What to do in Dublin with a 5 y/o this weekend?

brianrcarney

Hi

Any suggestions welcome for me and my son.... he has a tough week coming up and want him to have a great weekend before it...

Thanks

BRC

Ronan Keating

Well the Zoo is obvious I suppose.

What about the Spire and Liberty Hall? A walk across the Samuel Beckett Bridge may be of interest? If he likes trains then why not visit one of the stations.

denisor

Hi Brian,

My 6, 4, & 2yo sons love a visit to Imaginosity in Sandyford if the weather is bad, its comfy and in doors.

http://www.imaginosity.ie/imaginosity/index.php

There is always the Zoo which I am sure you are aware of, if its looking like its gonna be dry.

Im sure others can chime in with other ideas, but great time fillers can be as simple as a spin to the Airport to park under the runways and catch some landings, or maybe just a nice swim in the local pool?

Nice of you to ask by the way, I'm sure he's already in for a great weekend.

denisor

Ronan we must think alike, I love taking a spin with no agenda on the dart with the kids, and let our imagination take us somewhere we haddn't planned, which has me now thinking Bray can be an exciting stop on the Dart!

katekm

Hi,

Would also highly recommend Imaginosity. It's lovely for kids but even better if he can bring a friend along. On the free side My kids never get tired of Rathfarnham castle, Marley Park or on the north side they love Newbridge demesne in Donabate...playground lovely and then you can pay to go into the farm. Duffy circus on in Tallaght at the moment and My kids love puppets(some don't) but Lambert puppet theatre showing jack and the beanstalk....show 3.15.....I would advise to book online to avoid disappointment. hope that helps.

phoebe!

The street performers world championships are on around merrion square and there are lots of places to go around there too

katekm

Another thing which can be just lovely is to bring him to a bookshop and let him pick a book preferably funny....kids love being read to. The childrens section in Dubray books is lovely.

brianrcarney

Thanks so much all..... no reason why we wont be able to most of these things over the two days

Much Appreciated!

katekm

Hope his week is a little easier beacuse of it. Nothing beats time with Dad.:D

denisor

phoebe! wrote: »

The street performers world championships are on around merrion square and there are lots of places to go around there too

Thanks for the heads up Phoebe, Brian, we went into the Street Performers Last year, and it is just fantastic!, honestly its a premium weekend event especially for kids, and its so well organised, plenty of toilets, and food offerings, the city council pull out all the stops and it shows.

Hanging out in Merrion Square having an ice pop watching endless Mr Tumble characters do funny slips and falls and jokes was just fantastic, there was also a Helter Skelter on the square and you could climb to the top and slide down it with your son on your lap sitting on a mat, its not to fast either and it is as tall as the georgian houses, I seriously recommend this!

brianrcarney

seen kenny lightfoot on top of grafton st before and Sean was amazed... he is on in the Street Performers.... think we will head into that for one...!

and sure while we are in there we can jump a dart to somewhere....

brianrcarney

Think that pretty much has Sat covered :cool:

Elmidena

It's Gay Pride on this weekend so the crowds in the city centre might not be good for him. Also, the botannical gardens are supposed to be nice and I believe a lot of it is indoors in case the weather's not terribly nice.

You could stop off in Bray on the way up and have a poke about the aquarium before hitting the city centre?

denisor

Your welcome Brian, kudos to you for doing your homework and coming up with a plan for the little man!

Be sure when your in Merrion Square to head to a, not sure how to describe this, but a crafts village in the square under the trees, I think it was called the Art Zone, in a shaddy area, its a area of things to do, like making play dough from flour, a pit of Matchbox cars to play with in the grass, hammocks to swing in, you could miss it easily but you will feel like a kid again if you find it, and as you no doubt know, nothing beats feeling like a kid again :-)

Sundew

The Natural History Museum on Merrion Square also may appeal and on Sunday there is a free guided family tour of strange exhibits in the museum at 3pm.
http://www.museum.ie/en/list/calendar-of-events.aspx?eventID=2339

If heading to the Botanic Gardens make sure to get some peanuts (proper ones for birds) and he can find and feed the squirrels............I always pack them when heading over and usually end up giving them to some of the kids who don't have any. The big kids are usually worse then the little ones for chasing the squirrels ! Great photo opportunity and great fun for little kids
and this is certainly my favourite thing to do
Also they do great food in the cafe there if you havn't been there already.

Might also be fun if it's a nice day to stop off in Dun laoghaire or Howth and watch the boats bobbing around if you decide to take the Dart as others have suggested.

In the Phoenix Park there is a nice playground at the back of the visitor centre and also the kids seem to like the tiny maze beside the castle. (Not sure if it's quite in the maze league though)

brianrcarney

Sundew wrote: »

The Natural History Museum on Merrion Square also may appeal and on Sunday there is a free guided family tour of strange exhibits in the museum at 3pm.
http://www.museum.ie/en/list/calendar-of-events.aspx?eventID=2339

If heading to the Botanic Gardens make sure to get some peanuts (proper ones for birds) and he can find and feed the squirrels............I always pack them when heading over and usually end up giving them to some of the kids who don't have any. The big kids are usually worse then the little ones for chasing the squirrels ! Great photo opportunity and great fun for little kids
and this is certainly my favourite thing to do
Also they do great food in the cafe there if you havn't been there already.

Might also be fun if it's a nice day to stop off in Dun laoghaire or Howth and watch the boats bobbing around if you decide to take the Dart as others have suggested.

In the Phoenix Park there is a nice playground at the back of the visitor centre and also the kids seem to like the tiny maze beside the castle. (Not sure if it's quite in the maze league though)

thanks Sundew as always your help is worth its weight in gold! and to all thanks alot ... this weekend is gonna be a good one, first thing first he has had his breaky and is ready to rock

Sundew

Believe there is a sale on in the Disney Store at the moment.
Havn't been in so can't confirm that but..............mayby a little treat is called for ,although the book idea is better.

Enjoy the weekend

tyview

Hi Theres a family fun day in clontarf, promises to be a great day from 2pm to 6pm today. I went last year with my kids and they had a ball. you can check out the details: http://www.clontarfresidents.com/news/view/midsummer-festival-family-fun-day-on-18th-june

brianrcarney

well we had a ball thanks for the suggestions...