13 Of The Most Exciting Things To Do In Dublin On A Rainy Day
Let’s cut to the chase. Dublin gets a hell of a lot of rain. It’s just part of life here. To give you a better idea, on average, the city receives over 150 days of rain per year, so it’s not the driest city, to say the least. Don’t let that rattle you, though.
Since we Dubliners are so used to rainfall, we’ve adapted and found some creative ways to spend our damp days.
In this post, we’re going to give you the inside scoop on some of the most exciting things you can do on a rainy day in Dublin, so you’ll have a backup plan if mother nature tries to rain on your parade.
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Head On Over To The Guinness Storehouse
What better way to spend a rainy day in Dublin than learning about how Ireland’s most famous stout was born?
Visitors will embark on a self-guided tour through the Guinness Storehouse to learn about Ireland’s national stout, the history behind it, and what it has become since the first pint was poured. Some of the most significant parts of the tour include the areas where the brewing process is shown and the past advertisements section, where you’ll learn about Guinness’s marketing successes and failures.
In total, there are seven floors for you to explore, with the final one being the Storehouse’s state-of-the-art Gravity Bar, where you’ll be treated to a complimentary pint of the stout itself, along with an amazing panoramic view of the whole city of Dublin.
Access to the Guinness Storehouse is available 7 days a week, so no matter what day it rains, you can head on over.
Tickets for the Guinness Storehouse can be purchased here.
Get Lost In The National Gallery Of Ireland
When it comes to free rainy day activities in Dublin, the National Gallery of Ireland is a must. This museum houses a large collection of Irish and European art and is located in Dublin’s Merrion Square.
The National Gallery is home to more than 16,000 works of art from across Ireland and Europe, including masterpieces such as The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio and Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid by Johannes Vermeer. There are also several rotating special exhibitions that highlight sculptures, paintings, drawings, and photography by various featured artists.
The National Gallery of Ireland is open seven days a week. Entry to the museum is free, though you can purchase tickets for the special exhibitions. You can also join free guided tours. There are several different tours on offer, from tours of the museum’s highlights to special themed tours. Check the museum’s website for an up-to-date schedule of tours that will be going on during your visit.
After exploring one of Dublin’s best free museums, make sure to check out the shop to take home a souvenir of your visit. You can find things like postcards of the museum’s iconic paintings as well as books showcasing the works of the artists featured in the museum.
Contribution By Sydney | A World In Reach
Check Out The National Wax Museum Plus
The National Wax Museum Plus was opened to visitors in 1983 by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, and it’s still going strong today and is seen as one of the most popular places to go on a rainy day in Dublin.
For anybody interested in seeing creepy, lifelike figures from Irish history and all over the world, the National Wax Museum Plus is for you. The interactive experience takes you through a number of different exhibits, which are given certain themes to give you a better idea of what type of characters will be in each room. Some of the themed exhibits include Time Vaults, Great Irish Writers, and many more.
Tours of the National Wax Museum Plus are self-guided with audio in each of the themed rooms to explain the story.
Tickets for the National Wax Museum Plus can be purchased here.
Hear About The Vikings At Dublinia
If you are looking for a fun thing to do in Dublin when it’s raining, then head to Dublinia beside Christ Church Cathedral. Housed indoors, it is the perfect place to get your fill of Dublin history while sheltering from the rain.
Dublinia showcases the history of Dublin across several floors, from the Vikings through Medieval Dublin and into the modern-day. Visitors can travel through time and discover how the city evolved through the ages.
This is a living museum where character actors dress as people from the era and are on hand to answer any questions you might have. In the Viking section, you can dress up as one, peer inside a Viking house, and discover more about them.
In the Medieval section, you can learn about the different “medicines” used at the time to cure ailments of all sorts and visit a merchant’s kitchen before seeing a large model of what the city looked like centuries ago.
There are also artefacts on loan from the National Museum, audio-visual displays, and a small excavation room in which younger visitors can try their hand at being an archaeologist.
A visit to Dublinia really is something unique you can do when you visit Dublin.
Contribution By Cath | Travel Around Ireland
Become Mesmerized By St.Patrick’s Cathedral
A popular thing to do in Dublin when it rains is to spend some time at St.Patrick’s Cathedral. It has been part of Ireland’s history for over 800 years and is one of the last remaining buildings from medieval times in the city.
The cathedral was built between the years 1220 and 1260 to commemorate the patron Saint Patrick, who was a prominent figure in Ireland. Today, it’s the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland and also the largest cathedral in the whole country, so it’s quite symbolic.
There are free guided tours of St. Patrick’s Cathedral every day on a regular basis, but you must purchase an admission ticket before you avail of one.
Tickets for St.Patrick’s Cathedral can be purchased here.
Watch A Movie At The Stella Theatre In Rathmines
Watching a movie in the Stella Theatre in Rathmines is one of the cosiest things you can do on a wet day in Dublin, whether it’s during the winter or the summer.
The Stella Theatre is an old cinema that has been renovated to give off the vibe of the 1920s for the young moviegoers of today who have never experienced a theatre like they were back in the day.
In the year 1923, the theatre opened its doors to the public, and at the time, it was the largest film screening place in Ireland. Today, it still holds onto some key aspects of its past design, including the creative ceiling mouldings, quirky mosaic tilings, and much more. Walking through the doors, you’ll almost feel like you’re back in time. It’s incredible.
Moviegoers have a wide range of films to choose from, including the latest box office releases and old favourites. You’re bound to find it on a screen in the Stella Theatre.
Learn Something New At The Explorium
If you are visiting Dublin with kids and are looking for a place to go when it’s raining outside, the Explorium near Sandyford is the ideal place to visit. The Explorium is part of the National Sport and Science Centre and has a host of activities to do and discover, all of them indoors.
