Phoenix Park
Seven hundred hectares — twice Central Park — with a free-roaming herd of deer.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 4 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Phoenix Park covers seven hundred hectares, making it one of the largest enclosed urban parks in Europe — nearly twice Central Park. It was created in 1662 as a royal hunting ground, and the fallow deer herd introduced then is still there, free-roaming, several hundred strong.
The park also contains the Irish president's residence, the United States ambassador's, Dublin Zoo and an observatory. The name has nothing to do with the bird: it is a corruption of the Irish fionn uisce, clear water.
Getting there
Main gate on Parkgate Street, west of the centre. Luas red line, Museum stop, then five minutes on foot.
What to bring
- Swimsuit
- Dry bag
Rules on site
The deer are wild: do not feed them and keep fifty metres back, especially during the October rut. The park is vast and better covered by bike, hired at the gate.
Other places in Dublin
Trinity College and the Book of KellsA ninth-century illuminated manuscript, and the Long Room with its two hundred thousand volumes.
Guinness StorehouseSeven floors wrapped around a giant pint, with a rooftop bar at the top.
Temple BarCobbles, red façades and live music at any hour.
Cliffs of MoherTwo hundred and fourteen metres of cliff above the Atlantic, three hours west.