Dublin's first parking bill arrives before you see the city. The M50 ring road has no toll booths: a gantry between junction 6 (Blanchardstown) and junction 7 (Lucan) reads your plate, and a car with no account owes €3.80, payable by 20:00 the next day on eflow.ie or at a Payzone shop. Miss that and eFlow adds €4, then €51, then €128 — per journey. Hire cars and foreign plates are where this goes wrong most often.
In town, the council's yellow zone is €4 an hour at the kerb. The cheapest whole day I found is not in town at all: the Luas park and ride at Red Cow is €4 a day, as long as you hold a Luas ticket for that day.
Soft rain off the Irish Sea, and a river that splits the city in two
The weather changes between one bridge and the next. On the right wind the quays smell of roasting barley from the brewery at St James's Gate. People give directions as stories, and every landmark in the story is a pub.
€26 for a library whose shelves are empty, and a night in Temple Bar
The Book of Kells Experience at Trinity is from €26, timed entry, booked online. You do see the book. But Trinity's own page says all books have been removed from the Long Room for the Old Library redevelopment, except the first four bays as you walk in. I would go for the manuscript, not for the famous photo of the shelves.
Temple Bar I keep to a walk-through. It is the one district where I hear more stag parties than Dublin accents; ten minutes' walk finds a pub poured for people who live here.
A chipper beside Christ Church, frying since 1913
Leo Burdock on Werburgh Street, in the shadow of Christ Church, has sold fish and chips since 1913; the family fried in coal-fired pans until 1991. Go at lunchtime on a weekday, order fish and chips and eat them out of the paper nearby. It is my favourite meal in Dublin.
Keep left, and pay the gantry before 20:00 tomorrow
Ireland drives on the left and roundabouts turn clockwise. The rule I give everyone: if you crossed the M50 between the Blanchardstown and Lucan exits, pay that evening on eflow.ie. At the rental desk, ask whether the car has a tag; if not, the rental company gets the penalty and, one Irish toll guide says, adds €30–€60 in admin. Foreign plates do not escape either: eFlow says penalty notices for non-Irish vehicles are sent by Euro Parking Collection.
Yellow zone €4, Drury Street €4.50, Jervis Street €16 for a weekday
Dublin City Council prices the kerb by colour: yellow €4 an hour, red €3.50, green €2.00, orange €1.20, blue €0.90, and a Sunday rate of €1.80 from 14:00 to 18:00 in the centre. The council prints no single timetable: the hours are on each street's sign. Two parking guides give Monday to Saturday 07:00–19:00 for most central streets; I treat the sign as the only truth. Pay at the machine, in the Payzone app, by text to 53311, or by phone on 01 244 9999.
For a day, garages win. Jervis Street prints the clearest tariff: €3.70 an hour, €16 for a weekday from 06:00 to 19:00, €20 at the weekend, €10 for an evening; it closes at 01:00. That is my pick north of the river. Drury Street, behind Grafton Street, is €4.50 an hour, €12 for the evening and €14 overnight, height 2.00 m. Arnotts car park, off O'Connell Street, is €3.60 an hour, and with an Arnotts receipt three hours cost €9 — but it opens and closes with the shop. Q-Park St Stephen's Green is the big one, 1,061 spaces at 1.95 m, and publishes no walk-up tariff online.
Car parks worth knowing
| Car park | Price | EV |
|---|---|---|
| Jervis Street (APCOA)61-66 Jervis Street — north of the river, beside the Jervis and Henry Street shops | €3.70 an hour, €16 for a weekday 06:00–19:00, €20 weekend day, €10 evening 18:00–01:00, €12 overnight 18:00–10:00. Open 06:00–01:00 (Sunday from 08:00). 246 spaces. | 2 Compleo rapid chargers on the ground floor, paid through the ScanPay app. |
| Drury Street (APCOA)59-62 Drury Street — behind Grafton Street | €4.50 an hour, €12 for the evening, €14 overnight. Open 24 hours. 465 spaces, height 2.00 m. No day rate published. | Charging not published. |
| Arnotts Car ParkEntrance from Prince's Street North, off O'Connell Street | €3.60 an hour, €15 overnight; with an Arnotts receipt, three hours for €9. Opens an hour before the store and closes an hour after it. Best Car Parks, which runs it, sells a €15 online day ticket. | Charging not published. |
| Q-Park St Stephen's GreenGlover's Alley — the Royal College of Surgeons car park, off St Stephen's Green | Q-Park publishes no walk-up tariff online. Open 24/7, 1,061 spaces, height 1.95 m. | 8 charging points. |
The cheapest way to park, by how long you stay
| If you stay | Cheapest | Cost | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours in the centre | Luas Red Cow Park & Ride | €4 | €2 up to four hours, €4 a day, open 24/7 with 7-day tariffs — but only with a valid Luas ticket for the day, or you pay extra at the exit. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Arnotts Car Park | €7.20 | €15 if booked online · hours follow the store; 3 hours €9 with a receipt |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, yellow zone (city centre) | €8 | €4 an hour in the yellow zone, €3.50 in red. The council publishes no single timetable: read the sign. A clamp is €125, the pound €250 plus €35 a day. |
| A full day (10 h) | Luas Red Cow Park & Ride | €4 | €2 up to four hours, €4 a day, open 24/7 with 7-day tariffs — but only with a valid Luas ticket for the day, or you pay extra at the exit. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Jervis Street (APCOA) | €16 | €16 is the Mon–Fri 06:00–19:00 day rate; weekend day €20 |
| …and the kerb, for comparison | Kerb, yellow zone (city centre) | €40 | €4 an hour in the yellow zone, €3.50 in red. The council publishes no single timetable: read the sign. A clamp is €125, the pound €250 plus €35 a day. |
| 24 hours | Luas Red Cow Park & Ride | €4 | €2 up to four hours, €4 a day, open 24/7 with 7-day tariffs — but only with a valid Luas ticket for the day, or you pay extra at the exit. |
| …and the cheapest central garage | Arnotts Car Park | €15 | booked online only — no walk-up tariff is published · hours follow the store; 3 hours €9 with a receipt |
€125 to unclamp, and €250 more once it reaches the pound
The council's contractor is Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS), phone 01 602 2500. A clamp costs €125 to release, paid at dsps.ie or by phone. Leave it unpaid for 24 hours and the car goes to the city car pound: €250 removal plus €35 a day storage.
