Free things to do in Dublin: what costs nothing, and the sights people list as free that are not

💡 The Short Version: Free: the National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology on Kildare Street, and Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks), the National Gallery’s permanent collection, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the National Library’s exhibitions, Phoenix Park and the Áras an Uachtaráin tour on Saturdays. Not free: St Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals, €11.50 each, and the Book of Kells, from €19. Shut: the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Chester Beatty until the end of December 2026 and Dublin Castle until January 2027. Or book a tour: the Highlights and Hidden Gems walking tourad is from €24, and Dublin Free Walking Tour runs on tips.

Museums and galleries that cost nothing

• The National Museum is shut on a few days: Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day and Good Friday.
• The National Gallery is shut from 24 to 26 December and on Good Friday. Hilma af Klint: Artist and Visionary runs from 15 October 2026 to 7 February 2027.
• IMMA’s car park is a five-minute walk from Kilmainham Gaol: see Kilmainham Gaol tickets.

Museums in Dublin covers these and the paid museums in detail.

The National Gallery of Ireland on Merrion Square West. Photo: Kaihsu Tai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Libraries, exhibitions and parks

• National Library of Ireland. Admission to all its exhibitions is free. Yeats: The Life & Works of William Butler Yeats is at 7/8 Kildare Street, open Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday 9:30 to 17:00 and Tuesday and Wednesday 9:30 to 19:00. Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again is at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre on Westmoreland Street, Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 16:00. Live Aid is at the National Photographic Archive on Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, daily 10:00 to 16:00.
• Phoenix Park. Open 24 hours a day, with a herd of wild fallow deer. The park opened to the public in 1747. Do not feed or approach the deer. The Visitor Centre at Ashtown Castle is free, with an exhibition on the park’s history, and the restored Victorian kitchen garden next to it is open daily 10:00 to 16:00. The Biodiversity Centre is open on Wednesdays and Sundays.
• The Áras an Uachtaráin. Free guided tours of the President’s residence run almost every Saturday, at 10:00, 11:15, 12:30, 13:45 and 15:00, for about an hour and a quarter. Tickets are given out first come first served at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, and there is no advance booking. No tours on 21 November 2026.
• Farmleigh. The grounds, gardens and gallery are free, daily 10:00 to 18:00. Farmleigh House is closed for the rest of 2026.
• Free Wednesday. On the first Wednesday of each month, many Office of Public Works heritage sites give free admission to independent visitors and families. Tickets are first come first served and cannot be booked online. The Custom House Visitor Centre is among the sites Heritage Ireland lists as open all year.

Fallow deer grazing in Phoenix Park. Photo: Superchilum, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Walking tours on tips

Dublin Free Walking Tour is run by Yellow Umbrella Tours and costs what you choose to tip at the end. The Southside tour leaves daily at 10:00, 11:00 and 14:00 from the Spire on O’Connell Street and passes Trinity College, Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, Christ Church and St Patrick’s. The Northside tour leaves daily at 15:00. Dublin walking tours compares it with the paid tours.

The pond and shelter in St Stephen’s Green. Photo: Oliver Gargan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Listed as free, but not

• St Patrick’s and Christ Church cathedrals: €11.50 each. St Patrick’s free guided tours run Monday to Saturday at 10:30 and 14:30. See the cathedrals.
• The Book of Kells and the Long Room: €25, or €19 for the Old Library alone. See Book of Kells tickets.
• Marsh’s Library: €8, open Tuesday to Saturday.
• Dublin Castle: closed until January 2027, and €8 for a self-guided visit when it reopens. The Chester Beatty, which is free, is closed until the end of December 2026. See Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty.
• Kilmainham Gaol: €8, and booked 28 days ahead. See Kilmainham Gaol tickets.

Closed

• The Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square North closed on 28 September 2025 for refurbishment, expected to last at least three years. Francis Bacon’s studio stays in the building, which is shut.
• The Natural History Museum on Merrion Street, the Dead Zoo, is closed for refurbishment. Part of its collection is in the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks.
• The Dublin Writers Museum on Parnell Square has closed for good. The Museum of Literature Ireland on St Stephen’s Green is the open alternative: see museums in Dublin.

What to book before you go to Dublin has the closed days for every sight. Dublin Pass: is it worth it? is for the paid sights. 3 days in Dublin builds the plan round the closed days. Where to stay in Dublin compares the areas.