Speciality Museums • History Museums
South City Centre
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Open now
Admission tickets from AU$33
History Museums in Dublin
THE 10 BEST Dublin History Museums
History Museums in Dublin
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Travellers' Choice Awards winners (including the "Best of the Best" title) are among the top 10% of listings on Tripadvisor, according to the reviews and opinions of travellers across the globe.
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Speciality Museums • History Museums
Open now
Admission tickets from AU$36
Recommended Museum Tickets and Passes (12)
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Historic Sites • History Museums
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Speciality Museums • History Museums
South City Centre
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Speciality Museums • Historic Sites
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Military Museums • Speciality Museums
North City Centre
Speciality Museums • Natural History Museums
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Libraries • History Museums
South City Centre
Speciality Museums • History Museums
Temple Bar
Visitor Centres • Historic Sites
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Architectural Buildings • History Museums
South City Centre
Visitor Centres • History Museums
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Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
Libraries • History Museums
North City Centre
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Open now
Military Museums • Speciality Museums
Military Museums • History Museums
History Museums
South City Centre
Speciality Museums • History Museums
Libraries • History Museums
South City Centre
History Museums
History Museums
What travellers are saying
- Navigator7099042 contributionsThe Little Museum of Dublin is a cute, unique, and intriguing way to get introduced to Dublin’s history. Sean is hilarious and well-informed which is a perfect combination.Written 20 March 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- ShipahoyahoyPortsmouth, UK774 contributionsReally enjoyed this museum. A comprehensive telling of Irish emigration and the positive impact of Irish emigration on the rest of the world. Like many others, I made sure I stamped my "passport" at each display. Because I was booked on a tour of the Jeanie Johnston tall ship, just opposite EPIC, I broke my visit into two. So EPIC, Jeanie Johnston, EPIC. That worked really well for me. Found the display of fitting your "Entire life" into a suitcase very poignant. Very good use of visual images to enhance the displays in each section.Written 20 February 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Marizan LHermanus, South Africa51 contributionsSuch a gem within Dublin and it is FREE,.. I did the highlight tour and our guide was so knowledgable, friendly and a true asset to the museum. My 1 hour tour ended in me spending an additional 2 hours just walking around, visiting each exhibit, seeing the effort that goes into preserving each relic and the research behind it is truely astonishing. I will definitely be back,..Written 20 March 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Liz Dublin14 contributionsExcellent trip. Declan was a very good guide and made it a very enjoyable experience. Well worth the very reasonable costWritten 22 March 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Jennifer C5 contributionsFantastic tour great guide Garod was brilliant. Staff on the booking team very helpful. My two boys loved it neither history fans but the storytelling caught them.Written 20 March 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Elizabeth H26 contributionsLarge museum. Lots to see. Interesting for all ages
I like to read. Or watch TV. Difficult to do both simultaneously, especially as some rooms had two TV screens. Difficult to concentrate. I'd prefer silent sceeens with subtitles / headphonesWritten 25 February 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Oonagh MDublin, Ireland44 contributionsExcellent public facility. Free of charge. Beautiful building/complex. You can spend the whole day here - there's so much to see. Staff welcoming and friendly. The Luas (tram) stops right at the door. Only negative is the restaurant wasn't available (website says its closed).Written 22 February 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- 466MeeDublin, Ireland3 contributionsThis is an absolute hidden gem and I'd highly recommend visiting it. Liam was superb, he really knew his stuff and had fascinating information and stories. I particularly loved seeing and hearing about the Wharfedale and the 1916 Proclamation. I'll never look at it the same way again!!Written 23 February 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- jefrench43Chapel Hill, NC2 contributionsWe enjoyed a family visit to this wonderful city this past June and enjoyed the museum and introduction to the culture, the experiences , and Dublins and Irelands history immensely. The Irish people were cosmopolitan, approachable, engaging, and hospitable. Our time in this city and others during this trip by automobile to the west and along the Atlantic coast was a journey to intimate places with many friendly citizens willing to share and engage with visitors. The weather we experiences was fantastic and may have helped to promote our time outdoors and engagement with the Irish and other visitors like ourselves . We are planning another trip and holiday in order to build this knowledge and experience.Written 20 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Margaret R2 contributionsA terrific exhibition! Go see it!
I happened to notice a guy on the street outside a shopping centre in Grafton St with a placard advertising it. Very glad I did.
The exhibition is informative, easy to navigate, well curated and supported with excellent research and visual documentation.
It covers it all.
I’m an Australian and only exist because a family from County Clare managed to get on a boat and emigrate because of the potato famine. It’s a dark period in Irish history which affected so many other countries long into the future.
