Temple Bar, Dublin: what a pint costs, which pubs play live music and when, the market and the free exhibition, TradFest and where to sleep

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Temple Bar is the cobbled quarter between Dame Street and the Liffey. A pint costs far more than the national average: the Central Statistics Office put the average pint of stout in Ireland at €6.08 in November 2025, and drinkers in Temple Bar on St Patrick’s Day 2025 paid up to €10.45. The pubs play live music from the afternoon: The Temple Bar Pub from opening, The Old Storehouse from 15:00. There is a food market on Saturdays, a free photographic exhibition every day, and TradFest from 20 to 24 January 2027, with free performances in the pubs. Or book a pub tour: the Dublin: Traditional Pubs Walking Tour with Local Guidead is from €27.50 for 3 hours.

⚠️ The Temple Bar Pub’s own food and drink page prints no pint price. Ask before you order. The figures here are the Central Statistics Office’s average and a reported St Patrick’s Day high.

What a pint costs

The average has risen 18% since November 2022, and Diageo raised the wholesale price of a pint of Guinness by seven cents in February 2026 (RTÉ Brainstorm, 7 August 2026). RTÉ says high-demand places and times drag the average up. The Guinness lists name pubs outside Temple Bar, which are in oldest pubs in Dublin.

Temple Bar Square. Photo: GilPe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The music

The pubs run music through the afternoon and into the night. The sessions in the rest of the city, and the night-by-night times, are in traditional music pubs in Dublin.

The Temple Bar pub on Temple Bar. Photo: Sean MacEntee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The Temple Bar Pub’s kitchen opens at 10:30 on weekdays and Saturdays and at 12:30 on Sundays. The Old Storehouse’s kitchen serves until 21:00.

TradFest, Dublin’s traditional-music festival, runs from Wednesday 20 to Sunday 24 January 2027. Its ticketed concerts are at venues across the city, with the gala at the National Stadium on 20 January, and TradFest Extra puts free, un-ticketed performances in the pubs and hotels of Temple Bar every January (tradfest.com).

The market and the free exhibition

• Temple Bar Food Market. Visit Dublin lists it on Saturdays from 9:30 to 15:30 on Meeting House Square.
• National Photographic Archive. On Meeting House Square, run by the National Library of Ireland, with free exhibitions every day from 10:00 to 16:00 (nli.ie).
• The Irish Film Institute and the Project Arts Centre. Next Stop Ireland names both, with the Gallery of Photography, as the district’s cultural institutions. The IFI’s programme is at ifi.ie.
• The Temple Bar Pub’s Irish coffee class. Dublin: Irish Coffee Masterclass at The Temple Bar Pubad is 30 minutes, from €26.

The National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar. Photo: DubhEire, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Getting there

The Dublin Express coaches from the airport stop at Trinity College on College Green, at Aston Quay by O’Connell Bridge and at Wellington Quay, all beside Temple Bar, with fares from €9 one way online: see Dublin airport to the city. The Tara Street DART station is a two-minute walk from the Fleet Street end. Dublin Castle, off Dame Street, is closed to the public until January 2027: see Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty. Trinity College is on College Green: see Book of Kells tickets.

Where to stay

The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. Hotels near Temple Bar lists 15 by distance, and where to stay in Dublin compares the other areas.

The Morgan Hotel

10 Fleet Street · 168 rooms · about 150 m from Temple Bar Square · Hotels.comad

A four-star hotel on Fleet Street with air-conditioned rooms and the 10 Fleet Street restaurant and bar.

Zanzibar Locke

34-37 Ormond Quay Lower · about 140 m from Temple Bar Square · Hotels.comad

Studios and suites with kitchens in a Georgian building beside the Ha’penny Bridge, on the north bank.

The Fleet Hotel

19-20 Fleet Street · about 220 m from Temple Bar Square · Hotels.comad

A four-star boutique hotel at the quieter end of Temple Bar, on the site of the Bewley’s Café that opened in 1905, with the Tara Street DART station two minutes away.

Next

Traditional music pubs in Dublin gives the sessions night by night, oldest pubs in Dublin the founding dates each pub claims, and where to eat in Dublin the meals. 3 days in Dublin fits the evening into the days, and the best time to visit Dublin gives the weather by month.

Common questions

How much does a pint cost in Temple Bar?

More than the national average. The Central Statistics Office put the average price of a pint of stout in Ireland at €6.08 in November 2025, and drinkers in Temple Bar on St Patrick's Day 2025 paid up to €10.45, according to RTÉ. The Temple Bar Pub's own page prints no pint price, so ask before you order.

Is Temple Bar worth visiting?

For the pubs with live music, the Saturday food market and the free National Photographic Archive exhibition, yes. Next Stop Ireland calls it very lively, very touristy and very expensive, and The Irish Road Trip says many Dubliners turn their noses up at it.

Which Temple Bar pubs have live music?

The Temple Bar Pub plays live traditional music from opening to closing. The Old Storehouse on Crown Alley starts at 15:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 14:00 on Friday and Saturday. Oliver St John Gogarty's has music daily and says there is no cover charge.

When is the Temple Bar Food Market?

Visit Dublin lists it on Saturdays from 9:30 to 15:30 on Meeting House Square.

Is there anything free to do in Temple Bar?

The National Photographic Archive on Meeting House Square has free exhibitions every day from 10:00 to 16:00, and the National Library of Ireland runs it. The pubs charge nothing for the music.

When is TradFest?

Wednesday 20 to Sunday 24 January 2027. The ticketed concerts are across Dublin, with the gala at the National Stadium on 20 January, and TradFest Extra puts free performances in the pubs and hotels of Temple Bar.

Where should I stay for Temple Bar?

On Fleet Street, Ormond Quay or Westmoreland Street, within about 300 m of Temple Bar Square, or further out on a quieter street. Hotels near Temple Bar lists 15 hotels by distance.