Glasgow’s Merchant City Festival presents a diverse arts program featuring theater, music, comedy, film, visual arts, opera, dance, fashion and literature.  Attracting tens of thousands to Glasgow’s vibrant Merchant City, the Festival has opera singers in the courtyards and bars, thrilling street theatre from across Europe, top comedians and music from every genre in the bars and on the street.

Merchant City Festival has a wide range of contributors and truly showcases the best of what’s happening in Scotland.  All this plus fantastic shops and some of the best bars, and restaurants can be found within the Festival area.  For event listings please visit http://merchantcityfestival.com

The London Visitor Travel Card gives you a choice of unlimited travel throughout all 6 (or just the 2 central) zones of London’s buses and subways. It lets you hop on-and-off the tube or bus whenever you like, without searching for tickets or fumbling for change. Nothing makes London travel easier.

Travel Cards are valid on London’s:

• Tube, Docklands Light Railway and London Overground services
• Bus services within the entire Greater London area (regardless of the zone the Travelcard actually covers)
• Trams where your Travelcard includes Zone 3, 4, 5 or 6
• National Rail (excluding Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express)
• Scheduled Riverboat services at a reduced rate – just show your Travelcard at the time of travel

Select your Travel Card from the following options:

• 3 Day, All Zones, Off Peak*
• 3 Day, Central Zones 1&2
• 7 Day, All Zones
• 7 Day, Central Zones 1&2

*The 3 Day All Zone Travel Cards are for Off Peak Travel only (travel after 9:30am weekdays + unlimited weekend travel)

Dublin is a young and vibrant city, where history, architecture, beautiful museums and great nightlife will keep everyone busy. Don’t miss these top 5 attractions in Dublin. Plus if the word “nightlife” caught your attention, then the internationally best-known area is the Temple Bar area just south of the River Liffey.

Christ Church Cathedral

The cathedral was founded in 1030 making Christ Church cathedral Dublin’s oldest and most recognized landmark.  Treasures of the church include a unique range of manuscripts, historic artifacts and spectacular examples of gold and silverware.  Christ Church reflects almost 1000 years of history, architecture and worship in Ireland!

Malahide Castle

Malahide Castle is set on 250 acres of park land in the pretty seaside town of Malahide.  You’ll find an interesting mix of architectural styles, furnished with beautiful period furniture together with an extensive collection of Irish portrait paintings, mainly from the National Gallery.  The surrounding parklands complete the picture of this beautiful structure, while featuring the Fry Model Railway which is one of the world’s largest miniature railways.

Dublin Writers Museum

The Dublin Writers Museum is a celebration of literary in Dublin, famous for four Nobel Prize winners and many other renowned writers.  Swift and Sheridan, Shaw and Wilde, Yeats, Joyce and Beckett are among those presented in a magnificent 18th century mansion through their books, letters, portraits and personal items.  The collection features the lives and works of Dublin’s literary celebrities over the past three hundred years!

Dublin Zoo

If you’re a family looking for the No.1 attraction in Dublin, this is it!  Dublin Zoo has the African Plains, home to giraffes, zebras, hippos, rhinos, cheetahs, lions and chimpanzees. Also discover World of Cats, World of Primates, Fringes of the Arctic and City Farm.  Feast your eyes on wild and exotic animals from around the world such as white rhinoceros, snow leopard, jaguar, bongo, exotic birds, and more!

Guinness Storehouse

At the Guinness Storehouse you’ll discover the story that began 250 years ago and ends with today’s world famous beer.  Explore the building that was constructed in the style of the Chicago school of architecture, with massive steel beams providing the support for the structure of the building.  Plus the core of the building is designed after a giant pint glass, where the top of the glass is where the Gravity sky bar can be found.  Here you can relax and enjoy panoramic views across Dublin City.

Dublin Pass

The Dublin Pass allows for free entrance to over 30 of Dublin’s most popular attractions. Also, take advantage of free travel on the Aircoach between the airport and the city centre as well as other special offers and discounts.  Choose from 2, 3 or 6 days.

**The above attractions have free entry with the Dublin Pass. www.britrail.com/attractions

]]> http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/top-5-attractions-in-dublin/feed/ 0 http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/britrail-pass-ireland/ http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/britrail-pass-ireland/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:49:28 +0000 Fred http://www.britrail.com/blog/?p=1109 This is the perfect pass to see it all!

The BritRail Pass + Ireland is valid in all of Britain as well as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If you don’t want to miss a thing then this pass is your best accessory, allowing unlimited rail travel in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for 5 or 10 days within 1 month.

Beautiful Ireland is known for having stunning green scenery, rugged coastline, Irish warmth and great cities; Belfast and Dublin are a must!

