Ever so idyllic in all seasons, it's a privilege to have lived so close to this beautiful park for my life in its entirety. Created in 1662, this parks 11km perimeter wall encloses its area of 707 hectares (7.07 km2; 1,750 acres or 2.73 sq miles) which makes one of the largest walled city parks in Europe and lies a mere 2-4km from the City Centre. It includes extensive areas of woodland, grassland, tree-lined avenues and since the seventeenth century has been home to a herd of wild Fallow deer. Some places of note include though are not limited to the following: + Phoenix Park Visitor Centre and Ashtown Castle + Áras an Uachtaráin + People's Gardens + Dublin Zoo + Deerfield Residence + Magazine Fort + Monuments (multiple) + Papals Cross + Other Features of Interest In the south-western corner of the park is an area known as the Furry Glen which has a series of short walks centred around a small lake with birds, plants and wildlife. The State Guest House, Farmleigh, adjoins the park to the north-west. The headquarters of An Garda Síochána, the police force of Ireland, are located in the park. The National Ambulance Service College is located at Saint Mary's Hospital on the Chapelizod side of the park. This building dates from 1766 and was formerly the Hibernian Military School. Ordnance Survey Ireland is located in Mountjoy House near the Castleknock Gate. The house was built in 1728 and was originally known as Mountjoy Barracks as it quartered the mounted escort of the Lord Lieutenant who resided in the Vice-Regal Lodge (now Aras an Uachtarain). Adjoining the park to the south east is the Irish Defence Forces' McKee Barracks. Built in 1888 as Marlborough Barracks it once housed 822 military horses[20] and still has an Equitation School. Ratra House at the back of the Aras, was the home of Civil Defence Ireland since the organisation was established in 1950 until 2006 when the headquarters was decentralised to Roscrea, County Tipperary. Named Ratra House by the first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde who retired to the house in 1945 from his Presidency. He named it after his native Ratra Park in Frenchpark, County Roscommon where he had done much of his writing. Built in 1876, Winston Churchill lived there from age two to six. Grangegorman Military Cemetery lies just outside the walls of the Park on Blackhorse Avenue. The park also contains several sports grounds for football, hurling, soccer, cricket and polo. Bohemians Football Club was founded in the Gate Lodge beside the North Circular Road entrance in 1890. The club played its first games in the Park's Polo Grounds. At Conyngham Road, near the South Circular Road junction, the regular wall takes on an unusual arch shape before levelling out again this marks the point where the Liffey Bridge enters the Park via a rail tunnel that continues on beneath the Wellington monument. It is used regularly for freight traffic, and by certain limited special passenger services. It was used during World War Two for storing emergency supplies of food. The Irish Government is lobbying UNESCO to have the park designated as a world heritage site. read more

A great place to wander, cycle, run or walk your dog. Lots of interesting things to see: the deer, the Aras, Farmleigh, papal cross etc. You can also feed the ducks/swans and it's a great place for taking photos. read more

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of Dublin City Centre, you never have to travel too far as the city is well catered for with large, beautiful green areas...and they don't come greener, larger, more beautiful than Phoenix Park. Priding itself on being one of the largest green areas in Europe, Phoenix Park is a wonderful place to go for a stroll, jog, a bit of footy with your mates, a picnic or even a tandem bike rental to exercise with your (lazy)partner. The park is open 24 hours a day, and the driveway that goes nearly 2 kms straight through (literally "straight" through) the center of the park from one end to the other makes for an ideal path to walk the aul' dog of an evening, and is well equipped with benches to sit and read a book and watch the sunset. It is also well lit the whole way, so don't worry about getting caught in the dark if you set off home too late. You might also be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the deer population, it having originally been set up as a Royal deer park. Personally, as a fan of an evening jog, it's an ideal spot as when you run from one end to the other, the sun tends to set on front of you, the cool breeze in your face is revitalizing and being in Phoenix is definitely a truly pleasant way of finishing your busy day. read more

Seeing the deers was great so many all over the place!! I highly recommend taking a trip to go see the Irish deers :D read more

The biggest park in Europe, I should be so proud to live in the city near this beautiful park! - Great and friendly atmosphere - Hire Bike if you can! (P.S if you like walking it's great, but it's about 10 km around the park! I have done it once ) - it's always green - even winter time - have great little bake shop with coffee and hot tea ( not far from the zoo) - president lives there- go and say HI - do not forget some apples and carrots to feet the deers) they are walking around so you have to find them! So as squirrels - in the summer time ( exact before the living cert at schools it's the best weather in Dublin) and Phoenix park it's the best to lay on the grass and have a picnic! - There is a castle in the park! - summer time- yoga every Saturday I think ! Every tourist have to go! read more

