Best Things to Do in Dublin

This is Dublin's essential list — 24 sights and experiences that between them cover what most first-time (and repeat) visitors come looking for: literary and political history, free national collections, a couple of famous drinks, and the parks and streets that make the city liveable rather than just a checklist. It's organised by theme so you can skip to what interests you. For ready-made routes that string several of these together into a day, see Dublin in One Day, Dublin in Two Days or Dublin in Three Days.

The essentials

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Ireland's oldest university, founded in 1592, and home to the Book of Kells, a 9th-century illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels on display in the Old Library's Long Room — one of the most photographed library interiors in the world, lined with 200,000 of the library's oldest books. Area: city centre, Dublin 2. Free/paid: the college grounds are free to walk; the Book of Kells Experience is ticketed and timed. Booking: book ahead at visittrinity.ie — it regularly sells out same-day slots, especially in summer. Indoor/outdoor: both — the cobbled squares are outdoor, the exhibition and Long Room are indoor.

Guinness Storehouse

Ireland's most-visited paid attraction, built around the old St James's Gate fermentation plant where Guinness has been brewed since Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on the site in 1759. Seven floors take you through the brewing process, advertising history and a tasting, ending with a 360-degree view of the city from the rooftop Gravity Bar. Area: the Liberties, Dublin 8. Free/paid: ticketed. Booking: book a timed slot online in advance at guinness-storehouse.com, particularly for summer weekends. Visit duration: most visitors spend around 1.5–2 hours. Indoor/outdoor: indoor, with an outdoor-facing rooftop bar.

Kilmainham Gaol

A former prison central to Irish independence history — the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, were executed in its Stonebreakers' Yard. It later held figures from the War of Independence and Civil War on both sides. Area: Kilmainham, Dublin 8, a short walk from the Guinness Storehouse. Free/paid: ticketed, guided-tour only. Booking: tickets are released in advance through the official OPW booking system at heritageireland.ie — this is the only official channel, and slots sell out well ahead in summer. Visit duration: the tour itself runs around an hour; allow extra time for the attached 1916 exhibition.

National Museum of Ireland — Archaeology and Decorative Arts & History

Two free permanent-collection sites in the city: Archaeology on Kildare Street, home to the Bronze Age gold collection, the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch and Ireland's bog bodies; and Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks near Heuston Station, covering furniture, silver, costume and Irish military history. Free/paid: free at both sites. A note: the museum's Natural History building on Merrion Street is currently closed for refurbishment works, with a selection of its specimens on show at Collins Barracks in the meantime — check museum.ie for current site status before planning around it.

Christ Church Cathedral

One of Dublin's two medieval cathedrals, founded around 1030 and rebuilt in Gothic style from the 1180s onward, sitting in the historic core of the city near the Liberties. Its crypt, one of the oldest structures in Dublin, holds a mummified cat and rat found in an organ pipe, along with historic silver and manuscripts. Area: city centre, Dublin 8, at the top of the Liberties. Free/paid: ticketed for entry to the cathedral and crypt. Nearby: the Dublinia exhibition on Viking and medieval Dublin sits next door and can be combined on a joint ticket.

Phoenix Park

One of the largest enclosed city parks in Europe, laid out from 1662 and opened to the public in 1747. It's home to Dublin Zoo, Áras an Uachtaráin (the President's official residence), the Wellington Monument, and a resident fallow deer herd that's roamed the park for centuries. Area: just west of the city centre, Dublin 8. Free/paid: free to walk at any time; Dublin Zoo within it is ticketed. Indoor/outdoor: outdoor. See our full parks and walks guide for a longer route through it.

A note on Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle, the former seat of British administration in Ireland and now used for state functions, is closed to the public from 5 May through 31 December 2026 while it hosts Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union; public tours resume in January 2027. Chester Beatty, a free museum on the castle grounds, is also closed for the same reason, from 15 June 2026. Christ Church Cathedral and St Patrick's Cathedral, both a short walk away, cover comparable historic ground in the meantime.

Museums and galleries

Chester Beatty

A free museum of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings and decorative arts collected by mining magnate Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, spanning Islamic, East Asian and Western collections — regularly rated among Dublin's best small museums. Area: on the grounds of Dublin Castle, Dublin 2. Free/paid: free, with a suggested donation. Closure notice: closed to the public from 15 June to 31 December 2026 during Dublin Castle's use for Ireland's EU Council Presidency; check chesterbeatty.ie before visiting.

