The Book of Kells Experience — Attraction in Dublin

I went to Trinity College, enjoyed the inner courtyard before I followed the signs leading towards the library and said book. I stood in line in front of a sign indicating the time slots, as you have to prebook your ticket for a certain timeslot. The homepage also said that you are then allowed inside for about 30 Minutes, but… no one checked that. Of course, I don’t know if that’s different when it’s fuller, but early May, no one did and I was also let in earlier due to there being more than enough space.

After my ticket being scanned and me walking inside, I first entered an exhibition where you could download a free Book of Kells Audio Tour on your phone by scanning a QR code, which is a really neat feature, I think.

After that, you head into a darkened room where you are also not allowed to take any pictures, and in here is the book of Kells. I know, it basically is just a book, albeit a really old one. But if you’re interested in history and/or literature, it’s truly stunning to look at this book and read one of the pages there.

Afterwards, you climb some stairs until you reach the long corridor of the library. Here are 200,000 of Trinity’s most ancient books, and this library chamber has been an actual working library since 1732. There are busts left and right of famous scholars and figures of literature and I just have to admit that this room is truly stunning! You also find a copy of the book of Kells here, together with the Brian Boru Harp, which is the oldest surviving Irish harp and is the model for the insignia of Ireland. There are also old photographs, showing the first women graduating from Trinity College and more.

This room was never truly empty during my stay and I struggled to take photos without people running through the picture, but wow. It’s truly impressive and I am so glad I got to see this. Tickets start at 16€ and you best book them through the...

This is one of those must do's when in Dublin. It is located on the Trinity College Campus. No real great parking options so we just walked from our hotel to the college. It absolutely needs to be booked in advance though you can book same day. The campus is beautiful, definitely worth a visit if you have time.

It is a self guided audio tour. There is an app you download onto your phone and listen to the different lectures on each exhibit. Bring headphones if you can. Each exhibit is numbered so you can follow along with the app. We somehow missed some of the exhibits and unfortunately we were somewhat rushed through the experience. The numbering for exhibits isn't exactly laid out logically or sequentially either. There isn't a ton of time to sit and relax as they try to keep the crowds moving. It is busy, very busy.

It is kid friendly as kids get a paper with activities and codes that they need to decode based on what they learn on the experience. I would say they came in expecting less and got more while the adults expected more and got less. Nonetheless, it is a must in Dublin.

After getting through the exhibits, you move to several different portions of the library and eventually the Book of Kells, which is behind glass. The main attraction, in my opinion, is the beauty of the library. It is breathtaking. I do think the large globe in the middle is a touch tacky, but it is still beautiful. A majority of the books have been moved however for restoration and maintenance.

At the end of the tour, you end up in the gift shop. The gift shop is the general gift shop for the campus and you can get to it without going on the tour.

The tour is a must though, it could be better, but I have no...

We did the Book of Kells experience without the audio guide or a tour guide and had an amazing time. Altogether, we were there maybe 60-90 minutes since we had a time crunch, but I think we could have been there longer. The museum leading up to the book was informative and well-organized -- it was a LOT of reading so I probably wouldn't recommend this for small kids or anyone who isn't interested in learning the history. (Though there was a follow-along booklet for kids to do -- looked like a scavenger hunt maybe?) I appreciated the screens showing the current page with the rotating informational tidbits. The long library itself is undergoing preservation work, but I felt like the displays (materials, info screens) were likewise well-done. We were there at 9am, and there was no line to see the Book itself despite there being a bunch of people, so we got to dawdle and take our time looking at the Book itself. We then did the red building, which must be new, after they started doing preservation work. It had some displays, including a section of archival boxes with info plaques and QR codes leading to digital versions of the materials and other informational webpages. I saved photos of the ones I liked for later viewing. There were also two 8 minute videos about the history of the Book and the Long Library. We had to skip the latter due to time & a bit of vertigo from the first. All in all, definitely pricey for the time we spent there, but museums and libraries are constantly underfunded AND there's a lot of preservation ongoing, so I can't say I was bothered, plus I really enjoyed the whole thing and wish we could have spent more time at the other...