Quick answer: The best family days out in Dublin with kids are Dublin Zoo, the free Dead Zoo Lab and National Museum, and Malahide’s Fairy Trail and model railway. For rainy days, add EPIC, Dublinia or World of Illusion. Babies and toddlers get in free at most of them, and children under 5 travel free on buses, the Luas and the DART.
Dublin, it’s compact, it’s packed with Vikings, ghosts and giraffes, and when the heavens open there’s always a museum around the corner. Here are 15 family favourites, each with the age range it suits best and prices checked on the official sites in October 2026.
Before You Go: Two Closures to Know
- The “Dead Zoo” on Merrion Street has been closed for refurbishment since September 2024, and there’s no reopening date yet. Many of its best animals have moved to the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks (see #5).
- Newbridge Farm is closed to general visitors while it hosts its Pumpkins After Dark event. It reopens on Saturday 7 November 2026 (see #11).
Animals and Big Days Out
1. Dublin Zoo, Phoenix Park
Best for: all ages, especially 2–12. Lions, rhinos, giraffes, and a new pair of golden lion tamarins in the Rainforest House. Booking online saves up to 15%. A day ticket costs €22.50 for adults and €17 for children aged 3–15, and under-3s go free. A family day ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €62.50 online, or €75 at the gate. Read our Dublin Zoo tickets guide for the full options.
2. Phoenix Park
Best for: all ages. Free. At 707 hectares, it’s one of the largest enclosed parks in any European capital, and the park is open 24 hours a day. Children love spotting the wild fallow deer, but please don’t feed or approach them. The free Visitor Centre is open 9.30am–6pm. Next to it is a universal-access playground for ages 4–12, open from 9.30am to one hour before sunset. (The playground in the People’s Gardens is partly closed for maintenance at the moment.)
3. St Stephen’s Green
Best for: toddlers to 10s. Free. The perfect break from shopping on Grafton Street. Feed the ducks and swans on the lake, then let them loose in the playground, which has separate areas for younger and older children. It opens at 7.30am Monday to Saturday and 9.30am on Sundays and bank holidays.
Museums Kids Actually Love
4. EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
Best for: 8+. A fully digital, interactive museum at CHQ on Custom House Quay. Online prices start at €22 for adults and €11 for children, and a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €57. It’s open daily from 10am to 6.45pm, with last admission at 5pm. Allow about 90 minutes, and your ticket includes a free return visit within 10 days. See our EPIC guide.
5. National Museum of Ireland: the Dead Zoo Lab and Archaeology
Best for: 4+. Free. While Merrion Street is closed, the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks (Dublin 7) displays about 1,300 specimens, including old favourites like Spoticus the giraffe and the giant Irish deer. It also runs family drop-in sessions on selected dates in October 2026. Over on Kildare Street, the Archaeology museum holds Ireland’s national archaeology collections. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday 10am–5pm, and Sunday and Monday 1pm–5pm.
6. Dublinia
Best for: 6–14. Vikings and medieval Dublin across three exhibitions (Viking Dublin, Medieval Dublin and The Past Today), with free guided tours and Living History sessions every day. Booking online costs €16 for adults and €11.50 for children. At the door, a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €50.50. It’s open daily from 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm), and a visit takes about 90 minutes. A joint ticket with EPIC costs €34 for adults and €20 for children. More in our Dublinia guide.
7. World of Illusion
Best for: 5–14. Three floors and more than 80 illusions on Dame Street: vortex tunnels, infinity mirrors and plenty of chances for silly photos. Tickets are €25 for adults and €14 for children aged 4–14. Under-4s are free, and a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €75. It’s open daily from 9.30am (9am at weekends and in school holidays), with last admission at 8.30pm. It also has lifts and step-free access. Here’s our World of Illusion guide.
8. The Little Museum of Dublin
Best for: 8+. A famously funny guided tour of 20th-century Dublin on St Stephen’s Green, and the guides love getting younger visitors involved. Tickets are €18, and a family ticket for 2 adults and up to 3 children is €45. It’s open daily from 9.30am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm). Book ahead, because places are limited. Kids can also pick up a map for the Big Little Treasure Hunt during opening hours. Little Museum Guide HERE
Day Trips North of the City
9. Malahide Castle and the Fairy Trail
Best for: 3–10. The Fairy Trail winds through the 20-acre wooded West Lawn, with fairy houses, sculptures and an activity booklet that leads to a “secret mission”. There’s also a tropical Butterfly House. Admission is €17 for adults and €9 for children aged 4–17, and a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €48. It opens at 9.30am every day. Leave the bikes and scooters at home, as they’re not allowed on the Fairy Trail or in the Gardens. It’s a short walk from Malahide DART station. See our Malahide Gardens and Fairy Trail guide.
