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10 FREE Things to do in Dublin
Dublin has a host of excellent visitor attractions, tours and sights to see, not to mention a vast industry designed to relieve the tourist of their hard-earned buck or pound (though hopefully for something of value in return). It is possible however to enjoy your time in Dublin without spending any money, bar perhaps on an occasional cup of coffee or a bus fare. Here are ten activities, five indoor, five outdoor, that won't cost you a penny (or even a cent).
1. Take a Walk
The best way to see any city is by walking it. One tip: Look up. Modern shop fronts are designed to be uniform, easily reproduced and branded, and invariably cheap, and Dublin is no exception to this rule, with many global brands. Keep your eye instead on the 1st and 2nd stories of buildings; from the names of the previous establishments and the ancient and fading advertising on gable walls, you'll learn much about the social and economic history of the city.
Some suggested routes:
Parnell Square to St Stephens Green
Temple Bar
The River
2. Visit an Art Gallery
Raining? The state's art galleries all have free admission. The main ones are:
The National Gallery, Merrion Square
The National Gallery houses the national collection of Irish art and European master paintings, from Carravaggio to Orpen.
The Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square
Modern and contemporary art from the 19th and 20th centuries, including the reconstructed studio of Francis Bacon. There is a charge to view the studio and for some special exhibitions.
IMMA (The Irish Museum of Modern Art), in the old Royal Hospital, Kilmainham
Even more modern and contemporary than the Hugh Lane, the building alone (an old 17th-century veterans’ hospital, is worth the visit, with its landscaped gardens and sweeping views across the Liffey.
Also check out The Temple Bar Gallery, The Project Arts Centre and the many other specialist galleries and exhibition spaces around town.
Occasionally, these galleries may charge for entrance to special exhibitions or collections. This is usually the case for example, in the National Gallery Extension on Clare Street. The main areas however are always free.
Alternatively, visit one of the many private galleries or browse the open-air art exhibition on Stephens Green at weekends in the summer.
3. Go to a Museum
Likewise, museums in Dublin are free. The National Museum has three branches in Dublin: Archaeology and History on Kildare Street, Decorative Arts in Collins Barracks and the Natural History Museum on Merrion Square. Dublin Corporation also run the Dublin Civic Museum, charting the city's history since Viking times.
For more on Dublin's museums, visit our museums page.
4. Parks and Gardens
On a fine day enjoy rus in urbe in one of the many parks and gardens around Dublin: Saint Stephens Green, Merrion Square, the Iveagh Gardens, the Phoenix Park and the Islandbridge war memorial. Or go further afield to St Anne's Park on the northside or Marley Park in the south.
5. Get in touch with Nature
When you're so close to the sea and the mountains, escape is never far away. A DART trip north will take you to Bull Island, 5 km long but less than 200 years old, or to the peninsula and fishing port of Howth, with its walks among the rhododendrons of the Deerpark. Heading south, get off at Booterstown marsh, a paradise for bird watchers, or keep on to the coastal village of Dalkey or the magnificent bay of Killiney.
A bus or a coach trip will bring you to the Dublin mountains and the Pine Forest, or further afield to Wicklow and Glendalough. On a good day, why not climb the Sugar Loaf and gaze back at Wales.
6. Browse the Bookshops
The Land of Saints and Scholars seems an outworn soubriquet for the offspring of the Celtic Tiger, but Dubliners will never renounce their bookshops. There's no better way to kill a rainy afternoon than by filling your nostrils with musty ink. For a list of the best places to go, see our bookshops page.
7. The Boardwalk
I have to say that when I heard they were going to build the Boardwalk I thought they were daft. Humble pie. Eat. It's one of the best things to happen to Dublin in years. For one thing, it's on the sunny side of the Liffey, for another, it's living proof of global warming - if anyone had suggested to a Dubliner in the rainy 1960s that one day people would sit outside drinking coffee in Dublin they'd have been laughed out of town.
So, particularly in summer, grab a good book and settle down to a cup of Cruises Coffee Co's excellent coffee and just chill out and take in the surroundings. People watch, stroll up and down, listen to others' conversations, study the architecture of the city's quays and, from late 2005, watch the new river taxis as they glide past you. It's been such a success story that they're currently extending the Boardwalk east of O'Connell Bridge.
8. Government Buildings
Not many tourists are aware that the magnificent Leinster House, seat of the two houses of the Oireachtas (or Parliament), is open to the public. You need to arrange things in advance and it helps to do it through and elected representative. The phone number to ring is +353 1 678 9911. Once there you can take a tour of the building or sit in the visitors' gallery in The Dáil and watch the politicians at play. Bring a group and you'll probably outnumber them.
Also worth a visit are Government Buildings on Merrion Square at the back of Leinster House (though strictly this is the "garden front" - there is no back). Up until recently the engineering school of UCD, it was refurbished at great expense by then-Taoiseach Charles Haughey to house various government departments, including the Department of the Taoiseach. Dubliners, who will sniff any hint of vanity at five miles, usually refer to it as the Chas Mahal. There are guide tours of the building on Saturdays only. They're free and you can get tickets from the nearby National Gallery on the day.
9. Research your Family Tree
That may even be what you're coming to Dublin for. It's a subject worth a website in itself, but the best places to start are the National Library and the National Archives. Talk to the people in Heraldic Artists in Nassau Street too. They'll be able to tell you much about your family name and its history and stock a huge range of genealogical products and books.
10. Go to the Sea
Take a dip at Dollymount or Sandymount Strands, Seapoint, Sandymount or Killiney, or just walk the beaches there. Walk out to and along the South Bull Wall or Dun Laoghaire pier, or stroll the promenade at Bray. Be a feminist and crash the once male-only preserve of the 40-foot in Sandycove, under the shadow of Joyce's famous tower.
Most of the above are accessible by DART, To get to the South Bull, take a car or a number 3 bus to Sandymount/Irishtown (with a fair walk at the end of it).
Trinity College - The Book of Kells.
St. Minchins (sp) church
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Christ Church
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