Newgrange — Attraction in The Municipal District of Laytown — Bettystown

We visited Newgrange with our 4 year old and 11 year old in January 2020 and it was brilliant. The kids loved it and they were so impressed they even spoke to their teacher about it on return to school.

We had Frank as our guide and he was very knowledgeable and brought us a few laughs too. The refurbished visitor centre is very nice and has an exhibition which we didn’t go in to but there is some information and photos on the walls downstairs and a nice cafe with a few vegetarian options.

Fun Facts -

Newgrange is one of the best examples in Western Europe of the type of monument known as a passage-grave or passage-tomb

Newgrange is known as a brugh, or brú, which is sometimes translated as mansion.

Aligned with the Winter Solstice

Newgrange was built during an age when the only building materials were stone.

Newgrange was rediscovered in 1699.

Newgrange sits on a long ridge that is cradled by a bend of the Boyne River five miles west of Drogheda.

Newgrange attracts almost 200,000 people each year. This makes it the most visited archaeological monument in Ireland. (Come early!)

Built for an Ancient Irish King

Newgrange is said to have been the place where the great mythical hero Cúchulainn was conceived by his mother Dechtine.

Linked to Swans & Stars

Newgrange is built with 200,000 tons of material.

We don’t know how the larger stones, forming the kerb, passage, and chamber of Newgrange, were brought to the site.

These ancient builders were highly skilled.

All of the Newgrange satellite sites, the passage mounds and standing stones in the area, originally had their own names.

One of the most unusual satellite sites is located to the east of Newgrange and is a large U-shaped cursus.

Stones that function as a calendar.

Accurate Roofbox & Sunbeam

The color of the sunrise inspired naming of “Red Mountain”

One interesting finding in Newgrange are Roman coins.

Largest number of carved...

If you enjoy history attractions on vacation, this is the visit for you! This World Heritage Site tours both prehistoric sites of Newgrange and Knowth with a maximum of 24 people on the tour.

You park at the designated visitor center and a bus takes you to both sites. Allow time to go through the museum before your tour (it closes at 6pm) and take photos in the makeshift passage tomb as photos are not permissible when you enter the Newgrange passage tomb. Be aware that the Newgrange passage tomb is tight and in a confined space; ducked heads and holding small purses in front of you is required. The guide also turns off the lights in the tomb to simulate the light at the winter solstice.

We could have had more time at Knowth as there are lots of smaller satellite passage tombs around Knowth, though you cannot enter any of the sites at Knowth; there was plenty to look at though! In total, we spent 3-3.5 hours at this attraction.

Highly recommend if you enjoy prehistoric art and history, like Stonehenge and the pyramids of Egypt. This place is older than those! I think I actually preferred this site to Stonehenge due to less people and more to see/do at the sites.

You have to get tickets well in advance to make the tour; recommend setting an alarm for yourself to get tickets when they open 30 days before the date you wish to attend. Bathrooms are at both stops as well as the visitor center. Visitor center has a cafe and gift shop. The sites are among farms, so be prepared for cow crossings (this happened while we were on the bus; we enjoyed this and found it funny as the cows misbehaved a little, ha!). The entrance is gated and you also cannot just walk up to the sites at any time of...

First things first you must pre book your tour of the monument before you arrive at Newgrange, however if you haven't and you find yourself turned away (as they are usually booked up) don't despair, if like us you love the outdoors then there's still a little to explore ie the delicious food in the restaurant, the exhibition and the short walks (bridges etc) OK it won't compensate you not getting to see what you came for but as you've come this far you may as well make the most of it. Should the weather be bad and you haven't pre booked then I'd turn around and get back into your car and return another day. The shop is the usual touristy souvenir stuff on sale, a bit pricey but for a tourist maybe not it depends on your budget, it was only €11 for one adult and two children 11&12 for exhibition. Look if heritage and nature is your thing then you will love this place, if you are looking for shopping malls and entertainment then don't, I appreciate this heritage site has done very well to maintain as close as possible how the lay of the land would have looked 3000 years ago obvs minus the the suspension bridge, buses and heritage centre but I have done Newgrange before and I do recommend visiting the actual monument if you can, booking essential for the solstice days. If you love everything Irish, Celtic, you'll love this place, bring a picnic to save money and take lots of photos as you'll prob only come once in a lifetime unless it's something you are mega passionate about. Lovely friendly staff, clean toilets, disability services, ample parking,. Remember there's no such thing as bad weather just bad clothes, wear good walking boots to explore...