It’s really just a big capital village, where going for a walk is as much an opportunity for socialising as actually making an arrangement to meet someone.

Dublin may be a small capital, but its cosmopolitan bone fides have been firmly established. Beyond its impressive collection of museums and galleries, and its choice of food from all four corners of the globe, this is a city that conspicuously embraces diversity and has been transformed by two decades of multiculturalism. It used to be said that ‘real’ Dubs had to be born within the canals like their parents and grandparents before them: these days, you’re as likely to meet a Dub whose parents were born in Warsaw, Lagos or Beijing.

Dublin’s relationship with alcohol is complex and conflicted, but at its very best, a night out in the pub remains the city’s favourite social lubricant and one of the most memorable experiences of a visit to Ireland. Everyone has their favourite pub: for some it’s a never-changing traditional haunt; for others, it’s wherever the beautiful people are currently at. Either way, you’ll have over 1000 to choose from.

Even Dubliners will admit that theirs isn’t the most beautiful city in the world, telling you that pretty things are as easy to like as they are to forget…before showing you the showstopper Georgian bits to prove that Dublin has a fine line in sophisticated elegance. Their beloved capital, about which they can be brutally unsentimental, has personality, which is much more important and lasts far longer. Garrulous, amiable and witty, Dubliners at their ease are the greatest hosts of all, a charismatic bunch whose soul and sociability are so compelling and infectious that you mightn't ever want to leave.

We got out and about for 48 hours with the Dublin Pass Sightseeing Card, one of the best ways to experience all the city has to offer, while making great saving. Having arrived late the previous afternoon, Thursday was a busy day to continue venturing around the city.