If you are wondering where to bring your overseas cousin on his or her visit to Ireland, there is a wide variety of economical and well maintained tourist attractions around Dublin.

Dublin Tourism says one of the factors behind the increase in tourist numbers in the capital in recent years has been the low admission charges to Dublin's main tourist attractions.

Apart from Dublin Zoo, which charges £5.90 for adults, most of the popular tourist attractions in Dublin charge between £3 and £4 and some only ask for a small donation.

Dublin Tourism says overseas visitors are often surprised at the low level of admission charges when compared with those in other European states. There are no guidelines to those who operate the attractions and the present system "has simply evolved", according to Dublin Tourism, which owns a large number of the attractions.

It says that, increasingly, native Dubliners are visiting attractions which have been under their noses for years, almost unnoticed. For example, Dublin Zoo is the most popular tourist attraction in the State, but its spokeswoman Ms Michelle Griffin points out that 98 per cent of the people who visit are Irish. The 506,000 visitors last year was almost an all-time high and well ahead of the other main attractions, which rely almost exclusively on overseas visitors.

While domestic tourists visit places like the zoo, Kilmainham Gaol and the Botanic Gardens in large numbers, the bulk of visitors to Trinity College (Book of Kells), Christ Church Cathedral and the Dublinia exhibition are from overseas, according to Dublin Tourism.

Many of the attractions which do not have a charge are operated by the Office of Public Works (OPW), with the State effectively absorbing the cost of their upkeep. Places like the National Gallery have sought to raise private finance for expansion rather than levy the general public.

Dublin Tourism says as the quality of the attractions improves so should the numbers visiting them. Most of the major attractions now have restaurant and parking facilities and the quality of audiovisual presentations has been much improved.

Some of the upgrades have been financed from grants supplied by the main tourist promotion agencies. However, they are now being phased out and private owners of tourist attractions will have to finance most improvements out of their own pockets.

Mr Frank Magee, the chief executive of Dublin Tourism, says one way to ensure Dublin has proper levels of funding is for businesses in the city to support the industry. He says these businesses benefit from tourism, but do not contribute to the marketing effort and are "freeloaders".

Despite this, large investments have been made at The Old Jameson Distillery and the National Wax Museum in recent years for example. In tandem with this, there has been a proliferation of tourist walks, some focus on the city's literary heritage, while others take music or history as their theme.

Dublin Bus now operates four open top bus rides, ranging in price from £6, for the Dublin City Tour, to £12 for the south coast tour which goes from Dun Laoghaire to Dalkey. These operate throughout the year.

Dublin Tourism, while promoting the attractions within the city to overseas and domestic tourists, has also tried to push the message that staying in Dublin is not just an urban experience.

"The villages and small towns of the county are as charming as the city is exciting," says the organisation's literature. "Within a half hour of the city centre there are mountain walks, stately homes, gardens, sandy beaches and fishing villages," one of its guides says.

The equal attention paid to tourist attractions outside the city centre means that Malahide Castle, Newbridge House, Rathfarnham Castle and the Lusk Heritage Centre are drawing larger crowds.

Not that everyone is happy. One of the biggest selling tourist guides, the Time Out guide to Dublin has some harsh comments to make about some of the main attractions in the city.

Dublin Zoo, it says in the current edition, is the third-oldest zoo in the world, "and it shows". While enjoying the Guinness Hopstore it says it has "little to say about the relationship between Dublin and its most famous product". The displays in Kilmainham Gaol, it says, are all "grimly informative although the multimedia display on hanging seems gruesome beyond the call of documentation".