American going to Dublin and the UK, London, Manchester and Scotland 2024. What fun things to do?

GT1015

So I am going to the June 25 , 2024 Manchester PJ show and have time prior to that to see Dublin, London and Glasgow and Edinburgh.  I have never been over seas.  What are the places I need to see!  Best restaurants, pubs, shops, etc.  I have some ideas but really looking for local residents to say if you only have 1 day you really need to do this!  Best local beer to try, food, small music club, whatever it might be.  I am not renting a car, and will be taking trains, buses, underground to get places.  Should I buy a train pass the day of when I am there or buy before hand?  Tips for getting around?  Still need to figure out the train from Glasgow to Manchester.  
  
I will have 2 days in Dublin and already have my Guiness tour booked, and am staying out near the Howth coast.  
I have 4 days in London and want to do a Stonehenge tour, globe theater and watch Euro cup game England v Serbia.  What pub will be the best for that?  Staying near the tower bridge.  And have noted a bunch of free art galleries.  What else?
I have 4 days in Glasgow but will take a train into Edinburgh.  Maybe Glengoyne tour? castles? Watch Scotland v Hungary, where?  What else, where to eat? 
I have 3 days in Manchester.  Maybe train into Liverpool?  

Really open to anything as long as it doesn't take a long time to travel to the place.  But really looking for the locals to tell me go to "X" to eat, you must visit this street to see "X" , take this tour for "X", etc.  Or even the avoid "X" as it is no fun and over priced.  

I will thank you all in advance of your replies and try to monitor this and answer any questions anybody poses back to me.  

BlueLedbetter

Barrowlands is a legendary music venue in Glasgow, if there is anything on while you are visiting its worth going to 

Edinburgh is much more touristy if that's your thing do the castle, Royal Mile, Grassmarket, Rose Street. All walking distance from the train station but as I say very touristy and a bit over priced 

If its your first time the hop on hop off bus is decent in London to see the sights and the tube is easy to use 

kaw753

An Irish friend told me about a bar where Conor McGregor was too scared to go. Three of us went there and a guy came up to us, "playfully" punched me in the stomach, spilled my friend's beer, and asked us if we were detectives.

If you go, ask them if they ever solved those shootings from a few years back.

Noctor’s

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#234 of 291 Nightlife in Dublin

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matt84

Nicest city is Newcastle Upon Tyne - enjoy a walk along the quayside, plenty of lovely National Trust locations, lovely beaches nearby, Tynemouth market etc. Second favourite city is Liverpool.

tino_11

Sorry, generic advice but it might be useful. 

If it’s your first time in London, just embrace the tourist stuff. There’s so much to see and do and most of it is free, even the museums. Camden is a cool area with lots of pubs and restaurants by the canal.

For Manchester - take a tour of the Lake District, visit the football (soccer museum), take the train to York (see the minster, Viking museum, shambles etc).

Glasgow - take the train to Edinburgh, tour Loch Lomond.  

If you like Indian food there’s Dishoom in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. It’s usually great. The Dome in Edinburgh is great, you can just go for a drink if you don’t want to eat there. 

tino_11

Also Paesano pizzeria in Glasgow is amazing, you should definitely go there if you can

Planet of Sound

Top tip: Sunday roast at Black Lock (there are five in London and one in Manchester).  Delicious!  Must be booked ahead.

Dishoom is good but expect a long line/queue at peak times if you haven’t booked.

London views: if you like rooftop views over London the Garden at 120 is great, free and doesn’t have to be booked in advance; Sky Garden is also good and free but usually needs booking in advance and tickets are released on a Monday for 3 weeks ahead.  The Shard is of course is the tallest and is nice, but very expensive.

London: recommend a river boat to Greenwich, can get an Uber Boat from Tower Bridge pier, Greenwich is a really nice part of London in my view (there are touristy boats too but this is the cheapest and local way to do it).

Personally I’d avoid Camden unless there is a gig on there you want to go to, it is mostly just crappy markets.  

