Best FREE Things to Do in Dublin

Best FREE Things to Do in Dublin

There are loads of FREE things to see in the capital city. Dublin has plenty of Free stuff to keep you busy. Dublin is the capital of Ireland with a population of 1.2 million that a fifth of all the people living on the island of Ireland. Dublin is a great city to visit and spend some time in. The city with some cool old buildings to see, it’s a multicultural and a very vibrant city with nice people and fun things to do. Dublin has some amazing pubs. The busiest airport in Ireland is Dublin airport, and the busiest tourist attraction in the whole of the Emerald isle is in Dublin, it’s the Guinness Storehouse.  If you’re on a limited budget this post is for you, I have put together a fine list of totally FREE stuff to check out in Dublin.

Dublin is an old city going back 1,000 years to the time of the Vikings, it was a hub for education, trade. There are heaps of old historic buildings to see, some of them are uniquely designed masterpieces.

Dublin is an easy city to get around, you can use the Dublin Bus service or taxi. Dublin benefits from a really cool overhead tram called the “Luas”. The Luas can take around Dublin City and the surrounding areas in no time. Walking around is a great way to explore the capital city’s cool streets and alleys. Walking around you will get a taste of Dublin’s strong cultural identity. The city has loads of nice places to eat with all types of food from m Italian to Turkish and Chinese foods. Of course, you will find some nice traditional Irish food outlets serving Irish stew with Guinness or Bacon and cabbage, you have to try some of these dishes!

Check out my post here on a Full Ireland Tavel Guide with everything you need to know when visiting Ireland!

The National Gallery of Ireland

The National Gallery is an amazing FREE attraction to visit, it’s full of cool stuff to see. The national gallery has an amazing collection of European Art and Irish Art pieces. The National Gallery is located on Clare Street and another entrance on the wonderful Merrion Square.

The gallery hosts events and has an online shop on their website where you can purchase art-related items. The gallery has some amazing art pieces on display, if you are into art this is a place you wanna see while in the capital city.

Free Walking Tour

Doing a walking tour is a great way to see a city and all its cool sites. Dublin is a great city to walk around, its nice streets are full of cool buildings, nice retail shops, and monuments. The city is full of pieces of history whether that be the post office in O Connell Street or some of the cool monuments scattered around the place. Dublin FREE walking tours are one company operating FREE tours, they cover both parts of Dublin North and South. Their tours cover a huge amount of information. The guides are very knowledgeable in history, facts and stats. They do some other exciting tours like the Dublin pub tour, which is always good craic as we say in Ireland.

Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Park is a huge park, it’s located west of the city centre and in the north direction of the large River Liffey. The park is very well kept, it’s the perfect place on nice summers days for a picnic or if you just want to relax and chill out for a while. Phoenix Park is 11-kilometre-long and covers a huge 1,750 acres of land. The park is home to a herd of wild deer. Phoenix Park is open of the biggest public park in the whole of the EU. The President of Ireland lives in Phoenix Park. The President’s house is called “Aras an Unachtarain”, the beautiful white house was built in the year 1754. You have to pop over and check it out!

The Spire

The Spire is FREE to visit, it’s located in O Connell Street in Dublin’s City Centre. O Connell Street is the main street in the capital city. The Spire is known as the “Monument of Light”, it is made from stainless steel. The monument is a huge 120 metres high. The purpose of the monument is to sign of a brighter and better future, travelling upwards almost limitless into the sky. The Spire was finished in 2003 and cost 4.6 million. The cleaning costs for the spire to date have been 2.7 million euros, you have to pop over and chit out!

The Garden of Remembrance

The Garden of Remembrance is a beautiful place to visit, it is located at the top of O Connell Street Dublin on the left-hand side basically on the same side as the famous Post Office building. The Garden of Remembrance is a memorial garden with some beautiful statues to see, the garden is dedicated to all the people who lost their life’s on the struggle for Irish Freedom and the Irish becoming a free state. The Garden of Remembrance was opened over 50 years ago by the famous Eamon de Valera.

Saint Stephens Green

Saint Stephens Green is an open-air public park. The park is located in the heart of Dublin city. The park is 22 acres in size with some beautifully landscaped areas. The Victorian park has over 700 trees and some lovely plants and shrubs to see. Saint Stephens Greeb Park has a waterfall some cool Pulham rock features. The park has a playground and a garden for the visually impaired. The park is wheelchair accessible and has some nice benches to sit n and take in the surrounding.

See Dublin Castle

This old Irish castle is almost seed while in Dublin. The castle has a long history, it’s a government-owned and run complex. Dublin Castle features a conference centre for events and it’s one of Dublin busiest tourist attractions. The castle is located on Dame Street. The building used to be the seat of the British Governments administration in Ireland back in the day. The current castle date back to the 18^th century but the site has had a castle going back to the time of King John who was the first Lord of Ireland back in the day. When the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed in 1921, the property was given to the Irish government that was led by Micheal Collins t the time. Dublin Castle host the inauguration of all Irish presidents and lots of other state events and conferences. It’s completely FREE to check out Dublin castle for the outside and stroll around this beautiful building.

Visit Merrion Square Park

This super retro open-air park is one of the capitals city’s most beautiful Georgian public parks. The old park was restored to its former glory. Merrion Park has a playground and it’s in a beautiful part of Dublin. The National Gallery of Ireland is quite close to the park and so is the Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Government Buildings). The park is a nice place to get some headspace or just go for a quiet stroll and relax for a while. Merrion Square Park is open from Monday to Saturday from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Pop into O’donoghue’s Pub

This pub is one of the best in all of Dublin. The music sessions here are world-famous and have seen some Irish music cons play there over the years. It will cost you nothing to pop in and hear some music in the evening time. The famous Irish music band “ The Dubliners” started playing in O Donoghue’s way back in the 1960s, the buzz and atmosphere in this pub is amazing. It’s the palace to go to in Dublin for what we call “trad in Ireland or traditional Irish music, you have to pop in for a gander!!!

I hope you find this post useful, I welcome any questions or suggestions by email to info@allthings-ireland.com.

Thanks

John C

All Things Ireland