Things to Do in Dublin That Are Free: Eight Ideas

Free in Dublin means you pay nothing at the door, and the city has more of it than most visitors expect. This list covers eight plans, with the hours and closures you should check before you go.

Things to do in Dublin that are free: what counts

A free plan here is one where you walk in without a ticket, and that covers every national museum and gallery below. All four sites of the National Museum of Ireland say admission is free; three are in Dublin and are listed below, and the fourth is outside the city. The National Gallery says entry to its permanent collection is free, and IMMA says the same for general entry, and most of its exhibitions are free too.

Free sights keep the day cheap, but food and drink are where the money goes. To see how Dublin prices beer and meals, read the cost guide before you plan the evening.

Three well-known sights are closed right now: the Chester Beatty, the Dead Zoo and Dublin Castle. The section after the list explains each one. Check the hours for each plan below, because museums here change their opening times at short notice.

1. National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology: best for gold and Vikings

The Archaeology museum on Kildare Street is free to enter and is the best first stop for Irish history. The museum's home page lists the permanent exhibitions The Treasury, Ór - Ireland's Gold and Viking Ireland. It also lists a newer Glendalough exhibition as now open.

The Archaeology museum opens from 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday and Monday. A closure notice says Kildare Street is closed on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October 2026. Check the notice again before you go, because it adds that more short-notice closures may follow.

Plan on two to three hours. The museum does not publish a visit length, so that figure comes from its opening times and its recommended last entry of about 4.30pm.

2. National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks: best for history and a late evening

Collins Barracks is free, and it is the best choice when Kildare Street is shut or full. The site is on Benburb Street in Dublin 7. Its visitor page gives the same hours as Kildare Street: 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday and Monday.

On the last Thursday of every month it stays open until 8pm. Some galleries can close at short notice, so check the page on the day.

Collins Barracks also holds the museum's "Dead Zoo Lab", which the museum opened while the Merrion Street building is closed for works. If you came for the Dead Zoo, this is the closest free substitute.

3. National Gallery of Ireland: best for a rainy morning

The National Gallery is the best free plan for paintings, and its permanent collection costs nothing. The gallery's home page says entry to the permanent collection is free and that it is open seven days a week. It stands on Merrion Square West, Dublin 2.

Its opening hours are:

• Monday: 11am to 5.30pm
• Tuesday and Wednesday: 9.15am to 5.30pm
• Thursday: 9.15am to 8.30pm
• Friday and Saturday: 9.15am to 5.30pm
• Sunday: 11am to 5.30pm

The page promises free entry only for the permanent collection. A special exhibition may carry a charge, so check the gallery's site before you queue. On a rainy day, this is the best free indoor plan, because it is open every day. For more indoor ideas, see our guide to things to do in Dublin when it's raining.

Pro Tip Go on a Thursday, when the National Gallery stays open until 8.30pm, and you can fit it in after a day at work or a morning walk.

4. IMMA: best for modern art and gardens

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is free, and it sits in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham with gardens around it. IMMA's visit page says admission is free and that entry to most exhibitions is also free. That wording means a few exhibitions may charge, so check the exhibition page.

IMMA is closed on Mondays except bank holidays. The hours are:

• Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10am to 5.30pm
• Wednesday: 11.30am to 5.30pm
• Sunday and bank holidays: 12 noon to 5.30pm

Last admission to any single exhibition gallery is 5.15pm. The site is outside the busy centre, so it is a good pick for a quieter hour.

5. Phoenix Park: best for a free half day outdoors

Phoenix Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and the Office of Public Works (OPW), which runs it, lists no entry fee. The OPW says the park opened to the public in 1747 and that wild fallow deer still live there. Keep your distance from the deer and do not feed them.

The main gates at Parkgate Street and Castleknock are open all day and night. The side gates open at about 7am and close at about 10.45pm, as the OPW's park page explains. It is only a mile and a half from O'Connell Street.

The park also holds a visitor centre, a cafe, Victorian flower gardens and Dublin Zoo. The zoo charges for entry, so the park walk is the free part of the day.