York is one of my favourite cities, you’ll love it there.  Look out for all the black cats in the windows and around the city.  Take a walk along the old city walls, magic.

Stonehenge is interesting but a lot of people find in underwhelming it seems.  The nearby city of Salisbury is lovely, including its cathedral, and so if you are in the Stonehenge area I’d recommend visiting.

ilockyer

London... Best Indian food can be found at Veerashwarmy. 
Street food at Borough Market, Broadway Market.
Great coffee at Bar Italia in Soho. 
Regency Cafe in Pimlico... traditional English cafe which has been in lots of films.

RatherStarved

Stonehenge is totally overrated and a waste of a day.  

Cliffs of Moher in Ireland are nice.  Also if you have time a trip to Derry (some people call it Londonderry - I’m not taking sides…) to see the site of Bloody Sunday.  

London has so many things to see and do it just depends what you want.  I always enjoy the place in Greenwich where you can have one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one in the east.  The old Prime Meridian.  

GT1015

Planet of Sound said:

Top tip: Sunday roast at Black Lock (there are five in London and one in Manchester).  Delicious!  Must be booked ahead.

Dishoom is good but expect a long line/queue at peak times if you haven’t booked.

London views: if you like rooftop views over London the Garden at 120 is great, free and doesn’t have to be booked in advance; Sky Garden is also good and free but usually needs booking in advance and tickets are released on a Monday for 3 weeks ahead.  The Shard is of course is the tallest and is nice, but very expensive.

London: recommend a river boat to Greenwich, can get an Uber Boat from Tower Bridge pier, Greenwich is a really nice part of London in my view (there are touristy boats too but this is the cheapest and local way to do it).

Personally I’d avoid Camden unless there is a gig on there you want to go to, it is mostly just crappy markets.  

York is one of my favourite cities, you’ll love it there.  Look out for all the black cats in the windows and around the city.  Take a walk along the old city walls, magic.

Stonehenge is interesting but a lot of people find in underwhelming it seems.  The nearby city of Salisbury is lovely, including its cathedral, and so if you are in the Stonehenge area I’d recommend visiting.

I have heard that Greenwich is very nice and a cool place to walk around.  I read that using the cable car system to get there is better than the boat ride.  Opinions?  

GT1015

kaw753 said:

An Irish friend told me about a bar where Conor McGregor was too scared to go. Three of us went there and a guy came up to us, "playfully" punched me in the stomach, spilled my friend's beer, and asked us if we were detectives.

If you go, ask them if they ever solved those shootings from a few years back.

Noctor’s

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#234 of 291 Nightlife in Dublin

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I will file this under "maybe" or if someone pays me enough to enter.  

RatherStarved

GT1015 said:

Planet of Sound said:

Top tip: Sunday roast at Black Lock (there are five in London and one in Manchester).  Delicious!  Must be booked ahead.

Dishoom is good but expect a long line/queue at peak times if you haven’t booked.

London views: if you like rooftop views over London the Garden at 120 is great, free and doesn’t have to be booked in advance; Sky Garden is also good and free but usually needs booking in advance and tickets are released on a Monday for 3 weeks ahead.  The Shard is of course is the tallest and is nice, but very expensive.

London: recommend a river boat to Greenwich, can get an Uber Boat from Tower Bridge pier, Greenwich is a really nice part of London in my view (there are touristy boats too but this is the cheapest and local way to do it).

Personally I’d avoid Camden unless there is a gig on there you want to go to, it is mostly just crappy markets.  

York is one of my favourite cities, you’ll love it there.  Look out for all the black cats in the windows and around the city.  Take a walk along the old city walls, magic.

Stonehenge is interesting but a lot of people find in underwhelming it seems.  The nearby city of Salisbury is lovely, including its cathedral, and so if you are in the Stonehenge area I’d recommend visiting.

I have heard that Greenwich is very nice and a cool place to walk around.  I read that using the cable car system to get there is better than the boat ride.  Opinions?  

