Best Parks and Walks in Dublin

Dublin has more green space, and more walking routes, than its compact city centre suggests. Here's where to go.

Phoenix Park

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

St Stephen's Green

A small, formally laid-out Victorian park at the top of Grafton Street. Popular with office workers at lunchtime and a natural stopping point between the shopping streets and Merrion Square.

Iveagh Gardens

Behind the National Concert Hall, and easy to miss if you don't know it's there. Features include a rustic grotto, a maze and a sunken lawn — usually quiet even when St Stephen's Green is busy.

Merrion Square Park

Opposite the National Gallery, this park is best known for its Oscar Wilde memorial statue and the row of Georgian doors along its northern edge.

North Bull Island and Dollymount Strand

A sandy spit on the northern edge of Dublin Bay, reachable by bus from the city centre. Bull Island has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1981 (extended to cover the whole of Dublin Bay in 2015), and supports habitats protected under EU law alongside its beach, Dollymount Strand — a popular spot for a long walk, kite-surfing and birdwatching. More at dublinbaybiosphere.ie.

Grand Canal walk

Walking the Grand Canal from the city centre out toward Ringsend and Grand Canal Dock takes you past Dublin's docklands redevelopment and out to the Poolbeg chimneys — a flatter, waterside alternative to a park walk, and free.

Related reading

• Best Free Things to Do in Dublin
• Best Beaches Near Dublin
• Hidden Gems in Dublin
• Things to Do in Dublin with Kids