Dublin's main sights are compact and mostly within walking distance of each other, which makes the city easy to explore in a few days. The south city centre holds the heavyweights: the Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity College, the National Museum of Archaeology on Kildare Street with its prehistoric gold and early medieval treasures, and the National Gallery of Ireland on Merrion Square, where Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ hangs. Both national museums are free, as is the permanent collection of the gallery. A short walk west, the medieval cathedrals of Christ Church and St Patrick's sit within ten minutes of each other, and the Guinness Storehouse stands on the edge of the Liberties.
Planning ahead matters for a few sights. Kilmainham Gaol is visited by guided tour only and tickets sell out, so book as soon as your dates are fixed, and the Book of Kells uses timed entry. Pair Kilmainham with Phoenix Park, where wild fallow deer roam, and combine the two cathedrals with the Liberties in a single morning. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in the Docklands is a good choice for a wet afternoon, while St Stephen's Green offers a free and easy break between museums. Note that Dublin Castle's campus has announced a closure to the public until January 2027, so check before planning a visit there.
10 places · Updated October 27, 2026
Our top 3 attractions in Dublin
Attraction
The ninth-century Book of Kells and the 65-metre Long Room of Trinity College's Old Library, with immersive digital galleries in a separate pavilion.
View details — Book of Kells Experience at Trinity CollegeAttraction
Seven floors of exhibits in a 1902 fermentation plant at St James's Gate, ending with an included drink in the rooftop Gravity Bar.
View details — Guinness StorehouseAttraction
A former county gaol of 1796 where leaders of the 1916 Rising were held and executed, now a museum seen on guided tours.
View details — Kilmainham GaolAttraction
Ireland's national collection of archaeology on Kildare Street, home to the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, prehistoric gold and Viking Ireland, with free entry.
View details — National Museum of Ireland – ArchaeologyAttraction
Ireland's national art collection on Merrion Square, free to enter, with Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ, a Vermeer and the Yeats collection.
View details — National Gallery of IrelandAttraction
Ireland's largest church, founded in 1191, where Jonathan Swift served as dean and is buried, with free guided tours from Monday to Saturday.
View details — St Patrick’s CathedralAttraction
Dublin's medieval cathedral, founded after 1028 and rebuilt in stone by the Normans, with a 12th-century crypt that is the largest in Britain or Ireland.
View details — Christ Church CathedralAttraction
An interactive museum in the Docklands' CHQ building telling the stories of Irish emigrants across 20 galleries, with a genealogy centre on site.
View details — EPIC The Irish Emigration MuseumAttraction
One of Europe's largest enclosed city parks, a 707-hectare former royal deer park with wild fallow deer, Dublin Zoo and the President's residence.
View details — Phoenix ParkAttraction
A 22-acre Victorian park at the top of Grafton Street, with a lake, bandstand, memorials and a garden for the blind, free to enter.
View details — St Stephen’s Green