34 of the best · Dublin, Ireland
The National Gallery and IMMA, MoLI and the National Library, the Abbey, the Gate and the Gaiety, the National Concert Hall and the Irish Film Institute.
Our 34 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
Browse by type
Three places from this list we would send a friend to first, chosen by people who know Dublin well.
Georgian Dublin
The national collection of Irish and European art, on Merrion Square, open seven days a week.
Merrion Square West, Dublin 2Explore View on map
The National Theatre
The National Theatre of Ireland, on Abbey Street.
Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1 D01 K0F1Explore View on map
Irish writing
Ireland’s writers brought to life in manuscripts and immersive installations, at Newman House on the Green.
The Abbey, the Gate, MoLI and the National Gallery: Dublin as a city of words and paint.
The back story
The National Gallery and IMMA, the Abbey and the Gate, MoLI and the Joyce Tower, the National Concert Hall: Dublin’s arts.
Visual arts
The national collections, from Viking silver to Irish painting.
Twenty galleries
The stories of the people who left Ireland, in 20 interactive galleries at CHQ.
CHQ, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1 D01 R9Y0Explore View on map
Royal Hospital Kilmainham
Ireland’s museum of modern and contemporary art, in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham and its 48 acres.
Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin 8 D08 FW31Explore View on map
Georgian Dublin
The national collection of Irish and European art, on Merrion Square, open seven days a week.
Merrion Square West, Dublin 2Explore View on map
Kildare Street
Ireland’s archaeology, from Viking silver to the national treasures, on Kildare Street.
Kildare Street, Dublin 2 D02 FH48Explore View on map
Collins Barracks
Decorative arts and history at Collins Barracks, now with the Dead Zoo Lab.
Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7 D07 XKV4Explore View on map
Guided tours
The city’s story in a Georgian house on the Green, by 29-minute guided tour.
15 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2 D02 Y066Explore View on map
Contemporary art at Trinity, on Ely Place and off Grafton Street.
Since 1823
The Royal Hibernian Academy’s public gallery on Ely Place, since 1823.
15 Ely Place, Dublin 2 D02 A213Explore View on map
Contemporary art
Contemporary art at Trinity College, open five days a week.
Medieval cathedrals, a Georgian tenement house and Chambers’ Casino.
Georgian house to tenement
Three hundred years of city life in one address, from Georgian townhouse to tenement.
14 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1 D01 HH34Explore View on map
Neoclassical
Sir William Chambers’ 18th-century pleasure-house, one of Europe’s finest neoclassical buildings.
Cherrymount Crescent, Marino, Dublin 3 D03 HH70Explore View on map
Almost 1,000 years
The cathedral that has stood at the heart of Dublin for almost 1,000 years, famous for its music.
Christchurch Place, Dublin 8 D08 TF98Explore View on map
National Cathedral
Ireland’s National Cathedral, on a site linked to St Patrick for more than 1,500 years.
Performing arts
From the National Concert Hall to a session in Smithfield.
The home of music
The national cultural institution and designated home of music in Ireland.
Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 D02 N527Explore View on map
Traditional music every day
Smithfield’s home of traditional music, with sessions seven days a week.
The national theatre, the Gate and the Gaiety’s gilded house.
The National Theatre
The National Theatre of Ireland, on Abbey Street.
Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1 D01 K0F1Explore View on map
Since 1871
The Grand Old Lady of South King Street: opera, musicals, drama and pantomime since 1871.
Libeskind’s theatre on Grand Canal Square, for ballet and the big musicals.
By Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind’s theatre on Grand Canal Square: musicals, ballet and touring shows.
Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 D02 PA03Explore View on map
The national film institute in Temple Bar and the cinema on Smithfield Square.
The national film institute
Ireland’s national cultural institution for film, in Temple Bar: independent, Irish and international cinema and the Irish Film Archive.
6 Eustace Street, Dublin 2 D02 PD85Explore View on map
The city of Joyce, Yeats and Beckett: libraries, manuscripts and the bookshop over the Liffey.
Founded in 1707
Dublin’s oldest public library, founded in 1707: one of the few 18th-century libraries left in the world.
St Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8 D08 FK79Explore View on map
Irish writing
Ireland’s writers brought to life in manuscripts and immersive installations, at Newman House on the Green.
Twelve million items
The national library on Kildare Street, with exhibitions from its 12 million items.
7–8 Kildare Street, Dublin 2 D02 P638Explore View on map
Timed entry
The Book of Kells, the Long Room of the Old Library and three digital rooms in the Red Pavilion, at Trinity College.
Classic Dublin
A restaurant over a bookshop, looking across the Liffey to the Ha’penny Bridge.
Folk & cultural traditions
Traditional crafts and the people who keep them.
Irish products
Ireland’s largest collection of Irish products: crystal, knitwear, jewellery and homeware.
