In Bray, Mermaid Arts Centre is the place to visit
Bray and its surroundings hold 4 historic sites, 3 castles and 3 gardens. The urban area itself has one place on our list; 15 others are within 5 km of its edge. Travel 19 km and you reach Dublin Castle.
Top of the list in Bray
Mermaid Arts Centre aside, the next best known are 3 castles, a historic house and a garden.
CastleManderley Castle4 km outside town, to the north
Historic houseKilruddery House300 m outside town, to the southeast
CastlePuck's Castle2.4 km outside town, to the northwest
CastleKindlestown Castle4.5 km outside town, to the southGardenGardenFestina Lente Gardens400 m outside town, to the northwestEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
The places, mapped
Mornington Garden marks the outer edge, 8.5 km away.
The dashed line is Bray’s urban area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
What you can see
Ahead are castles or historic places (8); next, museums or galleries (3).
Green: inside Bray. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
Everything on the list
After the one in town come 15 more within 5 km of its edge.
The one inside Bray comes first, then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches, protected structures and monuments belong to the History page, not here.
Monuments and historic buildings in Bray → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Bray →
Around the region
Top of the 12 day trips: Dublin Castle, at 19 km.
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland19 km northwest · 783K visitors a year
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral19 km northwest
MuseumNational Library of Ireland19 km northwest
Historic houseLeinster House19 km northwest
MuseumJames Joyce Museum10 km north · 40K visitors a year
Garden · Office of Public WorksSaint Stephen's Green18 km northwest
Art galleryNational Gallery of Ireland19 km northwest
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral19 km northwest
Museum · Office of Public WorksChester Beatty19 km northwest
Big drawZooDublin Zoo22 km northwest · 1.3M visitors a year (2022)
Abbey or prioryGlendalough25 km southwestPlaces well known beyond Bray (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Office of Public Works or National Parks and Wildlife Service property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
What people ask about Bray
What are the main attractions in Bray?
The place to visit inside Bray’s urban area is Mermaid Arts Centre. In all, 1 place to visit is mapped inside the town, and 15 more within 5 km.
Does Bray have a museum?
3 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Bray: Mermaid Arts Centre, Agricultural Heritage Display Centre and The Corner Studio.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Bray?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Dublin Castle (Office of Public Works), 19 km northwest.
What are the best-known days out near Bray?
Within 40 km: Dublin Castle (19 km), National Museum of Ireland (19 km), St Patrick's Cathedral (19 km), National Library of Ireland (19 km).
How is this list made?
From Fáilte Ireland’s open data on attractions (museums, castles, historic houses, abbeys, gardens, national parks, landscapes, islands, zoos and visitor farms: restaurants, pubs, shops and tour operators are left out), OpenStreetMap (places open to visitors; a ruined castle on farmland needs a sign it can be visited) and Wikidata (what each place is, who looks after it, its Wikipedia articles), merged into one list and placed in the town’s CSO 2022 outline or within 5 km of its edge.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in each town’s CSO 2022 outline. Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Manderley Castle: Sergio, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilruddery House: User: (WT-shared) Spircle at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Puck's Castle: Suckindiesel, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Kindlestown Castle: Aoifer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Museum of Ireland: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Patrick's Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Library of Ireland: YvonneM, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leinster House: Jean Housen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Joyce Museum: YvonneM, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Stephen's Green: Dronepicr (edited by King of Hearts ) Edit corrects CA and sharpens image, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery of Ireland: Copyright © 2006 Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christ Church Cathedral: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chester Beatty: Aligatorek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dublin Zoo: Harold Strong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Glendalough: Schcambo at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).