6. St Stephen's Green: best for a break in the city centre

St Stephen's Green is a free city-centre park, and it is the easiest plan to fit between other stops. Heritage Ireland lists admission as free. The Green opens at 7.30am Monday to Saturday and at 9.30am on Sundays and bank holidays.

Heritage Ireland's page says Lord Ardilaun opened the nine-hectare park to the public in 1880. It has paths, flower beds, a pond and a bandstand, and it suggests one to two hours for a visit. No closing time is listed, so check the gate on the day. Dogs are not allowed in the playground or around the lake and fountains.

7. Howth Cliff Path Loop: best for a free walk by the sea

The Howth Cliff Path Loop is a free coastal walk, and it is the best outdoor plan if you have a half day. Discover Ireland, the Fáilte Ireland site, lists it as "Free to visit". The route page says the loop is 7.8 km long, takes about 2 hours and climbs 130 metres in total.

The loop starts and ends at Howth DART (train) station, and the ground can be rough in parts. Discover Ireland recommends walking boots.

The walk costs nothing, but the train does. You cannot tap a bank card on the DART today, so use a Leap card or buy a ticket at the station. For fares and passes, see getting around Dublin.

8. Tip-based walking tour: best for your first morning

A tip-based walking tour has no ticket price, and you pay the guide at the end what you think the tour was worth. You book a time online, and the booking is free. Many of these tours start at the Spire on O'Connell Street and run for about two to two and a half hours, but start points and lengths change by guide, so check the listing when you book.

Plan on having cash or a payment app for the tip. A typical route passes the GPO, the Ha'penny Bridge and Trinity College, but each guide picks their own. For more choices, browse the Dublin free walking tour options and compare them with the paid ones.

Some visitors prefer a set fee, and cheap guided options exist. In Things to Do in Dublin's count of GetYourGuide listings on 25 October 2026, 24 of the 216 listings cost under €20 per person. One is the small-group sights walking tour, run by Yellow Umbrella Tours. It costs from €17 per person, lasts 2 hours and is rated 5.0 from 26 reviews, with free cancellation. It meets at Wood Quay, and the listing says tips for the guide are not included. The listing says a standard group is up to 25 people.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

Free sights that are closed or not free right now

Three well-known sights are closed, and one famous cathedral charges. The Chester Beatty library is normally free, but its own site says it is closed to the public from 15 June to the end of December 2026. The Natural History museum, the Dead Zoo, is free but closed for works since 2 September 2024. Dublin Castle is closed until January 2027, so see our page on Dublin Castle for what to do before then.

No official page used for this list names a free church or cathedral in Dublin, so check each church's own site. St Patrick's Cathedral is not free. Its own page lists adult tickets, and only infants under five go in free. The self-guided cathedral ticket is from €12 per person on GetYourGuide, rated 4.5 from 3,518 reviews, with audio guides and free cancellation.

For a guide on a paid history morning, the Glasnevin Cemetery history tour is run by the cemetery itself. It lasts 2 hours, costs from €17 per person and is rated 4.7 from 159 reviews, with free cancellation. It meets at Glasnevin Cemetery on Finglas Road. The listing does not state a group size. For the free sights a tour is not needed, so book one only if you want a guide for the paid sights.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 25 October 2026.

Key Takeaway Eight plans cost nothing at the door, but three free sights are closed now: Kildare Street on 25 and 26 October, the Chester Beatty until the end of December and the Dead Zoo.

How to choose things to do in Dublin that are free

Choose by weather and by how much walking you want, then check the hours. The table lists each plan, what it costs and what to check first.

Here is one free day that links the museum, the gallery and the park, all in Dublin 2.

A free day like this works Tuesday to Saturday, because the Archaeology museum opens at 10am on those days. On a Sunday, the gallery opens at 11am and the museum at 1pm.

The honest limit is that free sights close more often than paid ones. With only one day in Dublin, check each opening time the evening before. For a longer plan around the sights that do charge, see the Dublin itinerary.

A free day still needs a plan, because free sights close too.