10. Casino Model Railway Museum, Malahide
Best for: 4–12 (and train-mad grown-ups). Cyril Fry’s handmade model trains in a thatched cottage beside Malahide station, with interactive features kids can control. Tickets are €9 for adults and €7.50 for children aged 3+, and a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €30. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm (closed Monday and Tuesday, except bank holiday Mondays). Pair it with Malahide Castle for a full day. Here’s our Casino Model Railway Museum guide.
11. Newbridge House and Farm, Donabate
Best for: 2–10. A 30-acre working farm with rare breeds, alpacas, an aviary and a discovery trail booklet. Farm tickets are €10.50 for adults and €8.50 for children, and a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children is €35. Under-3s go free with an adult ticket. The farm reopens on 7 November 2026 and is closed on Mondays from October to March. The house is closed for plasterwork in October, but the parkland and café stay open. See our Newbridge House and Farm guide.
12. Howth
Best for: 8+ for the cliff walk, any age for the harbour. Free. It’s about 25 minutes on the DART. Wander the harbour, then tackle the Cliff Path Loop. It’s 7.8km and takes about 2 hours, starting from Howth station, and grey seals can sometimes be seen from the cliffs. The path is rough in places, so wear walking boots and keep small hands held tight near the edge. You can find out more about Howth Tours & Trails here
13. National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
Best for: all ages. Free, and open every day except Christmas Day. The glasshouses are basically indoor jungles, which makes them a good bet on a wet day too. Guided tours cost €5. If you drive, parking is €1 an hour for the first two hours.
Tours and Adventures
14. Ghostbus Kids Tour
Best for: 7–14. “More fun than scary”: an actor takes you through 90 minutes of Dublin’s horrible histories, with bodysnatchers, Vikings and quizzes. Tickets are €20 per person, or €70 for a family (2 adults and 2 children, or 1 adult and 3 children). It runs every day over the 2026 Halloween school holidays, leaving from bus stop 271 on O’Connell Street, and several slots have already sold out. It isn’t wheelchair accessible. Here’s our Ghostbus and Ghostbus Kids guide.
15. Kayaking on the Liffey
Best for: 12+. City Kayaking paddles under the Ha’penny and O’Connell bridges in stable double and triple sit-on-top kayaks. The trip takes about 2 hours, with at least 90 minutes on the water. The minimum age is 12, and under-16s must be with an adult. Through DoDublin, prices are €49 for adults and €45 for children.
Dublin with Kids: Practical Tips
- Transport: Children aged 0–4 travel free on all TFI services (bus, Luas, DART). Children aged 5–8 travel free with a Child (5–8) TFI Leap Card, which you apply for online. Older children pay €0.65 for a TFI 90 Minute fare, up to and including age 18, with a daily cap of €1.95. Adults pay €2.00, capped at €6.00 a day.
- Do kids go free? Often the youngest do. Under-3s are free at Dublin Zoo and Newbridge Farm, and under-4s are free at World of Illusion. On DoDublin’s hop-on hop-off bus, one child goes free with each adult ticket, and that ticket also gets you into the Little Museum for free.
- Rainy days: EPIC, Dublinia, World of Illusion, the Dead Zoo Lab, the Archaeology museum and the Casino Model Railway Museum are all indoors.
- Buggies and bags: World of Illusion has lifts and step-free access. The Little Museum asks you to put anything bigger than a handbag in its locker room, and the Archaeology museum has no cloakroom. Leave the buggy behind for the Howth cliff path.
FAQ
What is the best free thing to do in Dublin with kids?
The Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks, Phoenix Park (deer, playground and visitor centre), St Stephen’s Green and the National Botanic Gardens are all free.
Do children travel free on Dublin public transport?
Under-5s travel free. Children aged 5–8 travel free with a Child (5–8) TFI Leap Card. Older children pay a €0.65 child fare.
Is the Dead Zoo open in 2026?
No. The Merrion Street building is closed for refurbishment and has no reopening date. Visit the free Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks instead.
What’s good for toddlers?
Dublin Zoo (free for under-3s), the Malahide Fairy Trail, St Stephen’s Green and Newbridge Farm, which reopens on 7 November 2026.
What’s the minimum age for the Ghostbus Kids tour?
It’s designed for ages 7–14. For over-14s, DoDublin recommends the original Ghostbus.
Plan Your Family Adventure
Want to bundle a few of these together? Browse Dublin city visitor attractions and book in one go, then check our events page for what’s on during your visit. Pack the rain jackets and enjoy every minute.
Header photo: Dronepicr (edited by King of Hearts), via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
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