Ferries to Ireland

Cross the Irish Sea on a Stena Line ferry, and select from one of these available routes:

• Stranraer, Scotland – Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Holyhead, Wales – Dun Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland
• Fishguard, Wales – Rosslare, Republic of Ireland

The BritRail Irish Sea Crossing with Stena Line offers quick and comfortable ferry service between Ireland and Britain. Visit http://www.britrail.com/attractions and you’ll discover that taking the ferry to Ireland has never been easier!

The 15th Dublin Fringe Festival’s lineup is packed with contemporary performing arts, featuring La Clique. Catch La Clique favorites and lots of new, sexy, funny, dangerous and outrageous acts. Everyone loves this contemporary variety of entertainment including cabaret, new burlesque and circus sideshow. Don’t miss the spectacular aerialist and bathtub acrobat!

http://www.fringefest.com/

Seniors 60 years and over who purchase a BritRail FlexiPass, BritRail Consecutive Pass, BritRail England FlexiPass or BritRail England Consecutive Pass receive up to 15% off when traveling in First Class! This is the perfect opportunity to visit the UK to see family, celebrate a special anniversary or explore your roots.

Great benefits of First Class seating:

• First Class has larger seats, picture windows, more space both for you and your baggage and is usually less crowded.
• On many routes First Class offers extras, including free tea and coffee. Some routes even offer free snacks and newspapers.
• Certain long haul routes have table or buffet services.
• First Class is always at the London end of the platform which eliminates any long walk at the London terminal!
• Most commuter routes radiating from the big cities have First Class accommodation*. Here the benefit is especially noticeable on trains during busy rush hour.

*You can count on all principal routes having First Class accommodations but please note that some rural routes offer Standard Class accommodations only. First Class Pass prices do reflect the fact that not all trains have First Class.

]]> http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/britrail-senior-discount/feed/ 2 http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/airport-express/ http://www.britrail.com/blog/2009/07/airport-express/#comments Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:20:13 +0000 Fred http://www.britrail.com/blog/?p=1082 Convenience is key from London’s airports to Central London.

Airport express trains are frequent and reliable and cost less than a cab ride through London traffic. Select BritRail passes are valid on the Airport Express trains as these trains are apart of the National Rail Network; these include the BritRail FlexiPass, BritRail Consecutive Pass, BritRail England FlexiPass, BritRail England Consecutive Pass and the BritRail + Ireland Pass. In addition, the BritRail London Plus Pass includes 2 vouchers to have access to your choice of Airport Express.

Heathrow Express

Travel non-stop between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington station in 15 minutes on the Heathrow Express. With trains departing every 15 minutes, the Heathrow Express is by far the easiest way to get to Central London!

Gatwick Express

Gatwick Express is the fastest way to travel from Gatwick Airport to Central London – the 27 miles are covered in just 30 minutes. Trains leave every 15 minutes, and travel from London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.

Stansted Express

The Stansted Express is the fastest way to and from Stansted Airport. With trains departing every 15 – 30 minutes, this amazing service takes you directly from the airport to London Liverpool Street Station in only 42 minutes!

A supplementary ticket for this service can be purchased separately for a single use by visiting

http://www.britrail.com/attractions

To view BritRail’s timetables, please enter the train station you will be departing from, your destination and the date of travel.

The resulting timetable will include all trains departing from your selected station to your destination on the day you have chosen.

Print a copy of your train schedule so that you can determine the best time to jump on the train while traveling. Also, you can check train schedules up to two months in advance, so planning your itinerary has never been easier.

Use our interactive map to locate the cities you want to visit, discover the closest train stations, browse beautiful pictures and select your rail pass.  You can find all these great resources with BritRail’s Trip Planner!

• Step 1 – Cities
  By entering the cities you want to visit you can map out your preferred route.
• Step 2 – Maps
  Use the city map to locate the train station closest to your hotel or destination.
• Step 3 – Photos
  Browse through a stunning selection of photos for a sneak peak of the city of your choice.
• Step 4 – Rail Pass
  Find the corresponding rail pass that best suits the cities you want to visit on your trip.

» Plan a trip to Britain

Looking for BritRail’s detailed map? Search no more as it is now located as part of the trip planner. View the PDF: http://www.britrail.com/components/com_planyourtrip/assets/map_en.pdf

It’s closer than you think!

The thought of travelling cross- country these days will likely conjure up images of arriving hours early, lineups and waiting around. Taking the train is a great way to skip the stress and relax. Most train stations are located in the city center, so in the end, getting to your destination can be quicker and more efficient than other methods of travel.

Here are some direct trains …just sit back and watch the scenery roll by!

Staying in England

London to Wales

London to Scotland