The council's page publishes neither the pound's address nor its hours, so ring DSPS before you take a taxi anywhere. I would bring a passport, the registration document and, for a hire car, the rental agreement.
If your car has disappeared
- Who took it
- Dublin City Council's contractor Dublin Street Parking Services (DSPS) clamps, and moves a car to the city car pound if the clamp is not paid within 24 hours
- Phone
- DSPS — clamp release, and how to find out whether the car was towed: 01 602 2500
- Collect it at
- The city car pound. The council's page does not publish its address or opening hours — ring DSPS first.
- Hours
- Not published on the council's page.
- What it costs
- Clamp release €125. Once moved to the pound: €250 removal plus €35 a day storage.
- Bring
- The council does not list documents. Bring ID, the registration document and, for a hire car, the rental agreement, and ring the rental company.
ESB at €0.60 a kWh, with a meter that starts after 45 minutes
ESB ecars, the national public network, charges pay-as-you-go €0.60 per kWh on AC and €0.72 on fast and high-power DC, from 1 July 2026; tapping a contactless card is a cent more. The trap is the overstay fee: €0.50 a minute after 45 minutes on a fast charger, or after 10 hours on AC, up to €22.50. The €4.79 monthly plan has a 12-month term; skip it.
In the centre, Jervis Street has two Compleo rapid chargers on the ground floor, paid through the ScanPay app, and Q-Park St Stephen's Green lists eight charging points. My choice is Jervis, where the parking price is printed.
Where to charge
- ESB ecars — €0.60 AC, €0.72 DC — The national public network, on street and in car parks across Dublin. Pay-as-you-go from 1 July 2026: €0.60 per kWh on AC, €0.72 on fast and high-power DC; contactless €0.61 and €0.73. Overstay €0.50 a minute after 45 minutes on fast chargers or 10 hours on AC, capped at €22.50
- Jervis Street — two rapid chargers in the centre — APCOA Jervis Street, ground floor. Two Compleo rapid chargers, paid with the ScanPay app, in a garage that prints its day price. My pick
- Q-Park St Stephen's Green — eight points — Glover's Alley, height 1.95 m. The charging price and the parking tariff are not published online
€4 at Red Cow, €2 at Cheeverstown, and a Luas ticket in your pocket
Nothing central is free, but the Luas park and rides come close. Red Cow has 598 spaces, open 24/7, €2 for up to four hours and €4 for the day. Cheeverstown is €2 a day, Carrickmines €3, Stillorgan and Sandyford €4, Balally €5. The condition: a valid Luas ticket on the day you park, or you pay extra at the exit.
Red Cow sits beside the M50 south of the toll gantry, so from the N7 or the southern M50 you reach it without paying the toll; from the airport you cross it.
Free or nearly-free spots
€4 a day at Red Cow — with a Luas ticket
The Luas park and ride at Red Cow has 598 spaces, open 24/7: €2 for up to four hours, €4 a day, and 7-day tariffs by text. You must hold a valid Luas ticket on the day you park, or you pay extra at the exit. It lies south of the M50 toll gantry, so from the N7 or the southern M50 you do not pass the toll.
€2 at Cheeverstown, €3 at Carrickmines
Luas's published day rates: Cheeverstown €2, Carrickmines €3, Stillorgan, Sandyford and Red Cow €4, Balally €5. Same rule everywhere: a valid Luas ticket that day.
Three hours for €9 at Arnotts
Arnotts Car Park is €3.60 an hour, but with an Arnotts receipt from the same day three hours cost €9. The car park opens and closes with the store.
⚠ The small print on 'free' parking
- The M50 toll point, between junction 6 (Blanchardstown) and junction 7 (Lucan), has no booths. A car with no account owes €3.80, payable by 20:00 the next day on eflow.ie or at Payzone; then €4, €51 and €128 are added per journey. Notices for non-Irish vehicles come from Euro Parking Collection.
- Hire cars: if the car has no tag, the rental company receives the penalty and, according to one Irish toll guide, adds an admin fee of €30–€60.
- Kerb tariffs: yellow €4, red €3.50, green €2.00, orange €1.20, blue €0.90 an hour; Sunday 14:00–18:00 in the centre €1.80. Hours are on each street's sign; the council publishes no single timetable.
- A clamp is €125 to release. Unpaid after 24 hours, the car is moved to the city pound: €250 plus €35 a day.
- Ireland drives on the left. Q-Park St Stephen's Green is 1.95 m and Drury Street 2.00 m — a roof box belongs at the park and ride.
- The Chester Beatty is closed from 15 June to the end of December 2026 for Ireland's EU Presidency.
Take these places with you
Every place on this page as a file you can keep — car parks with their prices, the free and park-and-ride spots, the chargers and the pound.
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