Best Free Things to Do in Dublin

Dublin has a reputation for being an expensive city to visit, and in fairness, a lot of it is. But several of the best things to do here — including some genuinely world-class collections — cost nothing at all.

National museums with free admission

The National Museum of Ireland operates a permanent free-admission policy for its core collections, across its Dublin sites:

• National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology (Kildare Street) — Bronze Age gold, medieval treasures and the Iron Age bog bodies.
• National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History (Collins Barracks, Benburb Street) — design, fashion, furniture and military history, in a former army barracks.
• National Gallery of Ireland (Merrion Square West) — founded by Act of Parliament in 1854 and open since 1864, the national art collection, also free to enter, with works by Caravaggio, Vermeer and Jack B. Yeats.
• Chester Beatty (Dublin Castle grounds) — a free museum of manuscripts and decorative arts collected by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, spanning Islamic, East Asian and Western collections. Closed to the public from 15 June to 31 December 2026 during Dublin Castle's use for Ireland's EU Council Presidency — see the notice above.

A note on the Natural History Museum: the "Dead Zoo" building on Merrion Street is currently closed for refurbishment. In the meantime, a selection of its taxidermy collection is on display at Collins Barracks. Check museum.ie before you go, since museum opening arrangements can change.

Donations are welcome at all of these sites and genuinely fund the institutions — worth dropping a few euro in the box if you can.

Gardens and green spaces that cost nothing

Phoenix Park

At around 1,750 acres, Phoenix Park is one of the largest enclosed city parks in Europe — big enough that Dublin Zoo, the President's official residence (Áras an Uachtaráin) and a working farm all sit inside its boundary. A wild herd of fallow deer has lived here since the 1660s and is usually visible from the main road through the park. Free to enter at any time; phoenixpark.ie has a visitor map and current events.

St Stephen's Green

A small, formally laid-out Victorian park at the top of Grafton Street — a natural place to sit down between the shopping streets and the museums around Merrion Square.

Iveagh Gardens

Tucked behind the National Concert Hall, this Victorian garden (rustic grotto, maze, sunken lawn) is free and considerably quieter than St Stephen's Green, since it's easy to walk past without realising it's there.

National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin

A large, free botanic garden a short bus ride north of the city centre, with Victorian glasshouses and rose gardens.

Merrion Square

A Georgian garden square beside the National Gallery, laid out from the 1760s and lined with brightly coloured doors and townhouses. Its public park is free and holds a reclining statue of Oscar Wilde, who grew up across the street.

Free streets, bridges and neighbourhoods

Beyond the parks, plenty of Dublin's best-known ground costs nothing to walk. Grafton Street, the city's main pedestrianised shopping street (car-free since 1982), runs free of charge from Trinity College up to St Stephen's Green. Temple Bar, the cobbled district by the river, is free to wander even if you don't stop for a drink. The Ha'penny Bridge, a cast-iron pedestrian bridge over the Liffey built in 1816, no longer charges the halfpenny toll it's named for — that was dropped in 1919. Trinity College's own cobbled squares are also free to walk through, even though the Book of Kells exhibition inside is ticketed.

Dublin's quays and waterfront

Walking the River Liffey from the Ha'penny Bridge out toward the Docklands is free and takes you past most of the city's contrasting architecture — Georgian, Victorian and contemporary glass office buildings side by side. Once you reach the Docklands, Grand Canal Dock — Dublin's regenerated waterfront, first opened as a working dock in 1796 — is worth a further wander along the canal basin, past the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, at no cost.

Tips for visiting on a budget

Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse and Kilmainham Gaol are all paid, popular and time-slotted — book online in advance rather than turning up, since walk-up tickets aren't guaranteed. The free options above need no booking at all.

Related reading

• Hidden Gems in Dublin for spots that don't make the typical list
• Best Parks and Walks in Dublin for more green space beyond Phoenix Park
• Dublin on a Budget for a fuller cost-saving guide
• Dublin in One Day if you're planning a short visit