National Gallery of Ireland

Ireland's national art collection, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1854 and open to the public since 1864, with works by Caravaggio, Vermeer and a strong body of Irish art including Jack B. Yeats. Area: Merrion Square West, Dublin 2. Free/paid: free for the permanent collection; some temporary exhibitions are ticketed. Booking: no booking needed for general entry — see nationalgallery.ie for current exhibitions. Indoor: yes, and a reliable option on a wet day (see our rainy day guide).

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

An interactive museum in the vaults of the CHQ Building at Custom House Quay — itself a listed 1820 bonded warehouse — telling the story of Irish emigration through 20 themed galleries covering more than a thousand years of history and the Irish diaspora's global impact. Area: Custom House Quay/North Docks, Dublin 1, a short walk from Connolly and Tara Street stations. Free/paid: ticketed. Booking: the museum runs timed entry; book ahead online at epicchq.com, especially in peak season — tickets include a free return visit within 10 days. Indoor: yes, fully.

Little Museum of Dublin

A small social-history museum on St Stephen's Green built from a public appeal for Dubliners' own historic objects, now holding several thousand artefacts including the lectern used by JFK on his 1963 visit. Entry is by a well-regarded 30-minute guided tour. Area: 15 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Free/paid: ticketed, guided-tour only. Booking: book ahead at littlemuseum.ie — tours run frequently but do sell out at busy times.

Dublinia

A living-history museum focused on Viking and medieval Dublin, occupying the former Synod Hall attached to Christ Church Cathedral. Exhibits recreate Viking-age Dublin street life and a medieval fair, and the visit ends with a climb up St Michael's Tower — a 96-step medieval bell tower with city views. Area: beside Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin 8. Free/paid: ticketed; a combined ticket with Christ Church Cathedral is available. Good for: families — see our guide to Dublin with kids.

Historic streets, squares and buildings

GPO Witness History

A museum inside Dublin's General Post Office on O'Connell Street, the building that served as rebel headquarters during the 1916 Easter Rising and still shows bullet-scarred pillars out front. The exhibition tells the Rising and its aftermath from multiple eyewitness perspectives and displays an original copy of the 1916 Proclamation. Area: O'Connell Street, Dublin 1. Free/paid: ticketed. Official site: gpomuseum.ie.

Grafton Street

Dublin's best-known pedestrianised shopping street, running about 500 metres from St Stephen's Green down to Trinity College. Fully pedestrianised in 1982 after a trial in 1971, it's anchored by the department store Brown Thomas (trading since 1848) and is a reliable spot for buskers and street performers. Area: between Trinity College and St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2. Free/paid: free to walk (shopping optional). Indoor/outdoor: outdoor.

Temple Bar

The cobbled district between Dame Street and the Liffey, built up on the medieval street pattern and now Dublin's densest concentration of pubs, live music and tourist-facing bars. It's busy and unapologetically touristy, but it is genuinely the oldest part of the city's commercial core and worth a walk-through even if you don't stay for a pint. Area: between Dame Street and the River Liffey, Dublin 2. Free/paid: free to walk; food and drink prices run higher here than elsewhere in the city. Tip: it's at its best for a daytime wander through the side streets and its Saturday food market; the main square gets loud and stag/hen-heavy after dark.

Ha'penny Bridge

A cast-iron pedestrian bridge over the River Liffey, built in May 1816 as Ireland's first dedicated pedestrian bridge and its first iron bridge, cast at the Coalbrookdale foundry in England. It takes its popular name from the halfpenny toll originally charged to cross it, dropped in 1919; its official name is Liffey Bridge. Area: connects Temple Bar to the north Liffey quays, Dublin 1/2. Free/paid: free, no toll today. Tip: it's lit at night and one of the more reliable photo spots in the city — see our Dublin at night guide.

St Patrick's Cathedral

Ireland's largest church, with the current Gothic building dating from 1220–1259 on a site with a Christian history going back to the 5th century. It's the burial place of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, who served as Dean here from 1713 until his death in 1745 — his grave and self-written epitaph are inside. Area: near the top of the Liberties, Dublin 8, close to Christ Church. Free/paid: ticketed for entry.

