First of all, mark your calendar – 25 September 2009 : Culture Night. Over 120 venues will open their doors for your visiting pleasure, and in a large number of them, entertainment as well as some nibbles and drinks will also be provided. Hurrah!

Main time frame – between 6pm and 11pm. But of course, there are exceptions with some early opening (e.g. Science Gallery, from 12pm), early closing (e.g. Mansion House, last tour 8pm), late closing (e.g. Gallery Zozimus, 12am), and limited hours (e.g. Dublinia, 6pm – 9.30pm).

Next, it’s time to put your organising skill in use. Download the programme (PDF file) and have a look at what you’re interested in. Some events require reservations, others simply turn up and you’re good to participate. Definitely no harm in listing out all that you want to do, plan your route and get in the booking(s) if applicable.

Look out for places that are normally ticket-paying or not open to the public – this is the perfect time to visit them without costing a pretty penny.

There will be 3 free bus routes, departing every 20 minutes from Bachelor’s Walk, Aston Quay and Trinity College, that brings you from one spot to another within the route.

There are also 50 free Luas tickets (adult 1-day all zone) available for travel on 25 September, so that culture hunters can head out to Airfield in Dundrum, or to Ranelagh, where some of the events will be held. The tickets are allocated on a first come, first serve basis, at the Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, 12 East Essex Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 from Thursday 24th September at 9am.

A few more things that caught our attention:

• There are arts and photography competitions that you can take part in.
• Not all events are indoor. Check out the list of outdoor events, including MaSamba and World Dance in Temple Bar, and the joust at Dublin Castle.
• You can cruise the River Liffey.
• Send a free, postage paid, limited edition postcard at the GPO to anywhere in the world.
• If you fancy attending one of the 2 free events at Abbey Theatre, here’s the instruction on how to get them.

Now, seeing that this is the 4th year the Culture Night is being organised (hence there’s a bit of experience there now), we wonder if in the next year or two, the Culture Night will extend beyond 11pm/12pm closing time and extend the hours till the next morning? You know, like Nuit Blanche or Lange Nacht der Museen, effectively giving everyone a chance to go to more than just a couple of places and not having to rush like crazy in order to cram in more.

Fingers crossed.