Marlay Park, 9km south of the city centre, is a wonderful 83-hectare open space, with 17th-century buildings, wooded areas, duck ponds, abundant wildlife, a walled garden, a sculpture trail and a craft centre. Kids will love the fairy bridge, massive playground, BMX cycle track, skateboard park and, in summer, the minitrain (3pm to 5pm May to September), which jostles around a field track.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.1 MILES
Trinity's greatest treasures are found within the Old Library and the incredible Long Room is one of the most photographed rooms in Dublin, for good…
5.15 MILES
If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the long-running resistance to British colonial rule – then a visit to this former prison…
5.13 MILES
Trinity College Dublin is Ireland's most prestigious university, a collection of elegant Georgian and Victorian buildings, cobbled squares and nature…
4.93 MILES
A magnificent Caravaggio and a breathtaking collection of works by Jack B Yeats – William Butler Yeats' younger brother – are the main reasons to visit…
4.95 MILES
The most popular attraction in Dublin is this multimedia homage to Guinness. An old fermentation plant in the St James's Gate Brewery has been converted…
5.66 MILES
Explore behind the facade of one of Dublin's famous Georgian townhouses, carefully restored to gently peel back layers of complex social history over 250…
4.76 MILES
Ireland's largest church and the final resting place of Jonathan Swift, St Patrick's stands on the spot where St Patrick himself reputedly baptised the…
7.03 MILES
The hugely impressive 707 hectares that comprise Dublin's Phoenix Park are not just a magnificent playground for all kinds of sport—from running to polo…
Nearby Dublin attractions
0.93 MILES
This handsome Palladian mansion was home to St Enda’s, an experimental Gaelic school established by nationalist poet and 1916 martyr Pádraig Pearse. The…
1.89 MILES
Once the home of eccentric philanthropist sisters Letitia and Naomi Overend, the Airfield estate is now held in trust for public use. Though the house is…
2.32 MILES
Dublin's only museum specifically aimed at toddlers and children, Imaginosity is a hands-on, interactive experience where kids can learn from and be…
4.15 MILES
Housed in an old synagogue, this jam-packed museum tells the story of Ireland's Jewish community over the last 150 years. Amid the old photos and…
4.17 MILES
A gorgeous swathe of green lawns, ponds and flower beds near the Royal Dublin Society Showground. Sandwiched between prosperous Ballsbridge and Donnybrook…
4.4 MILES
A bronze sculpture of Patrick Kavanagh (1904–67), erected in 1968, shows the poet with arms and legs crossed in one of his favourite spots. It is inspired…
4.54 MILES
The smallest of Dublin’s great Georgian squares was completed in 1825. William Dargan (1799–1867), the railway pioneer and founder of the National Gallery…
4.55 MILES
These beautiful gardens may not have the sculpted elegance of the other city parks, but they never get too crowded and the warden won't bark at you if you…