Free Things to Do in Dublin: What Is Still Free in 2026
Last updated: October 2026
Intro
The national museums, the National Gallery's permanent collection, the National Library's exhibitions, IMMA and every big park in Dublin cost nothing in 2026. Several places that older lists send you to do not work this year: the whole Dublin Castle campus is closed until January 2027, the Chester Beatty is shut until the end of December, the Hugh Lane Gallery has been closed since September 2025, and the Natural History Museum on Merrion Street is closed for works. Trinity's campus is normally open to walk through, but the Book of Kells is ticketed. Here is what really costs nothing, checked in October 2026.
Ciceru's Dublin walk in the Ciceru app costs €5, covers 3 km in about 2 hours, and has a story and a quiz question at each of its 9 stops, plus a free 500 MB global eSIM. It runs from the James Joyce Statue to the Brazen Head.
⚡ Quick answer
- Best free museum: the National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology, on Kildare Street, with a second free branch at Collins Barracks
- Best free art: the National Gallery of Ireland, permanent collection free, open until 20:30 on Thursdays
- Best free green space: St Stephen's Green, Iveagh Gardens and Merrion Square in the centre, Phoenix Park out west
- Biggest catches: Dublin Castle (closed until January 2027), the Chester Beatty (closed until the end of December 2026) and the Hugh Lane (closed since September 2025, with press reports pointing to 2028)
🚫 What is not free or not open
Dublin Castle. 📍 Dame Street. The castle's own site says the campus is closed to the public until January 2027, to accommodate Ireland's hosting of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The site lists no part of the campus as open, so the State Apartments, the courtyards and the gardens are all out for now. It is not a free sight in any case: before the closure the self-guided State Apartments ticket was listed at €8.
Chester Beatty. 📍 Dublin Castle grounds. Normally free, and one of the best free hours in the city. Visit Dublin's listing says it is closed from 15 June to the end of December 2026 for the EU Presidency, and the library's own site carries a closure notice without dates. It sits inside the castle campus, so treat the dates as something to check. Do not plan around it this year.
Hugh Lane Gallery. 📍 Parnell Square North. Closed for refurbishment since 28 September 2025. Press reports put the reopening at 2028. The gallery's announcement says Francis Bacon's studio stays protected on site during the works.
Natural History Museum (the Dead Zoo). 📍 Merrion Street. Closed for works with no reopening date on the museum's site. Some of the collection is on show in a "Dead Zoo Lab" at Collins Barracks instead.
Book of Kells. 💶 Trinity's booking page lists tickets from €19 online for the Book of Kells and Old Library, and from €25 for the Book of Kells Experience. Most of the Old Library's books have been removed as part of its redevelopment, so you are paying to see a changed room.
Cathedrals. 💶 St Patrick's Cathedral is €11.50 for an adult. Christ Church charges for visits too, so check the price on its ticketing page.
🏛️ Free national museums
The National Museum of Ireland says "admission is free" at all its sites. Both Dublin branches below open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00 and Sunday and Monday 13:00 to 17:00.
- National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology 📍 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The national archaeology collection, with no gallery closures listed on its page at the time of writing. If you only do one museum, make it this one
- National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History 📍 Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7. The decorative arts and history collections. Gallery 4 (the Irish in British Regiments) has been closed since April 2025. The Dead Zoo Lab is here
🖼️ Free art, books and a Thursday late
- National Gallery of Ireland 📍 Merrion Square West, Dublin 2 🕐 Monday 11:00 to 17:30, Tuesday and Wednesday 09:15 to 17:30, Thursday 09:15 to 20:30, Friday and Saturday 09:15 to 17:30, Sunday 11:00 to 17:30. The permanent collection is free. Some exhibitions are not: the Hilma af Klint show opens on 15 October 2026 and is ticketed
- National Library of Ireland 📍 7 and 8 Kildare Street, Dublin 2 🕐 the Yeats exhibition is open Monday, Thursday and Friday 09:30 to 17:00, Tuesday and Wednesday 09:30 to 19:00, Sunday 09:30 to 17:00. Exhibitions are free. The reading rooms need a reader ticket. The library also carries a notice about changes to its opening hours, so read it before you go. A Seamus Heaney exhibition on Westmoreland Street and a Live Aid exhibition in Temple Bar are also listed as free
- Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) 📍 Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8 🕐 closed Mondays, 12:00 to 17:30 on Sundays, otherwise from 10:00 (11:30 on Wednesdays) to 17:30. Admission is free and so are most exhibitions, with 48 acres of grounds.