Marsh's Library

Ireland's oldest public library, founded in 1707 by Archbishop Narcissus Marsh as the country's first library open to the general reading public, not just scholars. It holds over 25,000 books and 300 manuscripts in largely unaltered 18th-century reading cages. Area: beside St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin 8. Free/paid: ticketed, modest admission. Hours: closed Sundays, Mondays and bank holidays — check marshlibrary.ie before visiting. Tip: a quiet, low-footfall stop directly beside two much busier cathedrals.

Merrion Square

A Georgian garden square lined with brightly coloured doors and 18th-century townhouses, laid out from the 1760s. Its public park holds a reclining statue of Oscar Wilde, who grew up across the street at No. 1 Merrion Square. Area: Dublin 2, beside the National Gallery. Free/paid: free. Indoor/outdoor: outdoor, with a children's playground.

Grand Canal Dock

Dublin's regenerated docklands waterfront, originally opened in 1796 as one of the largest docks in the world for inland trade, and derelict by the 1960s before a major redevelopment from the late 1990s onward. It's now home to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre — a Daniel Libeskind-designed venue that opened in 2010 — and the tech-company cluster nicknamed the "Silicon Docks." Area: south docklands, Dublin 2/4. Free/paid: free to walk the waterfront; theatre tickets and restaurant prices vary. Indoor/outdoor: outdoor waterfront with indoor venues along it.

Green spaces

St Stephen's Green

A 22-acre Victorian public park at the top of Grafton Street, enclosed since 1664 and opened to the public in its current landscaped form in 1880. It played a role in the 1916 Rising as a rebel position, and today holds a lake, fifteen commemorative statues, and Edward Delaney's 1967 Famine Memorial at its northeast corner. Area: Dublin 2, top of Grafton Street. Free/paid: free. Indoor/outdoor: outdoor.

Iveagh Gardens

Known locally as Dublin's "secret garden," these gardens were laid out in 1863–65 by landscape designer Ninian Niven for the Dublin International Exhibition, incorporating sunken lawns, a rose garden, a yew maze and a rustic grotto with a cascade. Transferred into state care in 1991, they're free and considerably quieter than St Stephen's Green two minutes away. Area: tucked behind Harcourt Street, accessible from Clonmel Street, Dublin 2. Free/paid: free. Tip: one of the best genuinely low-traffic green spaces in the city centre — see our guide for couples.

A little further out

Malahide Castle and Gardens

A castle and estate held by the Talbot family from 1185 until 1973, with the central Norman tower house the oldest surviving part. Guided tours (around 45 minutes) take in the Great Hall, built in 1495, and the Oak Room. The grounds hold the Talbot Botanic Gardens, developed by Lord Milo Talbot between 1940 and 1970 with plant species collected from around the world. Area: Malahide, north County Dublin, roughly 30–40 minutes from the city centre by DART or car. Free/paid: the grounds are free to walk; the castle interior and gardens are ticketed. Booking: book at malahidecastleandgardens.ie.

Howth

A fishing village and peninsula on Dublin's northside coast, reachable directly by DART, with cliff-path walks around Howth Head, a working harbour known for fresh seafood, and views out to Ireland's Eye. It's a full outing rather than a quick stop. Area: Howth, north County Dublin, about 30 minutes from the city centre by DART. Free/paid: free to walk the cliff paths and harbour; boat trips and food cost extra. See our dedicated Howth guide for route options and timing.

Planning your visit

• Book ahead for anything ticketed and popular. The Book of Kells, Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol and EPIC all run timed entry and regularly sell out same-day slots in peak season.
• The free national collections are genuinely worth the time, not just a budget fallback — the National Museum and National Gallery hold internationally significant collections at no cost.
• Pace a first day around the centre: Trinity College, Grafton Street, St Stephen's Green, Temple Bar and Christ Church/Dublinia are all within a 20-minute walk of each other.
• Malahide and Howth need a half-day each rather than being squeezed into a city-centre itinerary — both are easy DART trips but are their own outing.

Related reading

• Dublin in One Day
• Dublin in Two Days
• Dublin in Three Days
• Best Free Things to Do in Dublin
• Hidden Gems in Dublin
• Food and Drink in Dublin