Dublin is a destination that attracts many tourists from far around the globe because of its vibrancy and buzz, which could be due to its mix of the historical and the cosmopolitan. There are a number of fun and scenic things you can do during your stay, in fact, if you’re taking a weekend break, it’s probably quite difficult to decide what to limit your stay too. Visitors to the city should be highly impressed by the university, which is at the heart of the city.

It was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth and is one of the seven ancient universities in the English speaking world. Over centuries it has arguably housed the greatest writers and scholars of the modern world such as Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, and Bram Stoker. The scenic monument is surrounded by acres of cobbled squares, lawns and historic architecture. If you wanted somewhere slightly more unusual for your stay, then consider booking a night or two at one of the rooms the college provides, complete with bed and breakfast, which could even be slightly cheaper when compared to some of the nearby hotels.

Go to the college’s website for more details on Trinity College accommodation. If you’re stuck in the city withouht a place to stay, you might want to check out the Lastminute.com website, for those rush-deals on city breaks: always useful.

The college's trendy address could anchor your trip quite nicely, sitting at the centre of the city’s entertainment and shopping district. A moment’s away is the famous

Temple Bar, which offers much of the city’s nightlife entertainment and can offer a different night club throughout the week. If it’s the old-time ‘craic’ you’re after, then you’ll find it hard to beat the oldest pub in Dublin and possibly in the whole of Ireland, depending on what you read.

The Brazen Head has been serving alcohol even before the laws came to be, since 1198 AD and is a cosy, three-roomed pub with a cobbled courtyard, live music and good Guinness – which is to be expected considering the Guinness brewery is just a short walk away. The Guinness Storehouse is a must-see on a trip to Dublin, a huge atrium built in 1904 to house the Guinness making process.

The seven-floor tour goes through the ropes of the Guinness history, from its branding, to its variations, and even includes a lesson in how to pour the perfect pint, which you can enjoy as you look over the city. Getting to Dublin couldn’t be easier and the city itself is accessible and interesting to walk around.

If you’re looking for flights to Dublin, try Aer Arann as a reference. You can also organise your travel insurance via the internet, from a site like AA Travel Insurance so you’re covered for the duration of your stay.

When you move from a hotel to a hostel, a slight drop in standard is often expected, and it’s not surprising when generally the hostel is a lot cheaper. This shouldn’t be something that reflects badly on hostels as a whole – as the saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’. So instead of hostels now, there seems to be an ever-increasing number of ‘budget hotels’. The effort is evidently to use the generally positive impression of hotels (when I say ‘generally positive’ I mean in comparison to hostels) whilst retaining the justification for being a little bit rough around the edges by fixing ‘budget’ at the start of the title.

To be fair, it’s not such a bad idea. With ever growing numbers of people travelling (as opposed to ‘holidaying’) on a budget, the demand for good, cheap places to stay is high. You can easily secure cheap flights through companies like Travelzoo on the internet, so why not go along the same lines for accommodation? There’s actually no shortage of websites. Not only are large directories of budget hotels and hostels now appearing, such as HostelBookers.com, but they’re also becoming more sophisticated, with peer reviews and ratings. Many of the hostels listed are also becoming increasingly upmarket with good facilities, but as prices are still pretty cheap, not everything can be perfect.

Of course, for all the variation in name, at the end of the day these establishments remain cheap accommodation for travellers, and the majority of travellers wouldn’t bat an eyelid about whether their bed for the night was in a hostel, a hotel, or a budget hotel providing it was warm, dry and safe. For those looking, though, does it make a difference? As people look through Internet sites and come across two different places with almost identical reviews, would they pick a budget hotel over a hostel? It’s hard to say; obviously some owners of budget hotels think so. No doubt the answer to that question will appear several years down the line if the current trend of hostels being advertised as budget hotels continues and the title hostel is slowly forgotten.

For the moment, though, providing they can all be found on the same websites, side by side for comparison and reviewed by people who have actually stayed there, providing they continue to offer value for money it doesn’t really matter.

China Town dominates much of the city, and is a good first stop. The gates are located by Union Square, a huge area surrounded by giant department stores, restaurants and looming sky scraper buildings. The first Chinese settlers arrived in 1848, and gold was discovered in 1849. Since then, this community has built itself up to become an entire town within a city and is now the largest Chinese Town outside Asia.  Browse through the stalls and shops selling jade elephants, fans, umbrellas, strings of semi-precious stones and slippers. There are sushi restaurants and even a Chinese MacDonald’s, with Chinese menus, and signs. Your walk will bring you past the Old St. Mary's Church, which was set up in 1853 by Father Henry Ignatius Stark as a mission. The purpose was to teach the Chinese community about the Catholic faith and it’s a historical landmark to the city. The Far East Cafe sits right across the church and is a good to stop if you want to sample traditional Schezwan food that’s been going strong since 1920.

You know Little Italy as soon as you hit it because you start to see avenues of Italian restaurants and may notice the slightly seedy change in atmosphere. This could be because there are a line of strip joints taking over a whole street, but don’t let it put you off.  Little Italy also has some old and established bookshops, in particular City Lights. The famous bookshop sits on the corner of Columbus Avenue and was the focal landmark in the city for Beatnik writers and poets, like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who still runs the shop today. It’s definitely worth checking out, because it represent s a core part of 60s San Francisco, particularly its poetry room upstairs.

A bus ride away is Haight Ashbury and since 1967 – the summer of love - has earned its reputation as the hangout for hippies, bohemians and musicians. Janis Joplin and The Grateful Dead were just some of its famous inhabitants. Today it is a hub of punks, fashionistas and skaters, who all congregate around Golden Gate Park, and the huge variety of vintage stores that line Haiught Street. The shops are worth exploring because you can get your hands on anything from top hats to rodeo cowboy boots; Haight produces endless one-offs for the wardrobe. Try The Wasteland and Aardvark for a great selection of vintage clothing.  The district has some great places to eat; you’ll find Cuban, Chinese and Mexican on offer. Try Cha Cha Cha and sample the potent Sangria and strips of plantain served at the bar. It’s a popular choice for locals and gets full quickly, so try and get there before the office crowd descends on the area.

San Francisco is built up on a grid system, so it’s pretty easy to walk around, and there are some scenic routes from district to district. One of the best ways to tour America however, is by car, so look into car hire with Lastminute.com,  if you fancy turning your travels into a road trip. However, when the sun sinks, the city’s characters changes from fun and hippy, to a bit seedy and the strip bars and drunks appear to come to life. It’s best not to walk around alone when it’s really dark, get a taxi or bus to return to your hotel or hostels. For a range of hostels in the area, check out HostelBookers who have lists of places to stay in the city. Don’t forget your travel insurance when travelling; it can save you lots of trouble later on. Try AA Travel Insurance for a selection of packages to suit your holiday.