You can get there on a light rail called DLR that connects with some London Underground stations.  

JT167846

Spend a good few hours doing the Guinness Storehouse tour in the arvo. Do the tour and cash in your token for your pint, then hang and shoot the shit with fellow visitors in the gravity bar. Not everyone likes stout and most go to enjoy the view. You'll find a few people who are kind enough to offer you their token and before you know it you've been on the piss for four hours with a great view and all for the price of a ticket to the Storehouse. Given the 10 Euro mark has been cracked for a pint of the black stuff I'd say any cheap nights out would be most appreciated.

just_one

since we are talking about travelling tips need some tips for Glasgow , going there june 25th and june 26th to see green day and the killers before heading to london to see PJ.

Already saw in a post above the Peasano pizzaria , any more good places to eat?
Also what should i take prority to see during the morning and afternoon of june 26th?

any help would be very appreciative

ilockyer

There's an app you can download called Citymapper. It includes all transport routes (Bus/Tube/Train etc) for London. 
Recommend avoiding any long journeys on the Central line (underground) during the summer, it is very hot and there is no aircon.

JeBurkhardt

Google maps worked great in London and Paris for using the Undergrounds in both cities. Just put in your destination and it listed all of the different ways to get there and where the stations were along with schedules. 

JeBurkhardt

RatherStarved said:

Stonehenge is totally overrated and a waste of a day.  

Cliffs of Moher in Ireland are nice.  Also if you have time a trip to Derry (some people call it Londonderry - I’m not taking sides…) to see the site of Bloody Sunday.  

London has so many things to see and do it just depends what you want.  I always enjoy the place in Greenwich where you can have one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one in the east.  The old Prime Meridian.  

We went to Stonehenge in 2022 when we went the shows in Hyde Park. It does take a long time to get there and back, but as a lifelong Spinal Tap fanatic, I couldn't go to England and not go there. We did stop in Bath during the trip and loved that city. 

lastexitlondon

Bath is lovely. Stone henge i agree is a complete waste of time. London has so many places to see. But its really busy 

Micheyb21

The lilockyer said:

There's an app you can download called Citymapper. It includes all transport routes (Bus/Tube/Train etc) for London. 
Recommend avoiding any long journeys on the Central line (underground) during the summer, it is very hot and there is no aircon.

Citymapper- the greatest app invented. I use it for multiple cities across the world and makes trying to work out transport systems a dream and definitely in countries when its not in English and trying to work out when its your stop or what platform you need.

GT1015

I leave in like 10 days...anything new or changed/ updated that I need to be aware of?  Any other good places to eat in London? Manchester?  

rw160510

I’d recommend Horizon 22 if you want to do a viewing platform in London. It’s free but you have to book ahead.

GT1015

My wife is not a fan of heights so probably won't be doing that or the Eye, or the Tower.  

bazfromoz

After you’ve tried the muck at the Guinness tour, head to Bowes lounge or The Gravediggers up by the Glasnevin cemetery. Best Guinness in the world at the Gravediggers, Bowes more city centre. 

wozza77

couple of recommendations for london

Vote for blacklock
speedboat bar for amazing Thai 
The aviary on Finsbury square for nice view that’s not too high. 

Silverleaf for incredible cocktails but pricey. 

Breakfast club by Liverpool Street for decent food then ask to go through fridge for secret cocktail bar (mayor of scaredy cat town)
discount suit company for sweaty but awesome semi secret basement bar 
dishoom is great too as mentioned 

also 
albert schloss in Manchester is normally great 

droptheleash9

Drink as much Guinness as possible.

GT1015

droptheleash9 said:

Drink as much Guinness as possible.

 I will try my hardest!  

Planet of Sound

RatherStarved said:

GT1015 said:

Planet of Sound said:

Top tip: Sunday roast at Black Lock (there are five in London and one in Manchester).  Delicious!  Must be booked ahead.

Dishoom is good but expect a long line/queue at peak times if you haven’t booked.

