3 Must-See Parks in Dublin

 

Phoenix Park

This was the first Dublin Parks I saw when I visited, and it was a great way to start off my trip! According to the Phoenix Park website, this park is 1752 acres and was established in the 17th century. The park is massive, and there are a lot of different attractions spread throughout, including the Dublin Zoo. A fun fact about the Dublin Zoo is that the lion used in the logos for MGM movies had been born at the zoo. His name was Roary. Ha! See what I did there? Totally joking, his name was Cairbre.

Dublin Parks Pheonix

Besides the zoo there is a burial chamber, The Papal Cross, a fort, and other structures that you can walk right up to and see. Admission to the park is free, and it is open 24 hours/day, 365 days of the year. Multiple bus stops surround the outskirts of the park, and if you don’t want to walk through the park, you can sign up for a Segway tour. How fun would that be?

Dublin Parks Cross at Park

 

St Stephen’s Green      

While this Dublin park is a lot smaller than Phoenix Park, the beauty of it is incredible. There are plenty of walking paths. Although it is situated in the center of Dublin, you don’t feel like you’re in the city anymore. Inside this park is also a lake that you can walk the perimeter.

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When we visited the park there were a lot of locals walking around on what seemed like their lunch break. I just kept thinking to myself that I wish I could have a park like this so close to be able to do the same thing. A unique aspect of this park is that they have a garden for the visually impaired that includes signs in Braille.

This park is free of charge, and open 365 days of the year, but hasdifferent opening times depending on time of year.

 

Merrion Square Park

Merrion Square was my favorite park in terms of location. The park is set right in the middle of old Georgian townhouses in such a quaint neighborhood. The gardens in this park are really gorgeous. You can tell there was a lot of effort put into them. This is due to the fact that the park used to be for residents of the neighborhood only.  You even had to have a key to enter, but now it is open to the public.

Merrion Square Park

There are many attractions throughout the par. The most popular is a sculpture of Oscar Wilde that sits on the corner. Another great thing about this park is the fact that it is within walking distance of Trinity College.

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There are a lot of great parks throughout Dublin, and these were just 3 of my favorites. Let me know in the comments below which is your favorite park in Dublin!