Trinity College is the one place on every Dublin itinerary, and the Book of Kells is the reason.
Visitors come out of the Old Library in one of three moods. Some say it was the highlight of their trip. Some say “it was smaller than I expected”. The rest are looking for the toilets.
Here’s how to end up in the first group.
The first thing to know: the campus is free, the Book of Kells isn’t
You can walk through Trinity’s front gate on College Green and wander the cobbled squares for nothing. It’s one of the best free things to do in Dublin, and on a quiet morning it feels like you’ve stepped out of the city altogether.
The Book of Kells and the Long Room are in the Old Library, and that’s a timed, ticketed visit called the Book of Kells Experience.
Ticket options and prices
There are now several options, and the names are confusingly similar. Here’s what they actually are (official “from” prices, checked November 2026):
- Book of Kells & Old Library, from €19, about 45 minutes. The Book of Kells and the Long Room, but not the digital exhibition next door. This one sells out first.
- Book of Kells Experience (self-guided), from €25, about 90 minutes. The Old Library plus the digital exhibitions in the Red Pavilion, with a free audio guide.
- Guided Book of Kells Experience, from €65, about 75 minutes. A guided tour of the Old Library in a small group of no more than 16.
- Trinity Trails & Book of Kells Experience, from €37, about two hours. A 45-minute campus walking tour led by students, then the Experience.
Senior and student concessions are available. Students need to show a valid card on the way in.
Which should you choose? If you’re short on time, the €19 Old Library ticket gets you the two things that matter. If you have the time and the budget, the Trinity Trails bundle is the best pick. The student guides are good company and tell you the college gossip as well as the history.
Book on the official Visit Trinity website
Book ahead
Entry is timed, online booking is strongly recommended, and tickets are non-refundable. In summer, walking up and hoping is a good way to spend your morning looking at a sign that says sold out.
Opening hours
- Monday – Thursday: 8:30am – 6:30pm
- Friday – Saturday: 8:30am – 7pm
- Sunday: 9am – 6:30pm
Trinity is a working university and closes to visitors now and then for events, so check your date.
What you see
The Book of Kells
A gospel book made by monks around 800 AD, so beautifully decorated that people have been arguing for twelve hundred years about how they did it. It’s kept in the Treasury, in a glass case, in low light, and only a couple of pages are on show at a time. The page changes. You don’t get to choose.
It is small. Don’t let that disappoint you. Lean in. Look at one letter for a full minute. Then remember someone did that by hand with a quill, in a stone hut, by daylight.
Photography isn’t allowed in the Treasury.
The Long Room
This is the one in all the photographs: a vast, barrel-vaulted wooden hall lined with marble busts.
Something you should know before you go: as part of the Old Library redevelopment project, almost all the books have been taken out of the Long Room for conservation, apart from the first few bays as you walk in. Trinity has put in the Gaia installation, a huge suspended globe of the Earth, and it is genuinely striking. But if you’ve come for the wall of old books from the photos, you’ll see far fewer of them for now.
The Red Pavilion
On the full Experience ticket you also get the digital exhibitions, including the Book of Kells 360, which shows the pages far bigger than you’ll ever see them in the glass case. People are split on it. It’s worth it if you want to understand what you’ve just looked at.
Tips
- Take the earliest slot you can. The queue at the Book of Kells case is the worst part of the visit, and it’s shortest first thing.
- Travel light. There’s no luggage storage.
- Toilets come at the end of the visit, not inside the Old Library. Plan accordingly. See the third of visitors mentioned above.
- Both buildings are wheelchair accessible, and staff can help with the lift.
- Walk the campus afterwards. Front Square, the Campanile, and the quieter Fellows’ Square are free and lovely. On your way in, say hello to the statues of Edmund Burke and Oliver Goldsmith either side of the front gate.
Getting there
Trinity is right in the centre, on College Green, at the bottom of Grafton Street. Almost every bus into town stops within a few minutes’ walk. The Luas Green Line stops at Trinity, and Tara Street DART station is about a five-minute walk.
What’s nearby
Grafton Street starts at the college gates. The free National Gallery and National Museum of Archaeology are a few minutes’ walk away, and so is St Stephen’s Green. And if you want to see where the Rising was fought, the GPO is just over the river.
Book of Kells FAQs
How much does it cost to see the Book of Kells?
Tickets start from €19 for the Book of Kells and Old Library visit, and from €25 for the full Book of Kells Experience.
Can I visit Trinity College for free?
Yes, you can walk the grounds for free. The Old Library and the Book of Kells need a ticket.
How long does the visit take?
About 45 minutes for the Old Library ticket and about 90 minutes for the full Experience.
Are the books still in the Long Room?
Mostly not, for now. They’ve been removed for conservation as part of the Old Library redevelopment, apart from the first few bays.
Prices and hours checked on the official Visit Trinity website, November 2026.
Planning more? Here’s our guide to things to do in Dublin.