Beyond the pints and the postcards lies a stranger side of the city, full of crypts, strange tales and hidden corners. If you are after alternative and unusual things to do in Dublin, ones that go beyond the usual tourist trail, here are ten activities worth seeking out.
- Visit the Museum of Curiosities
Dublin’s strangest museum unfolds across two floors, a labyrinth of oddities where a two-headed cow and conjoined lambs share space with medieval torture devices and Victorian medical tools. Opened in 2025 by Paul Mangan of Monsieur Pompier’s Travelling Freakshow, the collection is entirely his own, amassed over years of collecting, and there is truly nowhere else like it in the city. Wander past haunted relics, an eerie collection of clowns, mermaids and unicorn skulls, and even a mummified cat, all set against creaky floorboards, timber-scented rooms and mahogany cabinets crammed with the unexplained. A curator is on hand throughout to talk visitors through some of the stranger pieces and the stories behind them. Open Wednesday to Sunday, located just off Baggot Street on Pembroke Street Lower. For more information and ticket info, visit museumofcuriosities.ie.
- Meet the Bog Bodies at the National Museum of Archaeology
The Kingship and Sacrifice exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street holds two of Ireland’s most striking finds, Clonycavan Man and Old Croghan Man, both Iron Age bodies pulled from bogs in 2003 within months of each other. Clonycavan Man was 5ft 2, styled his hair with imported resin gel, and died from three axe blows to the head. Old Croghan Man stood 6ft 6, had suspiciously well-kept nails, and was stabbed and dismembered. Experts believe both were high-status men ritually sacrificed as failed kings. Remarkably, their skin, fingerprints and even fingernails have survived more than two thousand years underground. Elsewhere in the museum you will find bog butter also frozen in time, alongside a vast array of items from Bronze Age, medieval and Viking Ireland. Entry is free.
- Spot the Mystery Rhino on a Dodder River Walk
The Dodder is one of Dublin’s loveliest riverside walks, tracing a leafy path past Rathfarnham and Milltown where you might spot herons, otters and kingfishers along the water. Near Classon’s Bridge in Churchtown, though, there is a stranger sight, a life-size bronze rhino standing in the middle of the river beside the Dropping Well pub. It appeared overnight in 2002, and nobody has ever claimed responsibility for putting it there. Locals have nicknamed it everything from the Milltown Muddler to the Plodder in the Dodder, and more than twenty years on, its origin remains a genuine unsolved mystery.
- Visit Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio in Howth
Most people head to Howth for seals, seafood and seagulls eyeing up your chips, but the real hidden gem is Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio. Set inside the Martello Tower, built in 1805 to guard against Napoleonic invasion, the building later played a key role in Irish communication history, from an 1852 telegraph line linking Wales to Ireland to Lee de Forest’s first successful wireless transmission in 1903. The museum opened in 2003, built on curator Pat Herbert’s lifetime collection. Inside you will find vintage radios, early televisions, gramophones and Morse equipment, alongside old advertising posters and photographs charting the tower’s transmission past. A quirky detour into communication history, with a view worth the walk alone.
- Take a Step Back in Time with the Moving Crib
Tucked beneath Dublin’s streets, the Moving Crib Museum has charmed visitors for 70 years with its collection of antique moving figures. Some automatons are genuinely charming, others are so odd they tip into unintentional comedy, and that is half the fun. Recently refurbished, the museum now holds even more curiosities, including the tale of Fred the Hero Dog and an authentic 1890s dolls house. It is a strange, sweet trip through nostalgia and craftsmanship that goes well beyond Christmas. To mark its 70th year the museum is open throughout this summer, so there is no need to wait until December. For more information, visit themovingcrib.ie.
- Browse Dublin’s Weirdest Shops
Skip the chain coffee shops and fast food joints and dig into Dublin’s stranger side instead. Needful Things on Aungier Street deals in curious antiques, think Victorian glass eyeballs alongside fine jewellery and old books. For vintage finds, try Under the Bridge on Talbot Street or Second Abbey just off Capel Street. Lucy’s Lounge in Temple Bar has been going for over 40 years, with a witchy upstairs of silver rings and odd prints leading down to an Alice in Wonderland-style basement. Rebel Rebel, also in Temple Bar, is the spot for gothic, punk and rockabilly style.
- Come Face to Face with the Mummies at St Michan’s Church
Tucked away on Church Street, St Michan’s is home to one of Dublin’s strangest sights, a crypt of naturally mummified remains preserved for centuries by the limestone walls that keep the air dry. Some of the mummies interred here date back hundreds of years, including bodies once known locally as a crusader, a nun and a thief. The crypt has had a turbulent recent history, including damage to several remains, but guided tours are back running and led by knowledgeable local guides who bring the building’s story to life.
- Meet Spoticus the Giraffe at the Dead Zoo Lab
The much-loved Natural History Museum on Merrion Street, better known as the Dead Zoo, is closed for major refurbishment and expected to stay that way for several years. In the meantime, its most famous residents have moved to a temporary home, the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks, showing off around 1,300 specimens including the beloved Spoticus the Giraffe and a Giant Irish Deer. Rare pieces not seen in decades are also on display, among them a dodo skeleton and the world’s largest collection of Victorian Blaschka glass sea creatures. A slice of old school taxidermy wonder with a few genuine surprises. Open daily with free admission.
- Hear Dark Tales at the Leprechaun Museum with Darkland
Held within the Leprechaun Museum after hours, Darkland is a special late-night tour for those who want their Irish folklore with a darker edge. Ireland’s history is full of the macabre and this experience leans right into it, with grim, grisly and downright ghoulish tales of vicious fairies, gruesome deaths and things that go bump in the night. The hour-long tour is immersive and entirely unscripted, performed live by skilled storytellers who bring the stories to life. This one is strictly for adults, with some tales too dark for young ears. Spaces are limited and tours run Thursday to Sunday evenings, so book ahead. For more information visit leprechaunmuseum.ie/darkland.
- Step Inside Freemasons’ Hall
Right on Molesworth Street, the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland is far easier to visit than the air of secrecy suggests. Built in 1866, the Victorian building holds a series of ornate ceremonial rooms, including the Knights Templar Room, a mock Egyptian room and a Gothic-style chapter room, all layered with masonic symbolism from carpets to lighting fixtures. There is also a small museum of regalia, jewellery and curious artefacts, free to browse year-round. Guided tours run on weekdays throughout June, July and August, with no booking required, just show up and knock.