Well done and thank you for such an informative experience.Written 23 August 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Louise MCastle Rock, CO4,003 contributionsUnfortunately, we came on a Sunday and found that the library was closed. They had a special exhibit going on, so we were able to take some pictures in the entryway. The building is beautiful!Written 13 September 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- LukeWidnes, UK20 contributionsWow! What an unexpected find! My favourite thing to do in Dublin from our whole holiday! The staff were incredible they were so knowledgeable on Sheamus' works!
The exhibition has been expertly curated and tells Heany's story so well! My partner is an English Teacher and she loved it.Written 20 February 2025This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - redecoWarren, MA9,429 contributionsThe Customs House stands proud over the Quayside of the River Liffey. Dating to 1791, the Customs House represented the British domination of the Irish through taxation. The IRA burned the building in 1921 in order to destroy tax records. This magnificent classical architecture was completely restored after the revolution. Today, the building houses the Irish Department of Environment, Heritage, and Local Government.
A Visitor Center with a historical audio tour is available for a fee. I opted to enjoy the exterior. Very impressive.
Enjoy!Written 12 October 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - RusmirDublin, Ireland190 contributionsBuilding dates from 18 century, it's located in Dublin city center - Dame street. It's next to the Dublin castle, so it's great to do both tours. In town hall you'll find beautiful exhibition about historical Dublin.Written 14 October 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Maddi R1 contributionI wanted to add a positive review about the genealogy services and to counter some of the negative comments I've seen about what they offer.
I'm an amateur who has been continuing my great-grandmother's research into my family's genealogy for almost 10 years. Our Irish ancestors have been the most difficult to track down and verify, so my mom and I were thrilled to find this service before traveling to Ireland. I was a little nervous about the price after reading some of these negative reviews, but I'd like to say that the session was incredibly worth it, and we're glad we paid for 80 minutes. We opted for a zoom session.
I’ve seen other visitors complain about the center 'simply sitting you down in front of Ancestry' or searching certain family history websites. The thing is, these websites aren’t just research tools for laymen, they are databases that contain many vital records that experts know how to navigate better than the average enthusiast.
Our session did begin with our genealogist searching ancestry but it went so far beyond that. The genealogist we spoke with introduced us to additional resources I wouldn't have found on my own, with access to a variety of Irish records. She expertly cross-checked between multiple sources and was a wealth of knowledge on what records to specifically search for, based on when Ireland started recording births as well as baptisms, whether certain records were known to be destroyed, and so on. She also provided a very clear list of next steps we could take to try and discover more with the data we currently have. She emailed every single resource, link, and screenshots of any potentially helpful information she found, and made sure we knew where to go from there. She genuinely seemed to care.
She was able to decipher a mother's Irish surname we've been puzzling over for decades, that ended up being very rare. She was able to confirm that our family surnames were, indeed, common in the county we believed our immigrant ancestor came from. She was able to tell us which parish they likely belonged to. And, she told us where we could upload our ancestry DNA information to potentially find more matches in Ireland (and sent instructions)!
I’ve also seen other visitors complain that sessions felt like a ‘rip off’ because the genealogists weren’t able to help them. If you are looking into this experience expecting a guarantee, rather than support from an expert to enhance your chances of finding more information, then maybe you should forego genealogy services, because that’s not how they work.
It's important to know going in that if you don't have your ancestors' approximate birthdays and parents' names, they probably can't do much for you; research can only go so far. That isn’t the center’s fault, it’s the nature of genealogy. We came to the session with that information for one ancestor, but also another for whom we only knew the birth year and a potential mother's name. Our genealogist spent a lot of time on both and genuinely seemed to want to get concrete information for us. I really appreciated the thoroughness.
Yes, the session essentially consists of a genealogist searching records for you, but they have so much historical and practical expertise to search and cross-check in ways that the layman can't. We really enjoyed learning from her and even though our lack of surviving records meant we weren't able to make any huge discoveries, I learned so much that I can apply to my family history work moving forward. I'm excited to see if the next steps she gave us lead to anything new!!Written 16 August 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
When to Visit
- January6 ºCColdest month12 days of rainWettest monthLess busyLeast busy month
- February6 ºC9 days of rainLess busy
- March7 ºC9 days of rainVery busy
- April8 ºC8 days of rainVery busy
- May11 ºC9 days of rainVery busyBusiest month
- June14 ºC8 days of rainVery busy
- July16 ºCHottest month9 days of rainModerately busy
- August16 ºC9 days of rainModerately busy
- September14 ºC9 days of rainModerately busy
- October11 ºC11 days of rainModerately busy
- November8 ºC11 days of rainLess busy
- December7 ºC12 days of rainLess busy