Previously, we saw how Paris and London weigh up in the romantic city stakes, now let’s see if Dublin and Amsterdam, two cities famed for their party lifestyles, stack up…

Dublin

Despite what Ed Sheeran may tell you, Grafton Street is not that romantic, I mean, it’s a nice enough street and if you’re looking for shops you’ll have found them but really it’s just a reasonably pretty high street. Why people think Dublin is any more romantic than other places in Ireland is beyond me, I think people confuse the two. One one hand you have a beautiful Celtic nation, rich in history, culture and tradition on the other hand you have a fairly generic city crammed with gimmicky pubs and more stag dos than you can shake a shamrock at. Going to Dublin for a romantic weekend is like taking your date on a pub crawl; fun at first, a good laugh but you’ll regret it the next day. Come on people, don’t go to Dublin for romance go there for a good time! This is a place for wild nights out with the girls and sport trips with the boys, it’s where you go to meet up with friends, to check out the music scene. By all means take your partner but don’t expect it to be the sort of place where you’ll spend the time taking hand-in-hand moonlight walks or taking in the amorous sights together. You’ll be having a party there, you go there to let your hair down, to celebrate and if you’re single you go there to pull…at least for one night anyway….

Amsterdam

Like Dublin, visiting Amsterdam is all about having a good time. Unlike Dublin, Amsterdam is much less overt in it’s ‘I’m not a romantic destination after all’ ways. Amsterdam is filled with canals, cute houses, boats, and bridges covered in flowers, on paper it looks like an idyllic and swoon-worthy city. But who are you trying to fool? You can try convincing yourself that visiting the Anne Frank museum or checking out Van Gogh’s work is soaking up the culture but we know why you’re really here. Amsterdam is the single person’s dream city not the place for couples to cozy up. You just try looking someone in the eye and telling them you haven’t already wet yourself with excitement at the thought of all that legalized prostitution down De Wallen. Not that I’m saying that appeals to all single-pringles but come on! Besides, how do you bring up checking out the red-light district if you’re not single? ‘Oh hey babe, we should totally check out that peep-show near the Oude Kerk, y’know for like, culture yeah?’ And for those who would prefer not to have to pay for someone to take their top off for you, the next best thing is obviously finding someone to get stoned with in one of Amsterdam’s famous ‘coffeeshops’. Even if you’re in a steady relationship you just know it’s going to get awkward (‘I really want to check out one of those coffeeshops but what if he doesn’t?’ ‘Oh I hope she doesn’t want to…but what if she thinks I’m some stick in the mud loser? Maybe we should check one out’ ‘Maybe we shouldn’t, after all what if he thinks I’m a huge pot head?’ Followed by a minimum of ten minute awkward silence as you walk past countless of coffeshops) Putting it mildly Amsterdam is the perfect break for single friends, it’s where you take your friend who’s never had a boyfriend and is too shy to talk to boys or the guy who’s still hung up on his ex and needs to rediscover what a good time is all about. It’s singles paradise.