Like the city itself, Dublin's shopping scene is dominated by the fusion of old and new. There is nowhere more traditional than the Moore Street Market, on Henry Street (off O'Connell Street), where fresh fruit and vegetables are sold at bargain prices Monday to Saturday 0930 to 1830. The Temple Bar Food Market, in Meeting House Square, every Saturday 1000 to 1700, displays more pricey organic produce.

South of the River Liffey is the smart Grafton Street shopping precinct with upmarket department store Brown Thomas and one of Dublin's finest shopping centres, The Powerscourt Town House. The Design Centre on the top floor of the Powerscourt Town House shopping centre deals exclusively in Irish designer fashions. Nassau Street, off Grafton Street, is best for traditional Irish gifts, such as hand-blown glass, crafts, knits, Celtic jewellery and Arran sweaters; the Kilkenny Design Centre, 6 Nassau Street, and the Blarney Woollen Mills, 21-23 Nassau Street, are also good bets. For cool club clobber, head to BT2, Grafton Street.

Good bookshops include Eason's, 1 Dawson Street, Fred Hanna's, 29 Nassau Street, and Books Upstairs, 36 College Green (Irish, gay and lesbian). Winding Stair, 42 Ormond Quay Lower, is best for bargain books.

Dublin's fashionable Temple Bar district has good, one-off shops, such as Whichcraft, Cow's Lane, a showcase of innovative Irish jewellery, interior design and decorative arts, while the antiques quarter, centred round Francis Street, is particularly lively on a Saturday morning.

Standard shopping hours are Monday to Saturday 0900 to 1700/1800. Late-night shopping is on Thursday, with the bigger stores and many of the smaller ones remaining open until approximately 2000. Many bookshops keep longer hours and some also open on Sunday afternoon.

VAT is levied at different rates on goods and services, with an average rate of 21%. Tax-free shopping is available to non-EU residents, who can redeem the tax at the airport on production of a completed tax-free slip. Global Refund (tel: (091) 553 258; website: www.globalrefund.ie) can provide further information.