The park is the largest park in Europe and was established in the 17th century as a deer park (1662). In total it spans over 1750 acres and contains a zoo, sporting fields, band stands, various monuments and spectacular views. The park is also free to visitors and is open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The park was also easily reached by the Luas line at Heuston station and a short walk into the park. I rented a bike with a baby seat on the back cheaply at the front gate and circled the entire park. They had a great selection of bikes at the front gate and they are quick to get you the perfect bike for your needs. The park is immense with beautiful paved paths around the exterior and through the mid points. Some older ruins are in the middle near the visitor center and it is very flat on the northern and central areas but with more challenging hills and cliff side scenic paths on the south side (near the river). There is a huge herd of about 400-500 wild deer in the central flat lands of the park as well. My 17 month old son and I parked the bike and walked close to the herd for a better look. It made for a great afternoon. They had a nice free visitor center as well which went through the park through the ages (bronze age through current times). The displays were well built and it is worth a quick visit. I tried the Victorian Tea Kiosk and I was surprised at the selection. They have various types of teas and coffees (I had a solid cappuccino) and treats as well as other food. I would definitely go back the next time. read more

I just love the Pheonix Park. Its by far the best place to go running in Dublin in my opinion. Its relatively flat and lets be honest - its huge! So there is no need to be running in a small circle over and over again if you are into distance running like me! Its worth the drive over if you have a long run I think - the run will be all the more enjoyable when you pass the herd of deer! :D read more

The Phoenix Park is a little slice of green heaven in grey Dublin, and being a rural woman, I enjoy being able to cycle to the Phoenix Park and feel like I might just be in Tipperary again. The Phoenix Park's main thoroughfare is generally quite busy, and so a careful eye must be kept out for passing kids, skaters, rollerbladers, runners, or dogs, if you have decided to go cycling their for the evening. The main street running through the Phoenix Park is also extremely flat and so is a nice way to ease yourself back into biking. The surrounding area has tougher trails, including some thigh crushing steep hills to keep the advanced cyclist content. Tourists should be wary of high speed cyclists, who do tend to dominate the cycle trails, so their rudeness can sometimes ruin the pleasant atmosphere at the park. Also keep an eye out for the Magazine Fort which left this history buff squealing hysterically for hours! Plenty to see here in relation to Irish wildlife, such as the resident herd of graceful deer so you'll definitely never grow bored visiting this park. FAO TO TOURISTS: Bring a map of the park, because it is big, and believe me it's hard enough to find a toilet there if you don't know where you're going! read more

Phoenix Park is great spot to go to go in summer Lots of interesting things to see the deer, the Aras, Farmleigh, papal cross and Dublin zoo read more

Massive. Gorgeous. Free. Is there anything else to add? Up by the zoo, there is a cute tea shop and we managed to find a cricket match to watch. Highly recommend. read more

What a big, beautiful park! It's literally park for days. It took me two days to really explore it properly. Beautifully landscaped, and easy to get to by bus. There is so much to see and do! The zoo is there. There are multiple playing fields. There are herds of adorable deer. The visitors center has great information, too. I just walked around making my fitbit happy, but I was told you can rent bikes to bike around, too. It's really great and if you get the chance, I highly recommend you add this to the list of things to do in Dublin. read more

Beautiful place where you can relax, have long walkings, take gorgeous unbelievable pictures by the sunset...This one is a gold!

LOL I literally walked this whole park, europes biggest enclosed park. There were hardly any waste bins and I feel like the park was really just vast and empty. I enjoyed the tea area but was disappointed of the small castle. And the zoo looked promising but I didn't have the time for it. Anyway, you can go to Ireland without a visit to this park, no problem. read more

Although they say it is the largest enclosed park in Europe, to me it doesn't feel that big and I think that is because there are so many bloody roads cutting through the park. You are never out of view or ear shot of a road it seems and therefore it doesn't feel very tranquil or relaxing like a park should! In the park there is a Zoo, Dublin Police Museum, a visitor centre, Farmleigh House, where posh foreign diplomats stay, Ashtown Castle, a small 17th century tower house, monuments to public figures including the crap looking white cross to mark the Popes visit in 1979, a children's playground, Aras an Uachtarain, the Presidents gaff, and the home of the American ambassador, as well as several lakes and herds of deer! To me the best thing about this place are the deer that roam wild and the hundreds of rabbits and hares about the place! Great fun to watch! read more

