The Phoenix Park is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all year round.
Admission is free into the Park.
The main gates at Parkgate Street and Castleknock Gate are open twenty-four hours. The side gates to the Park are open from approximately 7am until approximately 10.45pm.
Any queries? Please contact us here
The People’s Flower Gardens are located between the Parkgate Street entrance, and the North Circular Road Gate entrance to the Phoenix Park.
They comprise of an area of twenty-two acres and were laid out and enclosed in 1864. The gardens were originally established in 1840 as the Promenade Grounds. They provide an opportunity to demonstrate Victorian horticulture at its best. A large ornamental lake, children’s playground, picnic areas and Victorian bedding schemes are just some of the attractions. The opening hours are 8am to dusk. Closing times vary during the year.
Now the residence of the President of Ireland, Áras an Uachtaráin started as a modest brick house for the Phoenix Park Chief Ranger in 1751.
It was subsequently acquired as an “occasional residence” for the Lords Lieutenants and gradually evolved to a large mansion. After Ireland gained independence, it was occupied by three Governors General between 1922 and 1937, prior to the first president Dr Douglas Hyde taking up residence there.
Áras an Uachtaráin is open Saturdays only. Free admission tickets are issued at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre on the day. Group and/or advance booking is not possible.
Closed 24 – 26 December. Guided Tours: 10.15am – 4pm in summer, and 10.30am – 3.30pm in winter.
The Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden is open from 10am to 4pm daily, all year round.
The Walled Garden is a two-and-a-half-acre garden set in the grounds of the Visitor Centre. It is currently being restored to its original mid-Victorian layout. On the second Saturday of every month, the public are invited to meet the Phoenix Park gardeners between 10.30am and 12.30pm in the garden. Catch up on what is happening through the seasons with soil preparation, plant propagation, crop growing, herbaceous plants, and much more. Visitors should bring suitable footwear and rain gear.
Phoenix Park Visitor Centre
Please note that the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays from January to end of April each year.
Outside of these months, the opening times are from 9.30am to 6.00pm each day. Last admission 45 minutes before closing. Admission is Free.
Eircode D08 Y304
Admission is free to a lively and entertaining self guiding exhibition on the history and the wildlife of the Park. There is also an Exhibition Room for visiting art exhibitions where exhibitions in various media and art and craft demonstrations take place regularly. Adjoining the Visitor Centre is the fully restored Ashtown Castle, a medieval tower house that dates from the seventeenth century.
Opening hours for the universal playground at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre: 9.30 am to one hour before sunset all year round, weather conditions permitting. Another universal access playground is located in the People’s Gardens close to the North Circular Road Gate entrance. Opening hours: 9.30 am to one hour before sunset all year round, weather conditions permitting.
There is bicycle parking available in the car park of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre
The Office of Public Works has installed a new free water filling station in the courtyard of the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. You can now fill your reusable bottle for free, avoiding unnecessary single use plastic drinking bottles while helping the environment. For further information on other tap locations near you, please go to Refill Ireland website refill.ie/the-tap-map/
Biodiversity Centre, Knockmaroon
Opening Hours: 9.30am – 5.50pm. Last admission is 45 minutes before closing. Admission is Free.
Eircode D20 A402
The Biodiversity Centre, Knockmaroon is located on the western side of the Phoenix Park beside the Knockmaroon Gate Lodge. This area is one of the most tranquil parts of the park. The Biodiversity Centre is located beside the Glen Pond, a diverse wetland habitat. This area of the park known as the Furry Glen is a haven for Biodiversity. It has areas of woodland and wildflowers providing both food and shelter to the variety of species found in the park.
Tours: Wednesday to Sunday at 10.30am, 12.00pm, 2.00pm and 3.30pm. Group visits must be booked in advance either by email at phoenixparkvisitorcentre@opw.ie or by telephone at 01-6770095.
Ashtown Castle is a medieval tower-house.
Until 1978, this castle was hidden within the walls of a Georgian mansion (called Ashtown Lodge) that was occupied by the Under Secretary for Ireland. When the Georgian house was demolished in the late seventies, the castle was discovered inside. It has since been restored and is now open to the public. It may date from as early as the fifteenth century.
Tours of the Castle are organised from the Visitor Centre next door. The tour times of Ashtown Castle are 10.30am, 12pm, 1.30pm, 3pm and 4.30pm. The tours are subject to availability.
Car Parking
Car parks are provided for visitors to the Park. All car parks are closed one hour before dark, except for those on the Upper Glen Road and inside Knockmaroon Gate, which are open twenty-four hours a day. The car parks are situated at the following areas:
- Papal Cross – opens at 8.30am
- The Lord’s Walk, next to Dublin Zoo – opens at 9.45am
- Phoenix Park Visitor Centre – opens at 7.30am
- Soccer Pavilions on Military Road – opens at 8.30am
- Civil Service Cricket Club off Chesterfield Avenue – opens at 9.45am
- Phoenix Cricket Club off Chesterfield Avenue – opens at 9.45am
- Upper Glen Road – open 24 hours
- Knockmaroon car park, inside Knockmaroon Gate – open 24 hours
There are lots of parking spaces available behind Dublin Zoo, along the North (Back) Road, which is accessible via North (Back) Road West.
There are also car parking spaces available on the Upper Furze Road, which is next to, and accessible from, Chesterfield Avenue.
We request that visitors make use of these car parks and do not park on footpaths, bicycle lanes, double yellow lines or adjacent to junctions.