Dublin Hotels near the RDS

• By: Eanna
• On: 15/Nov/07
• In: Dublin Hotels Advice

The RDS is located about 3km from Dublin city centre in the leafy suburb of Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. If you've chosen a Dublin hotel in the city centre, and if you feel like stretching your legs, you can walk to the RDS. Starting outside of Trinity College, walk along Nassau Street for about 150 metres. From here you can turn right and follow the signposts for the R118 (Mount Street). Stay on this road for about 2kms and you should see the RDS in front of you as the road becomes Merrion Road. The RDS occupies an area of about 42 acres and is situated near Herbert Park.

You can also hop on a bus. Bus routes 5, 7 and 45 all stop at Nassau Street outside of Trinity College and will take you as far as the RDS, at the Merrion Road entrance. The DART, Lansdowne or Sandymount stations are just a few blocks away – about 10 minutes on foot.
 
The RDS, Royal Dublin Society, was founded in 1731 by the Dublin Philosophical Society with the stated aim of promoting the development of arts, agriculture, industry and science in Ireland. The society gets its Royal title after King George IV who became patron in 1820. In 1868, the society started an annual horse show, which was one of the world’s first show jumping events and in recent years has become a very important event in the show jumping calendar. About 10 years later, they acquired the premises in Ballsbridge which the RDS occupies today, though the grounds have expanded over time from the original 15 acres to over 40 acres today. On the grounds you'll find a number of exhibition halls, a stadium, meeting rooms, bars and restaurants.

For much of the 90's the RDS was used by Shamrock Rovers to play their home games, and more recently it has also been used by the Leinster Rugby team to play their home games in the Magners Celtic League and the Heineken European Cup. The grounds has also earned itself a bit of a reputation as being the premier heavy metal venue in Ireland with such groups as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Korn, Linkin Park, Guns N' Roses, Stereophonics and others all picking the RDS as their venue of choice in years past.

There's always something on at the RDS no matter the time of year it is. One of the RDS’s biggest annual events is the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition. This event has been running continuously for over 40 years and it draws thousands of people every year who come to see Ireland’s best and brightest students.

If you're travelling to Dublin for a specific show and want to be within shouting distance of the RDS then it may be wise to book one of the Dublin Hotels that are located in and around the venue. There are several Dublin hotels in the vicinity including a number of reasonably priced 3-Star hotels such as the Lansdowne Hotel, the Tara Towers Hotel, the Mount Herbert Hotel and the Roxford Lodge Hotel. If you'd like somewhere a little snazzier then the Herbert Park Hotel or the School House Hotel, both of which are 4-star hotels, might suit your needs. For some real luxury you might choose the Dylan Hotel which is a 5-star.

In Donnybrook which borders Ballsbridge you can find The Montrose Hotel which is a 3-star hotel.

As you can see there are really no shortage of fine Dublin Hotels within easy walking distance of the RDS. If on the other hand you want to sample Dublin's buzzing nightlife after a show you can choose one of the many Dublin hotels in the city centre. Temple Bar is the nightlife capital of the city. If you'd like to stay here take a look at our Dublin Hotels in Temple Bar blog.  

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