Best Free Things to Do in Dublin
Dublin's national museums, several of its finest gardens, and its whole waterfront cost nothing to visit — here's where to start.
Things to Do in Dublin When It Rains
Dublin's best wet-weather options are almost all free — its national museums, galleries and covered market.
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Photo: Ardfern / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Dublin Castle's State Apartments, normally a solid rainy-day option, are closed to the public from 5 May 2026 to 31 December 2026 during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Public tours resume in January 2027.
Last verified 23 September 2026 · Official source
Dublin gets its share of rain, and most of its best wet-weather options happen to also be free.
National museums and galleries
The National Museum of Ireland's Archaeology (Kildare Street) and Decorative Arts & History (Collins Barracks) sites, plus the National Gallery of Ireland, are all free, all indoors, and all have enough to fill several hours each. The Natural History Museum on Merrion Street is currently closed for refurbishment, with a partial display at Collins Barracks in the meantime — see museum.ie for current status. Chester Beatty, a free museum of manuscripts and Islamic, East Asian and Western art on the Dublin Castle grounds, is normally another good free indoor option, but is closed to the public from 15 June to 31 December 2026 during the castle's use for Ireland's EU Council Presidency.
Other indoor museums
Dublinia, beside Christ Church Cathedral, is a fully indoor Viking and medieval history experience, ending with a climb up the medieval St Michael's Tower — ticketed, and a good pairing with Christ Church itself on a wet afternoon. The Little Museum of Dublin, a small social-history museum on St Stephen's Green entered by 30-minute guided tour, is another indoor, ticketed option that works regardless of weather — book ahead at littlemuseum.ie.
George's Street Arcade
A fully covered Victorian market (open since 1881) a few minutes from Grafton Street, with food stalls, coffee and independent shops under one roof — an easy way to spend an hour without getting wet.
Ticketed indoor attractions
The Guinness Storehouse, Book of Kells Experience at Trinity College, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum (in the historic CHQ Building in the Docklands) and the National Wax Museum Plus are all fully indoor, paid attractions — reasonable options if you'd rather book something specific than wander. Each is popular enough that booking ahead online is worth doing regardless of weather.
Shopping centres
St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre and the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre (a restored 18th-century townhouse) are both covered, central, and double as things to look at in their own right, not just shopping.
Related reading
Practical details last verified 23 September 2026.
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