In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Dublin: lights, ice, the zoo by night and a session before the holidays
From late October Dublin turns to winter: a skating rink in Dundrum, Wild Lights at the zoo and the long, warm evenings of the pubs. Here is how to spend the season, checked against the venues’ own websites on 28 October 2026.
Updated October 2026
Winter in Dublin
Visit Dublin, the city’s official tourism site, gathers the season’s gigs, stand-up comedy, sport, theatre and literature under one banner: Winter in Dublin. Its programme is the place to start planning.
Afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge at The Shelbourne, or in the drawing rooms of The Merrion, is the most Dublin way to spend a December afternoon; book well ahead.
Visit Dublin Afternoon tea in Dublin
Wild Lights at the zoo and ice in Dundrum
Dublin Zoo, in Phoenix Park, holds Wild Lights, its winter evening event; tickets are sold on its own site.
ON ICE returns to Dundrum Town Centre from Friday 23 October, a skating rink under lights for all ages, the centre says. Dundrum is on the Luas Green Line.
Christmas in the country houses
The K Club, at Straffan in County Kildare, plans a festive season of afternoon teas, a visit from Santa and New Year’s Eve, in its own words. Russborough, near Blessington, is opening a rarely seen part of the house for a Christmas gathering this year, the house says.
The pubs over the holidays
A session in the days before Christmas is a Dublin tradition, but check hours: The Cobblestone in Smithfield, for one, opens 2pm–6pm on Christmas Eve, is closed from 25 to 27 December, and reopens on the 28th, in its own words. Other pubs set their own hours.
Our advice
Our advice: book hotels, restaurants and afternoon tea for December early, and plan for Christmas Day itself, when much of the city closes.
Questions and answers
Is Dublin busy at Christmas?
Yes: book hotels, restaurants and afternoon teas well ahead for December.
Are the pubs open on Christmas Day?
Many close from 25 December; The Cobblestone, for example, is closed 25–27 December. Check each pub’s own hours.
Sources: visitdublin.com, dublinzoo.ie, dundrum.ie, kclub.ie, russborough.ie, cobblestonepub.ie (checked 28 October 2026). Dates change: check before you travel.