Best cafes to work from

1. SHOE LANE COFFEE

WHERE: 7 Tara Street, Dublin 2, D02Y662 | 14 minutes walk from the apartment | TIMES: 6.30am-6.30pm, Mon-Fri; 8am-6.30pm, Saturday and Sunday | BEST FOR: Great coffee alongside good wifi and plenty of spaces for working

Occupying a former cobblers from the 19th Century, Shoe Lane Coffee (which takes its name from the old name for the street, Shoe Lane, which back then was where the shoe makers and shoe shops of Dublin were located - the last remaining of these, Tara Leathers, is next door) does excellent coffee. As well as coffee, there is a wide range of organic pastries, cakes, healthy treats, sourdough toasties, artisan sausage rolls (vegetarian options too) and so on. There is good, free wifi and lots of seating upstairs, making it a great place for a couple of hours of work.

2. COSTA COFFEE

WHERE: 3 College Green, Dublin 2, D02XH97 | 8 minute walk from the apartment | TIMES: 7.30am-7pm, Mon-Wed; 7.30am-8pm, Thursday & Friday; 8am-7pm, Saturday; 10am-6pm, Sunday | BEST FOR: OK coffee but good wifi and plenty of space for laptops

Costa Coffee is a fairly generic coffee chain - similar to Starbucks (which, incidentally, is next door) - that is, quite honestly, nothing special. The coffee quality is debatable - and, in my opinion, overpriced for what it is. However, it has good, free wifi, plugs to connect laptops and space to work.