Went here for the first time today and loved it. What a fabulous park so close to the city centre :-) cycling through the park was really nice and stopping at the ice cream van after was great. Will come back again on a nice sunny day for a cycle or run :-) read more

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What a beautiful park to get lost for... well, many hours (since it's so big and it is far from the city centre, you need a pair of strong legs to get there and get back). I wanna try it with more time, to keep walking, to see those deers... because they are there, somewhere, right? read more

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Phoenix Park is the largest public park in any city in Europe. It is home to Dublin zoo, Aras an Uachtarain (residence of Ireland's President), the Wellington Memorial and Victorian flower gardens. It hosts a number of 'fun runs' or mini-marathons during the year, other sporting events and the odd concert (yes, I saw Bloc Party under a canopy in the President's back garden!). Apart from all of that, Phoenix Park is the place where Pope John-Paul famously addressed the Irish public in 1979 (hence the multitude of JPs around Ireland who are nearly hitting the 30 mark). It's a pleasant place to go in the evenings to stroll around, cycle, play football, Frisbee, cricket, hurling or whatever tickles your fancy. It's not far from O'Connell Street and buses go fairly regularly from the city to the park. Phoenix Park is open 24-7 but, like all city parks, probably not advisable to skulk around there in the shadows late at night. Oh yeh, and it's also home to a herd of deer! read more

Huge park and endless possibilities. This is a great park and it is a nice green area to have close to a big city. Green is always good amongst all of the concrete. There are so many areas that I do not want to single any one area out and just want to say that you need to go discover the park. Spend some time walking around and it will take you days, weeks even before you have walked through the entire thing and gotten comfortable with all it has to offer. Yes I am an outdoorsie kind of person and greenery is always nice when you live in a city. It also has a lot of history so if you can grab up one of the tours where people talk about the parks history or just the history of Dublin you should definitely go and get some great info on the park and its history. read more

Phoenix park seems to be the largest park in Europe. It's not only a great place to spend your weekend just walking around or sitting on the grass and reading, it also hosts many cool events, like the SeptemberFest festival of Irish Beers a couple of weeks ago. Some spots of the park are notorious for being cruising areas, but I myself never saw that happening. read more

I really like the phoenix park, it is a great place to get a bit of fresh air and go for a walk in. In the phoenix park there is the Aras an Uachtarain, the Papal cross, Zoological Gardens, Monuments and is the home to a herd of wild Fallow Deer. This is a great place for tourists and locals alike. read more

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I've spent many days walking around and enjoying the park. Very well maintained and I regularly see park rangers around the place. The deer are beautiful but don't knock one down or your car will be destroyed by them!! My dog loves going for random runs and always finds something new to explore read more

The place I go for a run quite often, the place where I find my friends the deer (though I give them space because they love being on their own with their peers), the place where you can find the excellent Dublin Zoo and those amazing sundowns like in the films type of "Out of Africa"; I d say there is something African in this park. A magnificent place that is a "must" in your visit to Dublin. read more

Phoenix Park - Deer enjoying the good weather - Parks Near Me

Beautiful Park in Dublin. Home of the Irish President and also the Ambassador for the US. The Dublin Zoo is here. read more

The Phoenix Park is the perfect place for a walk, run or cycle of a weekend, as well as a great place to do a spot of polo-watching/deer spotting. With plenty of green spaces for the kids or puppies to run around in, its a peaceful afternoon escape conveniently located ten minutes walk from the city center. read more

Phoenix Park - Parks Near Me

I love the Phoenix Park, it's a great place to go for a stroll, visit the zoo, or rent a bike and explore for the day. The Victorian Gardens are one of my favourite spots to chill out when it's sunny. Very accessible from the city centre. Free parking too! read more

okay lots has been said about this park. its a great park nobody disputes that. now you may or may not know the fact that everything north of the river has an odd post code number and is on the north side and everything outh of the liffey has an even post code number and is on the southside. southside is usually the more desirable of the two halves and teh northside is always being put down. the Phoenix park has even shunned the northide because despite being north fo the liffey it is in dublin ten so is officially a southside park! ha ha! read more

Phoenix Park - Parks Near Me

If you just want to chill, this is the place. Beautifully maintained, excellent walking paths, gardens and landscaping are top notch. All for free!!!! read more

