tackling the “passport” treasure hunt, we also loved the Notorious Irish exhibit, where Piper had to jump on to spots on the ground to answer questions about the likes of Wild West gunslinger Billy The Kid, Caribbean pirate Anne Bonny and bank robber and US Prohibition era gangster George “Machine Gun” Kelly.

Emigration history lesson not quite over, we crossed the road to The Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship, which tells the fascinating but dark story of the million-plus Irish people who fled the Great Famine of 1844-52.

Pillaging warriors

The replica ship moored on the Liffey gives an eerie insight into conditions on board and its role in the mass emigration, mostly to the US and Canada.

Next up, Norsemen. You might not associate Dublin with horned helmets and pillaging warriors, but they settled here in the 9th century.

And there’s no better way to find out more than with the Viking Splash Tour on board a World War Two amphibious DUKW vehicle.

You’re handed a Viking helmet as you board, and the guide had us passengers in stitches with a flurry of jokes.

They also encouraged us to shout frequent war cries at pedestrians as we took in Viking history and more modern sights, such as cathedrals and Georgian buildings.

We then plunged into the Grand Canal Basin to pass near the recording studios where U2 began their journey to megastardom. An unmissable tour at £30 per person.

And our discoveries were not over, as we joined excellent guide Gerry McGeough, of Pat Liddy’s Walking Tours of Dublin.

He took us round key sights such as the Oscar Wilde Memorial, the whimsical Giants Garden adventure playground, shopping heaven Grafton Street and the statue of fictional cockles and mussels seller Molly Malone, immortalised in the song that bears her name.

Our Beautiful Day began at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, a short walk or tram ride east of the city centre

After a fun-filled, action-packed day, there was time for a call at the fabled Bewley’s Cafe for the best hot chocolate money can buy, before flopping back at our hotel ahead of a morning flight home.

U2 may have had a global hit with I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, but Piper and I certainly discovered the superb city break we were seeking in dazzling Dublin.

And, yes, I did manage to find time for a quick pint of Guinness.

Amsterdam has long been the go-to destination for a final night of freedom, but research has shown that a new city has emerged as the top spot, while another destination is fast catching up

Amsterdam may have been dethroned as the king of stag do destinations. According to research analysing search trends, the number of people searching for information on stag dos in the Netherlands’ capital has plummeted by 77% since 2023.

Party organisers, Sofia Stag Do, put together a list of Europe’s top ten stag destinations based on the number of searches over the past two years. Its rankings saw Amsterdam plummet from being the top destination in 2023, to number six in 2026.

Unsurprisingly, Prague took the top spot. While interest was down slightly in this Eastern European city, its combination of lively nightlife, cheap pints, and a beautiful Old Town kept it at number one. However, at number two is a city that has seen a steady increase in interest, and may not be the first location that springs to mind when planning a stag party.

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Riga in Latvia is becoming increasingly popular among stag parties, and there’s likely a combination of factors that have pushed it up the charts. Firstly, it is easy to get to from the UK. Flights take as little as two and a half hours, and Ryanair flies to Riga International Airport from East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, London-Stansted, and Manchester, with fares from as little as £14.99 one way.

Riga’s compact size is also ideal for groups who want to enjoy a bar crawl or go for a night out without needing to get expensive taxis home. The liveliest nightlife can be found in Old Riga, an area full of historic buildings, town squares, and cobbled streets. You’ll find a huge number of bars tucked away, from stylish spots to fun themed places with drink deals.

Some spots to look out for include Secret Event, an underground bar set in a former monastery, and the Tiki Bar Riga, where you can enjoy colourful cocktails. If you’re doing fancy dress, head to Clayton McNamaras Drinking Emporium, a superhero-themed bar full of retro memorabilia that offers a range of shots named after comic characters.

Many bars open until the small hours, but for those who don’t want to head to bed just yet, weekends see a range of nightclubs opening their doors until dawn. Poseidon’s Club comes highly recommended for fans of EDM and stays open until 5am on Friday and Saturday nights. Teritorija has two rooms offering house and techno, while Bacio Riga offers a range of DJ sets and drink deals.

One thing potential stag parties always want to know is the cost of a pint. Riga can’t quite compare with the cheap beer prices of Prague, where you can often find pints for under £2. Pints generally cost £3-4 in the old town, but you can often find drink deals which bring down the prices.

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Riga also tends to offer cheaper accommodation than Prague, and it’s walkable, so you may find that overall a stag do in Latvia could work out cheaper than going to Prague.

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