At the Explorium, they have a wide range of interactive exhibits and displays in sports and science that are available to visitors, young and old, who can learn, discover, and play in a sheltered indoor setting away from any wet and miserable weather outside.
In the Science section, there are more than 300 interactive science and STEM experiences to enjoy, including a lightning room (very cool), a Maker’s Lab where visitors can get busy, interactive displays on film making and sports science, and much more. You will easily spend several hours making your way around this level.
After that, make your way to the Sports section, where visitors can get active and try their hand at climbing, caving, VR experiences, gravity-defying bikes, and more.
There is also a junior section, ideal for younger kids, with over 50 science and sports activities, including an interactive aquarium and sensory activities.
The Explorium is a large place, and you will need to allow several hours to cover it all. Some activities in the sports section must be pre-booked, and age and height restrictions may apply. At peak times, it is highly advisable to pre-book your tickets, especially for the junior section.
Contribution By Cath | Passports And Adventures
PSST! Have You Heard About The Dublin Pass?
What exactly is this Dublin Pass?
The Dublin Pass is an all-inclusive city pass that gives you entry to 36 of the top attractions in the whole of Dublin. And what’s even better, some of them are even on this list, so you’ll be kept busy when it starts to lash down from the heavens.
Find out everything you need to know about the Dublin Pass here
Learn About The Emigrating Irish At The EPIC Museum
The EPIC Museum of Dublin is a little different from your average museum. It prides itself on telling the stories of the great Irish people who left the country to build up their lives elsewhere in the world and how the country’s influence has spread all over the world. We’re a proud little country, aren’t we?
This hands-on experience will take you through numerous interactive sections where you’ll learn about Ireland’s history and how the 10 million people who left had an impact on countries close and far away from our little island.
Those who aren’t really into the whole reading tiny little pieces beside artefacts, the EPIC Museum is for you. It’s an innovative exhibition that has decided to educate visitors in a more advanced way by attempting to get you to interact with the history rather than giving you the option to just scan it and walk past.
Since opening in 2016, the EPIC Museum has become another one of the great things to do indoors in Dublin.
Tickets for the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum can be purchased here.
Take A Tour Of Croke Park
Croke Park has been the soul of Irish sporting events over the past 100 years. A tour of the stadium is the perfect idea for a day out when it’s raining in Dublin.
The 1-hour and 20-minute stadium tour takes you on an educational stroll through Europe’s third-largest stadium before heading downstairs to the changing rooms where the players prepare for the matches of their lives. After that, you’ll be taken down to the dugouts and onto the pitch to discover why Croke Park’s grass is always so green. And of course, you’ll be brought to the stands, which have a capacity of 82,300, to experience what it’s like to be a match-going fan.
Anybody who purchases a ticket for the Croke Park stadium tour gets complimentary access to the GAA Museum which will give you an insight into the sport, how important it is to Irish society and some of the most memorable moments that have happened in the past.
Hear The Stories About Ireland’s Political Prisoners At Kilmainham Gaol
Kilmainham Gaol was once a frightening enclosure where most Dubliners feared being sent. It housed thousands of men, women, and children who were locked up for criminal offences, some petty, but others for fighting for Ireland’s freedom.
The jail opened its gates in 1796 with the original intention of housing your everyday criminal, which did end up happening, but then over time, during Ireland’s struggle for independence, prisoners who fought for that struggle ended up being sent there for punishment. Some of the most prominent figures in Irish history were behind bars in Kilmainham Gaol, including Charles Stewart Parnell, Countess Markievicz, and many more.
You can only take a guided tour of the prison, which brings you back in time to where the struggle for Irish Independence began. You’ll learn about what the prisoners had to endure, how their journeys ended, and the effect it had on Ireland, which still lasts today.
Visiting Kilmainham Gaol is a brilliant idea if you’re looking for things to do in Dublin that are a little more suitable for when it rains.
Whack some balls at Rainforest Adventure Golf
Situated in Dundrum town centre, a visit to Rainforest Adventure Golf is a brilliant idea for a date when there’s a rainy day in Dublin.
The building houses two cutting-edge indoor mini-golf courses: 1. Aztec and 2. Mayan, each with 18 holes for you to test your skills on. Each course takes roughly 40–60 minutes to complete, depending on how fast your group is going.
While you can show up on the day and pay, it’s recommended that you book your tickets beforehand, especially if it’s rainy, as there are bound to be quite a few people aiming to play some mini-golf.
The course allows access to people of all ages, but anybody under the age of 15, needs to be supervised by an adult.
Dive In At The National Aquatic Centre’s Aqua Zone
Aquazone is one of Dublin’s only waterparks and is an ideal thing to do if you’re bored on a gloomy day.
The water park has something for everybody. Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie looking to test your nerves on the dark hole or somebody who’s a little more mellow and looking for somewhere to relax like the lazy river, there are tons of options.
Maybe you’re not into the whole water park thing and just want a swim away from all the carnage. The National Aquatic Centre has a separate pool away from the water park where you can hop in and get swimming.
Break Free From A Escape Boat
Another one of our recommended places to go when it rains in Dublin is to the only Escape Boat in the whole city.
We all know escape rooms have become increasingly popular over the past few years, but this escape room has a specific twist like no other. Instead of it being just a room to escape from, you’ve got to try to free yourself from a whole boat. Now that sounds a bit more exciting.
Escapers must work together to crack the codes and find a way off the boat before the 60-minute time limit runs out and the boat leaves the dock.
There are two escape games that you can choose from on Dublin’s Escape Boat. The first is SOS, where you and your team are trapped on an abandoned ship and you need to escape before time runs out, and the second is Convicts, where you’re a criminal that’s attempting to escape from a cell on the ship filled with convicts. At least two players must be in each group.