Kilmainham Gaol named among world’s top tourist attractions by Tripadvisor, beating the Acropolis

Cliffs of Moher and the Little Museum of Dublin also named among Ireland’s best visitor experiences

A ceremony in the Stone Breakers' yard in Kilmainham Gaol where 15 rebels were executed in 1916. Photograph: Eric Luke
A ceremony in the Stone Breakers' yard in Kilmainham Gaol where 15 rebels were executed in 1916. Photograph: Eric Luke

Kilmainham Gaol has been rated by the users of Tripadvisor as the top museum attraction in the world.

The jail, where the leaders of the Easter Rising were executed, is the 13th best attraction in the world, according to Tripadvisor, and the highest ranked museum.

The top 10 visitor attractions in the world are the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, the Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona, followed by the Colosseum in Rome, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the Dubai Foundation, the Empire State Building in New York, the Musée d’Orsay and Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Trevi Foundation in Rome, Central Park in New York and the Plaza de España in Seville.

Kilmainham Gaol is ahead of such attractions as the Acropolis in Greece, which is in 14th place, the Taj Mahal (23rd) and Petra in Jordon (24th).

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The top five attractions in Ireland are Kilmainham Gaol, the Little Museum of Dublin, the Tenement Museum at 14 Henrietta Street, the Irish Rock ‘n’ Roll museum experience and the Cliffs of Moher.

The Tripadvisor ratings are based on an aggregate of all reviews on the site from May 1st, 2022 to April 30th this year. In the case of Kilmainham Gaol, 19,737 reviews of the 24,408 on its website rate the attraction as excellent.

The Cliffs of Moher guided tour by Finn McCools Tours features strongly in the list of the world’s top experiences and bucket list experiences. It was rated the fourth best bucket list experience in the world behind the Dubai Red Dunes experience, the Inca trail trek and the Juneau wildlife whale watching tour in Alaska.

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It was also voted the 18th-best tourist experience in the world. The tour covers the Cliffs of Moher, Kilmacduagh Abbey, the Wild Atlantic Way and Galway city. Of the 5,302 reviews it received in the year to April 30th, 4,847 rated it as excellent.

The top three tourist experiences in the world are the Grand Circle Island and Haleiwa Tour in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Thai cooking course in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the Ubud tour in Bali.

The top five tourist experiences in Ireland after the Cliffs of Moher, were the Irish Rock ‘n’ Roll museum experience in Dublin, the Dublin coastal hikes and pints in Howth, Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin and the Dingle Sea Safari in Co Kerry.

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times