Yellow Tour (historic highlights)(opens the full route on the National Trust site)
40m–1hr to walk
Not suitable for dogs
Follow the yellow signs from the visitor centre, 40 to 60 minutes, universally accessible; free, audio on the GuidiGo app.
About
The National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin were founded by the Dublin Society in 1795 on the banks of the Tolka, three kilometres north of the city centre, and now hold over 16,000 plant species and cultivars from around the world, including more than 300 endangered species and six already extinct in the wild. The jewel is the set of restored Victorian glasshouses: Richard Turner's Curvilinear Range, begun in 1843 and opened in 1849 to a visit from Queen Victoria, and the Great Palm House of 1884. It was here on 20 August 1845 that David Moore first recorded potato blight in Ireland and predicted the famine to come. Free waymarked Yellow, Red and Green routes lead through the yew avenue, the rock garden and herbaceous borders to the river and back in under an hour each. Reviewers praise the roses, the squirrels and the visitor centre restaurant, and allow about two hours. Dogs, picnics, bicycles and jogging are not allowed, and the car park charges by the hour.
Open in daylightPick a day for times and prices
Today, Saturday 24 October
Open any reasonable time in daylight.
Free entry
Opening times may change at short notice.
Open every day of the year except Christmas Day. The gardens' own page (archive copy of 6 December 2025) gives summer hours from 9 March 2026 of 9am to 5pm on weekdays and 10am to 6pm at weekends and on public holidays, and winter hours of 9am to 4.30pm on weekdays and 10am to 4.30pm at weekends and public holidays; OPW's page gives March to October weekdays 10am to 5pm and weekends 10am to 6pm, and November to February weekdays 9am to 4.30pm and weekends 10am to 4.30pm, so the weekday opening time in summer is given as 9am by the gardens and Google and 10am by OPW. Daily guided tours at 11.30am and 3pm, €5, booking advised; groups of more than ten must book ahead. The Garden Restaurant is open daily, about 9am to 3.30pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm at weekends. Allow about an hour and a half.
Paths are broad with an all-weather surface, with flights of steps in two places; all the glasshouses are accessible, the west wing of the Curvilinear House only from the central house; wheelchairs lent from the visitor centre first come first served; lifts in the visitor centre and library; accessible toilet, baby changing and WiFi. Toilets in the courtyard by the front gate and on the ground floor of the visitor centre, which also holds the Garden Restaurant, a bookshop and an exhibition gallery. Free audio tours on the GuidiGo app; themed tours and events on Eventbrite. No dogs other than guide dogs, no picnics, bicycles, ball games, jogging or music; drones prohibited; glasshouses are hot and humid. Kilmacurragh in County Wicklow is a separate OPW garden.
Photo: The Great Palm House at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, lit by low autumn sun behind trees and shrubs. Cqui, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palm_House_Irish_national_botanic_garden_2.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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