If you're near Kilmainham Gaol or the Guinness Storehouse, you might as well pop over for the pretty, and free, scenery. The park has lush green land, gorgeous trees, and cute little ponds where you'll find birds and the little children desperately trying to feed them bread. It's very charming, scenic, and lush. read more

I absolutely LOVE this park! There is something so majestic about it and I love walking through it even if the sun isn't shining. I went to my first gig here last night (Justin Timberlake) and it was awesome! From what I have heard about the horrible organization of concerts last year, it has definitely improved. Plenty of food vendors, close toilets and the beer lines weren't too bad either. read more

Wonderful! Sadly, we had only enough time to drive through the park. What we did see was most impressive, and we hope to return someday to spend a proper amount of time here. read more

Worth a trip over to Phoenix park !! We did it the same day that we did the zoo since their in the same part of town. It was a beautiful day out and walking the park was so lovely. We found a spot with the deer; if you walk towards the back of the park on the road and stay on the left side of the road the deer hang out in the wooded area during the day eating grass. If you sit down and just stay still they will move closer. It's probably one of the best experiences of my life seeing a pack of 20-30 deer at a time. What a relaxing way to spend an afternoon!!! read more

I came here for the first time when the spring blooms were all exploding with vibrant colour and it made the whole park just come alive! What I value about the park is that there is an immense amount of space to relax and enjoy without feeling like your surrounded by loads of other people. In addition, to this, there are various activities that people can enjoy from sports, to visiting the zoo, to grabbing a bite to eat, among other things. On a beautiful day, I would definitely recommend visiting, whether you are a tourist or a local. read more

Phoenix Park is beautiful. It's great for a jog or a cycle. The Dublin Zoo is also here so thats an added bonus. To be perfectly honest though, I usually only experience the beauty of the place when going to one of the many events they host year round in the various parts of the park, but sure, those are awesome too and always a good excuse to come back. read more

Biggest city park in Europe. I normally come here on weekends and the park can host thousands of people and still seem empty. You can find 100s of wild deer, the Irish president's house, the American ambassador's house, 100s of memorials, a zoo, a coffee shop, plenty of trees and grass, fields to play GAA or football, A polo field, an abandoned fort and the list goes on. This is a place Dubliners end up coming several times in their lifes, because it has something new to offer every time. read more

Five stars! A beautiful park. Great for a long walk, a run or a cycle. Home to the Irish president and the zoo. It's a fantastic day out. Grab an ice cream from one of the parked vans and relax on any of the benches. Lots of areas to sit with a good book while taking in some beautiful scenery and fresh air. Look out for the deers. Bikes can be rented for a hour or three or even the day at the park gate. Reasonable pricing and a good way to cover more distance in Europe's largest walled park. Free parking available if you're feeling particularly lazy or experience some mobility issue that makes walking difficult. Observed the people playing cricket or visit farmleigh house and gardens. read more

I lived on the North Circular Road right beside the Phoenix Park in my first year in college and I loved going for walks here on a Sunday. It's a massive area with any amount of events going on at any given time. It's so big that you wouldn't even be aware of half of them when you're in here. My boyfriend at the time used to drive through the park on his motorbike at night with me on the back and all the deer used to line the side of the road looking at us! It was absolutely lovely - like something out of another world! There are no buses allowed in either so you don't even feel like you're in the city. read more

Phoenix Park - Courtesy of Phoenix Park website - Parks Near Me

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Huge open spaces beautiful park well maintained loads of things to do the zoo and the wildlife really nice place

Nice park, but a little bit of nothing. Well, of course it is a park and not a garden, but except for the cross and the big monument there is not much to see. It is great for some biking or jogging, but think of it more as a place of natural refuge for the Dublin people than as a tourist attraction. read more

Very beautiful park, green everywhere and wild friendly dears.

One of the larger parks in Europe. Its HUGE!!! A very loveable place with alot going on. The Horse Polo on a Sunday is an interesting watch. The Deer wanders about freely. All sorts of monuments and buildings to visit. There's even Dolmens. A great hang out at times. However lethally dangerous. Too much stabbings and mobbing going on. It is not a place to go for a stroll in to the wilderness alone. And it does have some nice wilder nature parts. Also best to get out of there before dark. A terrible pity that it is practically as dangerous as New York. The new joke now is to say we're all off the Phoenix Park to look for bodies, sure they're everywhere! read more