Things to do in Dún Laoghaire on a rainy day

Nine things to do in Dún Laoghaire when it is raining, from the people who run the board game café on York Road. Hours and prices checked in October 2026.

Dún Laoghaire is built for a dry day. The piers, the Forty Foot, ice cream on the seafront. Then it rains, which it does, and everyone ends up in the same two cafés looking out the window. We are on York Road, a short walk from the DART, and we spend a lot of rainy days watching people walk past wondering what to do. So here is the list we give them, with the hours and prices as they stand this month. Check before you go, places change their hours without telling us.

1. dlr LexIcon

The big library on the seafront at Haigh Terrace, five floors and free in. There is a children's library on the lower floors, a gallery, a local studies floor if you want to see what the town looked like before the shopping centre, and the windows on the upper floors look out over the harbour. On a wet Tuesday it is the best free hour in town.

Open Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 8pm, Friday and Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, Sunday 12 noon to 4pm. Closed from Saturday to Monday on bank holiday weekends, so not the first day of midterm.

2. National Maritime Museum of Ireland

Across the road from the LexIcon, in the old Mariners' Church. Run by volunteers who know their stuff and will happily talk to you. The Baily lighthouse optic in the middle of the nave is the thing everyone photographs, and the story of the RMS Leinster is the one you will remember on the way home.

Open every day 11am to 5pm. Adults €10, under 18s €5, students and seniors €8, a family ticket for two adults and two children €25.

3. Pavilion Theatre

Dún Laoghaire's theatre, on Marine Road, with a proper programme of plays, music, comedy and film screenings. If you have kids off for midterm, check what is on in the family slot that week. Tickets vary by show, so look at the calendar on their site or ring the box office on 01 231 2929.

4. The cinema at Bloomfield

The IMC in Bloomfield Shopping Centre on Lower George's Street. Nothing fancy, which is the point. Check the showtimes, buy a ticket, forget about the weather for two hours.

5. Board & Brewed

That is us. We are a board game café, not a pub, with 700+ games on the walls over two floors, coffee, pizza, sandwiches, milkshakes and hot chocolate. You pay €5 a person an hour to play, capped at €15, and under 12s play free. Pick a game off the shelf, ask us if you are stuck, and we will get you going. There is a vinyl shop at the back too, for the half of the family who would rather flick through records.

Open Monday to Thursday 8am to 10pm, Friday 8am to 11pm, Saturday 10am to 11pm, Sunday 10am to 8pm. Bank holiday Mondays 12pm to 8pm. Booking is recommended for weekends and midterm, walk-ins are always welcome. Book a table or have a look through the library first.

6. James Joyce Tower, Sandycove

The Martello tower where Ulysses opens, a 25 minute walk along the seafront or a few stops on the 59 bus. It is free, it is small, and the volunteers who run it are the kind who will tell you more than you asked. Climb to the top if the rain lets up for a minute.

Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm, closed Mondays. Not wheelchair accessible.

7. The Forty Foot

Hear us out. You are getting wet anyway. The Forty Foot is open all year, free, and the people who swim there in October will tell you the rain makes no difference once you are in. Bring a towel, a hat and something warm for after. Then come back to York Road for the hot chocolate.

8. Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre

Two stops further on the DART. A medieval castle with a living history tour where actors play the archer, the cook and the barber surgeon, and a lookout at the top with a view over the bay, when there is a view. Good for kids who like a bit of theatre, and better than it sounds.

Open six days a week, closed Tuesdays. Tours run through the day from 10am on weekdays and 10.30am at weekends, with the last one mid afternoon. In 2026 it is €18 for adults, €17 for students and seniors, €12 for under 12s. Booking online is cheaper.

9. The charity shops and record shops

George's Street has a run of charity shops a few doors apart, and on a wet afternoon the rails are full of people doing exactly what you are doing. There is a record shop in our place and others around the town. Allow an hour, come out with something you did not need.

Doing it with kids

For midterm, the week of 26 October, the easy day is the LexIcon in the morning, the Maritime Museum when it opens at 11, then a table here for the afternoon. Under 12s play free with us, so a family of four pays for two. The Sunday morning Community Painting here is free as well, 10am, with paints, brushes and a Space Marine supplied, if you have a child who wants to make something rather than play something. The bank holiday Monday we open at 12. Our older post on board games for kids at midterm has a few picks for different ages.

Doing it in the evening

Most of the list above closes by 5pm. We don't. The café is open till 10pm Monday to Thursday and 11pm Friday and Saturday, so a wet evening can still be a games night rather than a night in. Tuesday Social Gaming is free from 6pm to 10pm, come on your own and we will find you a table. The rest of the week's events, Blood on the Clocktower on Mondays, card games most nights, are on the events page.

Getting here

York Road runs between the DART station and the shopping centre, so the station end of town is a few minutes on foot. The 7, 7a, 45a, 46a, 59, 75 and 111 buses all stop in Dún Laoghaire. Street parking is paid. If you are driving in the rain, give yourself a minute to find a space and don't blame us.

We are at 75 York Road. Come in, dry off, and pick a game.