Planning a 'Staycation' this Summer? Fáilte Ireland has just revealed the top free and fee-charging tourist attractions that the country has to offer.
While there are no huge surprises on this year's list, it is a nice reminder of just how much Ireland has on offer.
The National Gallery of Ireland surpassed the one million visitor mark for the first time, experiencing an impressive 41% growth. Of course, the reopening of its permanent collection halfway through the year, as well as hosting two major exhibitions of Caravaggio and Vermeer gave them an added boost.
The most popular fee-charging attraction remains the Guinness Storehouse, with a total of 1,711,281 visitors through its doors, up 64,000 on the previous year.
Overall, the top five fee-charging attractions during 2017 were:
- Guinness Storehouse - 1,711,281 (+4%)
- Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience – 1,527,000 (+7%)
- Dublin Zoo – 1,264,300 (+10%)
- National Aquatic Centre – 1,099,756 (+6%)
- Book of Kells - 983,410 (+10%)
Amongst Ireland’s ‘free to enter’ attractions, the National Gallery of Ireland had a total of 1,065,929 visitors through its doors, followed by the Castletown House Parklands, Celbridge, Co Kildare in second place and Glendalough Site, Wicklow, in third.
Ireland’s top ‘free to enter’ attractions for 2017 were:
- The National Gallery of Ireland – 1,065,929 (+41%)
- Castletown House Parklands – 666,541
- Glendalough Site – 639,826
- National Botanic Gardens – 569,652 (-2%)
- DLR LexIcon (Dun Laoghaire Rathdown) – 525,708 (+12%)
Full list of top 20 fee-charging attractions during 2017:
- Guinness Storehouse 1,711,281
- Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience 1,527,000
- Dublin Zoo 1,264,300
- National Aquatic Centre 1,099,756
- Book of Kells 983,410
- Tayto Park 735,000
- St Patrick’s Cathedral 603,000
- Kylemore Abbey & Gardens 558,000
- Muckross House Gardens and Traditional Farm 552,923
- Powerscourt Gardens & Waterfall 501,601
- Fota Wildlife Park 455,559
- Blarney Castle & Gardens 450,000
- Kilmainham Gaol 425,000
- Kilkenny Castle 418,685
- Rock of Cashel 376,488
- Dublin Castle 371,000
- Bunratty Castle & Folk Park 369,275
- Brú na Boinne Newgrange 281,103
- Christ Church Cathedral 238,285
- Glenveagh Castle and Grounds 211,000
Full list of top 20 ‘free to enter’ attractions during 2017:
- National Gallery of Ireland 1,065,929
- Castletown House Parklands 666,541
- Glendalough Site 639,826
- National Botanic Gardens 569,652
- DLR Lexicon, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown 525,708
- Irish Museum of Modern Art 489,295
- Doneraile Wildlife Park 480,000
- National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology, Kildare St 474,564
- Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin 407,529
- Farmleigh 359,432
- Kilkenny Castle Parklands 336,315
- Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons 350,000
- National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, Merrion St 336,412
- Chester Beatty Library 335,875
- National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks 234,336
- Connemara National Park 221,713
- The National Library of Ireland 197,245
- Crawford Art Gallery 188,814
- Malin Head Viewing Point 172,329
- Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane 167,410
- Sliabh Liag Cliffs 164,546