🎓 Trinity campus
Trinity College Dublin 📍 College Green. Dublin's tourism body describes the campus as free to enter in daylight hours, and the ticket is for the Book of Kells and the Old Library only. Trinity's own pages did not state the walk-in rule or the hours, so check at the gate.
🌳 Free parks in the centre
- St Stephen's Green 📍 Dublin 2, top of Grafton Street 🕐 07:30 Monday to Saturday, 09:30 Sunday. Closing time in October is 18:30 from the 5th, 18:00 from the 19th and 17:00 from the 25th. No charge for entry
- Iveagh Gardens 📍 Clonmel Street, off Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 🕐 08:00 Monday to Saturday, 10:00 Sunday. Closes 18:00 from 5 October, 17:30 from the 19th, 16:30 from the 25th. Free, with a gate on Clonmel Street, Hatch Street and Earlsfort Terrace
- Merrion Square 📍 1 Merrion Square East, Dublin 2 🕐 10:00 to 19:30 before the clocks go back, 10:00 to 18:30 after. Free. The Oscar Wilde Memorial is here, a short walk from the National Gallery
🦌 Phoenix Park and the Botanic Gardens
- Phoenix Park 📍 1.5 miles from O'Connell Street 🕐 open 24 hours a day. Free. A large herd of wild fallow deer lives here, and feeding or approaching them is discouraged.
- Phoenix Park Visitor Centre 📍 Ashtown 🕐 09:30 to 18:00 daily, free. Tours of Ashtown Castle leave from here several times a day, so check the price on the day
- Áras an Uachtaráin 📍 Phoenix Park 🕐 Saturdays, with five tours a day from 10:00. Free, but tickets are first come, first served from the Visitor Centre on the day. Bring photo ID. State or official business can cancel any of them, so check the president's website for the week
- National Botanic Gardens 📍 Glasnevin, 3 km from the centre. Free. Summer hours are 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 18:00 at weekends, and winter hours are shorter, so check before you set off
🌊 Free by the water
- Great South Wall and Poolbeg Lighthouse 📍 Poolbeg peninsula. The wall is nearly 5 km long. Access near the lighthouse fully reopened on 23 March 2026 after repair works, and the roundhead was reinforced with 5,000 tonnes of new rock. Free, but Dublin Port Company asks for caution in bad weather
- The Forty Foot 📍 Sandycove. Swimming is free. It is not lifeguarded, so be sure of the conditions. Take the DART to Sandycove and Glasthule, about 1 km away. Public toilets are 200 metres from the water, with seasonal hours
📅 Free days and late openings
Dublin's free sights run on different clocks, so match them to the day.
- Monday: the National Museum branches open only from 13:00, the National Gallery from 11:00, and IMMA is shut. The parks and Phoenix Park are your morning
- Tuesday and Wednesday evenings: the National Library's Yeats exhibition stays open until 19:00
- Thursday evening: the National Gallery is open until 20:30, the latest closing among the free venues above
- Saturday: the National Museum opens at 10:00, and the Áras an Uachtaráin tours run on the same day, so Phoenix Park is a good Saturday
- Sunday: the National Museum opens at 13:00, the National Gallery at 11:00, IMMA at 12:00, and the National Library exhibition at 09:30
From 25 October the clocks go back and park closing times drop to 16:30 or 17:00, so a late-afternoon park visit gets short fast.
💶 Worth paying for
If you pay for one thing, make it Kilmainham Gaol. An adult ticket is €8, booked online only, and the visit is a guided tour of about 90 minutes. It is in Kilmainham, the same district as IMMA, so the two fit in one trip west. For prices side by side, see Dublin on a budget.
❓ FAQ
Is the National Gallery of Ireland free?
Yes. The permanent collection is free, and the gallery is open until 20:30 on Thursdays. Some special exhibitions are ticketed, including Hilma af Klint from 15 October 2026.
Is Dublin Castle free?
No, and it is closed to the public until January 2027. The Chester Beatty inside its grounds is also closed until the end of December 2026.
Is Trinity College free to enter?
Usually yes. Dublin's tourism body describes the campus as free to walk through in daylight hours, but Trinity's own pages do not say so, so check at the gate. The Book of Kells and Old Library are ticketed, from €19 online.
✅ Before you go
Check each venue's own page in the week you travel. The Chester Beatty and Dublin Castle may change dates, and the Áras tours can be cancelled. Mind the early autumn closing times in the parks. For the wider picture, start with Dublin Explained, and for getting between these places, see Getting Around Dublin. To see the centre on foot, the Ciceru Dublin walk covers 9 stops from the James Joyce Statue to the Brazen Head, with a story and a quiz question at each one. All Dublin walks are at ciceru.com/tours/ireland/dublin.
