I’ve been thinking a lot about my not-so-keen-on-Dublin feeling. I don’t feel bad about it; it’s just an opinion, and after all, a city’s feelings can’t be hurt. But so many people rave about going to Dublin and I keep wondering why I don’t feel the same way. I really think it’s (a) about the size of a city and (b) how touristy a city is.
Dublin felt very much that it was geared to tourism – which is great, tourism is a huge and growing industry, and cities should take advantage of that. But then I got thinking about other cities I don’t really enjoy visiting, and they seemed to follow the same thread – Paris, London, Madrid, New York – all too big, all too touristy. I much prefer Bordeaux, York, Valencia, Chicago – smaller, more concentrated, fewer tourists.
There are exceptions to these rules: I’m not crazy about Edinburgh, a relatively small city, but, very touristy. I loved Berlin, a huge city, but fewer tourists, and very much a two-cities-combined vibe.
Anyhoo, this is just to say Dublin was perfectly fine, but to anyone looking to travel around Ireland, I would strongly suggest Cork and Belfast as absolutely great places to visit instead.
I agree with your choices of good and not so good cities.