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The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition

The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition, Dublin: Hours, Address, The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition Reviews: 4.5/5

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The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition

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See all things to do
The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition
4.5
22,769
#11 of 662 things to do in Dublin
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Libraries
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9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 4:30 PM
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About
The Book of Kells Exhibition is a must-see on the itinerary of all visitors to Dublin. Located in the heart of the city centre in Trinity College Dublin, the Exhibition displays the Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript that documents the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Kells is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and the world’s most famous medieval manuscript. The Exhibition also features access to the Long Room, one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, that houses 200,000 of Trinity College’s oldest books.
Suggested duration
< 1 hour
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Top ways to experience The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: South City Centre
How to get there
  • Abbey St • 7 min walk
  • St. Stephen's Green • 8 min walk
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Popular mentions
4.5
22,773 reviews
Excellent
12,778
Very good
6,207
Average
2,815
Poor
688
Terrible
289
Sergio
Arucas, Spain4 contributions
Very poor experience by the price of tickets
Jun. 2022 • Friends
We have booked the book of Kells and Campus Tour in its website.
First, tour guide not request any ticket to show her at the beginning. There were some campus works and not headphones were included, so sometimes was difficult listened to her
Second, all the buildings showed by her it is possible to visit by yourself, you do not enter in any restricted building.
Third, when the tour finishes you do not have any preference in the queue to visit, she leaved us near in front of queue and that was it.
Last, when we went to request info in the queue, someone told us that we were late since our timetable was when the tour started, but finally we could visit the old library.
Moreover, by the price of the ticket, it should have audio guide inside the library not download an app from your side
Written 25 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
MK19
8 contributions
Ok
Jun. 2022 • Solo
Thought this was quite expensive for what it was - €18 so around £15.50. I personally found the Book of Kells part quite boring but enjoyed seeing the library. My audio guide through the app also didn’t work so that might not have helped with my experience.
Written 24 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
jorzzwy
Bainbridge Island, WA51 contributions
Crammed!
Jun. 2022 • Family
A bunch of people smashed into the exhibit all at once even though we paid for certain times. So many people that you couldn’t even find the numbers for the audio tour location. The Wi-Fi was so jammed up your “audio “ took forever to download. Eventually we just abandoned the audio tour part and read little placards. Most disappointing.
Written 24 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Shannon & AJ
Fayetteville, NC11 contributions
Crowded but beautiful!
Jun. 2022 • Couples
The line at the beginning is pretty bad due to the every half hour time slots so when you go in you’re fighting for space with about 50 people all starting the tour together. Once the crowds disperse a little it isn’t too bad.

The beginning is full of history and wall graphics to learn about the book of kells. There is an audio tour option which is downloadable so we recommend bringing headphones. We still really enjoyed the visuals and the descriptions without the audio portion.

The library is breathtaking. It smells of old books, and the room is plenty big to have space to look at the shelves, busts, and other display items.
Written 24 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Adri B
Milan, Italy54 contributions
Wonderful place but…
Jun. 2022 • Solo
Wonderful place. Great History. Only one complain. On the web site for booking is not possible to change the reservation
Written 23 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Emily B
Seoul, South Korea123 contributions
Old manuscript and library worth a peek if you have the time and money
Jun. 2022
This is a must see exhibit if you are visiting Trinity College. It doesn't take much time to go through. The Book of Kells exhibit has a lot of information and history that can be read in about 20 minutes or so before you view the actual book. As others have mentioned, the order to go through the exhibit may be less clear, but you get the general idea. And as others have also mentioned the actual book itself is not open to one of the more famous pages. It's open to a lesser page, but still interesting to observe. The old library is small but really cool to see. You can walk through it in like 5 minutes. I think it's worth the quick time and entry fee, if you are walking through Trinity, which is a very pretty campus and located in the middle of Dubllin, so not out of the way to get to. You do need to prebook tickets online directly through college so you don't have to wait. This is a popular exhibit. However, if you are short on time or money, this is not an absolute must do.
Written 23 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Kelly J
1 contribution
Well worth it
Jun. 2022 • Couples
The self guided tour was very informative and for any book lover, the Old Library exhibition was a jaw dropped! We also had a guided tour of Trinity college which was just average, was hard to hear our guide and she didn’t seem very excited to be there
Written 23 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Dezso B
2 contributions
A great library. That's all.
Jun. 2022
Interesting, but nothing extraordinary. One of the world`s great libraries, with a great hype thanks to Harry Potter.
Written 23 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
sc457mike
Saint Helena Island, SC124 contributions
Disorganized and Somewhat Underwhelming
Jun. 2022
Library room is quite a sight but book room is underwhelming and as others have said the room with the story about the Book of Kells is very disorganized and often made worse by being crowded. This experience could be much better by hiring the person/people who designed the EPIC Museum which is very well organized.
Written 22 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Tim N
1 contribution
The library to end all libraries.
Jun. 2022 • Solo
Spellbinding, jaw-dropping, it is truly a spiritual experience. Don’t go to Dublin without seeing it. (My only critique: be sure to go to the restroom BEFORE you visit. There are none in the library.)
Written 22 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Frequently Asked Questions about The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition
The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition is open:
  • Sun - Sun 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm
  • Mon - Sat 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
We recommend booking The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 13 The Book of Kells and the Old Library Exhibition tours on Tripadvisor