London views: if you like rooftop views over London the Garden at 120 is great, free and doesn’t have to be booked in advance; Sky Garden is also good and free but usually needs booking in advance and tickets are released on a Monday for 3 weeks ahead.  The Shard is of course is the tallest and is nice, but very expensive.

London: recommend a river boat to Greenwich, can get an Uber Boat from Tower Bridge pier, Greenwich is a really nice part of London in my view (there are touristy boats too but this is the cheapest and local way to do it).

Personally I’d avoid Camden unless there is a gig on there you want to go to, it is mostly just crappy markets.  

York is one of my favourite cities, you’ll love it there.  Look out for all the black cats in the windows and around the city.  Take a walk along the old city walls, magic.

Stonehenge is interesting but a lot of people find in underwhelming it seems.  The nearby city of Salisbury is lovely, including its cathedral, and so if you are in the Stonehenge area I’d recommend visiting.

I have heard that Greenwich is very nice and a cool place to walk around.  I read that using the cable car system to get there is better than the boat ride.  Opinions?  

You can get there on a light rail called DLR that connects with some London Underground stations.  

Yeah DLR is another option, it’s driverless and quite fun too.  There is a station next to Tower Bridge called Tower Gateway that can take you you to Cutty Sark in Greenwich.  I like the Uber Boat from Tower Pier, but both are fun options!  I used to get the light rail daily though so probably biased.

Have a fun trip!

pdalowsky

droptheleash9 said:

Drink as much Guinness as possible.

solid advice

Harrycat

I used to live in Dublin and have been multiple times - in fact lived very close to Guinness.
Best pubs 
O’Donahues
The Brazen Head
Grogans
Mulligans
The Grave Diggers
Avoid pubs in Temple bar 
There is a pre-party the night before at Fibber McGees - PJ cover band etc look for the PJ Ireland Facebook Group

Scotland - look for the Sounds of Seattle (PJ Scotland) Facebook page 
There are pre-parties for both London and Manchester
When will you be arriving in Scotland? 
Foo Fighters are playing Hampden Park Glasgow on 17th June.

Hope this helps have an awesome time.

GT1015

Harrycat said:

I used to live in Dublin and have been multiple times - in fact lived very close to Guinness.
Best pubs 
O’Donahues
The Brazen Head
Grogans
Mulligans
The Grave Diggers
Avoid pubs in Temple bar 
There is a pre-party the night before at Fibber McGees - PJ cover band etc look for the PJ Ireland Facebook Group

Scotland - look for the Sounds of Seattle (PJ Scotland) Facebook page 
There are pre-parties for both London and Manchester
When will you be arriving in Scotland? 
Foo Fighters are playing Hampden Park Glasgow on 17th June.

Hope this helps have an awesome time.

I thought Temple Bar was just a pub itself.  I will be in Scotland on 20 June til 24 June.  We land at 7am in Manchester on 13 June and Foo is playing that night at Emirates, thinking about doing that one.  

 I think Grogans will work best as it is near Dublin castle and Trinity college and the national gallery's.  First night might not get into Dublin as we will be out on Howth.  I did see Slow Pulp is playing Whelans on 15 June, is that cool place to see a show?  

GT1015

wozza77 said:

couple of recommendations for london

Vote for blacklock
speedboat bar for amazing Thai 
The aviary on Finsbury square for nice view that’s not too high. 

Silverleaf for incredible cocktails but pricey. 

Breakfast club by Liverpool Street for decent food then ask to go through fridge for secret cocktail bar (mayor of scaredy cat town)
discount suit company for sweaty but awesome semi secret basement bar 
dishoom is great too as mentioned 

also 
albert schloss in Manchester is normally great 

Blacklock and dishoom look great.  I think the Soho location Blacklock might work and start at Carnaby street and work our way past the national gallery, Trafalgar square, whitehall, big ben, Westminster as a good long afternoon.  

is the Bermondsey Beer mile a cool place?  is it all pubs or are there any good paces to eat over there?  Hotel is not far from there and trying to find a good place for a meet up.