Things to do in Limerick with kids
9 family days out, 4 of them free · checked 13 September 2026
Limerick's best days out sit either side of the city rather than in it: Lough Gur's six thousand years of history twenty minutes south, Curraghchase's lake trails and a farm beside it to the west, a full-size flying boat you can walk through at Foynes on the Shannon estuary. In the city itself, King John's Castle guards the river and the Milk Market has traded since 1852.
These are the places local parents send visiting families, checked against each venue's own site. TicketLoop also lists every kids' show and workshop on in Limerick, and when one sells out, another parent can list a spare ticket here at face value or less.
1 of 9
King John's Castle
- Where
- King's Island, Limerick city
- Setting
- Indoor & outdoor
- Cost
- Paid
- Open
- Daily, 9.30am to 6pm from late March to September (last entry 5pm), 9.30am to 5pm the rest of the year (last entry 4pm); closed 24 to 27 December and 1 January
A castle built in 1200 by King John, standing over the Shannon on the island the city grew up around. You walk the ancient walls, go through the exhibitions inside, and end at the top with a view over the river that explains why the site was chosen in the first place.
Before you go: Tickets are timed and sold through an online booking system. The price is not shown on the venue's own page and only appears once you pick a date and session, so check it there before you go.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
2 of 9· Free
Curraghchase Forest Park
- Where
- Kilcornan, 22 km west of the city
- Setting
- Outdoor
- Cost
- Free
- Open
- 7am to 9pm from April to October, 8am to 6pm from November to March
Three hundred hectares of parkland around a lake, once the de Vere family estate, whose house façade still overlooks the main car park. Three marked trails suit different ages: the Lake Trail is 1.1 km and level enough for every visitor, the Curragh Trail 2.4 km and easy, the Glenisca Trail 3.6 km and a proper hour's walk. Two playgrounds, an arboretum and a picnic site round it out.
Before you go: The car park has moved to a cashless payment system — cards and an app, no coins — so bring one or the other.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
3 of 9
Lough Gur
- Where
- Bruff, about 20 km south of the city
- Setting
- Indoor & outdoor
- Cost
- Paid
One of Ireland's richest prehistoric sites, six thousand years of settlement around a lake, with Ireland's largest stone circle at Grange a short drive away. A children's play park sits above the lake and the visitor centre, with swings, slides and a climbing frame, and guided tours take in the Giant's Grave and the story of the Sleeping Lord of Lough Gur.
Before you go: The venue's own pages disagree on opening hours, so check before a long drive rather than trust a single time here. Guided tours need booking at least 48 hours ahead.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
4 of 9
Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum
- Where
- Foynes, about 35 km west of the city
- Setting
- Indoor
- Cost
- Adults (18–65) €18, seniors and students €16, children 5–17 €10; family of four €42. Online bookings carry an extra fee.
- Ages
- Child rate covers ages 5 to 17
- Open
- Daily, 10am to 5pm, last admission 4pm
A full-size replica of the Boeing 314 Yankee Clipper flying boat that once landed on the Shannon estuary here, and children walk straight through it. Foynes also claims to be the birthplace of Irish coffee, invented by a chef called Joe Sheridan for cold, delayed passengers, and the story is told in the museum's own coffee centre.
Before you go: Individual visitors walk in with no booking; a group of ten or more needs to book the 90-minute tour ahead.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
5 of 9· Free
Limerick Greenway
- Where
- West Limerick: Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale
- Setting
- Outdoor
- Cost
- Free
- Ages
- A traffic-free route the operator describes as kid-friendly when children are with an adult
- Open
- Car parks open roughly 7am to 7pm in spring and autumn, 7am to 10pm in summer and 8am to 5pm in winter
Forty kilometres of the old Limerick-to-Kerry railway line, now a car-free path through Rathkeale, Ardagh, Newcastle West, Barnagh, Templeglantine and Abbeyfeale. The route runs through the 115-metre Barnagh train tunnel and over the cast-iron Ferguson's Viaduct, and it is mostly flat.
Before you go: Nobody cycles the whole 40 km with young children — pick one stretch. Rathkeale, Ardagh, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale all have fully accessible trailheads.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
6 of 9
The Hunt Museum
- Where
- The Custom House, Limerick city
- Setting
- Indoor
- Cost
- Adults €12.50, concessions €10, under-16s free with an accompanying adult.
- Ages
- Under-16s free with an adult
- Open
- Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm; Sunday 11am to 5pm; closed Mondays
Objects and paintings from the ancient world to the modern, held in Limerick's Georgian Custom House, with an outdoor Museum in a Garden alongside it. The museum runs its own children's strand of activities, and the venue reckons on 45 minutes to an hour for a visit.
Before you go: Free entry for under-16s makes it a low-cost stop to add to a wet afternoon in the city centre.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
7 of 9· Free
People's Park
- Where
- Pery Square, Limerick city centre
- Setting
- Outdoor
- Cost
- Free
- Ages
- The playground suits toddlers through to about age 10
- Open
- 8am until between 4.30pm in December and 9pm in June to August, depending on the month
The city's main park, opened in 1877, with a bandstand, a restored drinking fountain and the Limerick City Gallery of Art inside its grounds. The playground is the city's first fully inclusive one, built with an accessible roundabout, a trampoline and a wide slide down the embankment.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
8 of 9
Stonehall Visitor Farm & Wildlife Park
- Where
- Kilcornan, beside Curraghchase
- Setting
- Indoor & outdoor
- Cost
- €12 for adults, children and students alike, seniors €10; under-18-months free; family (2 adults, 3 children) €55.
- Ages
- Free under 18 months
- Open
- Weekends and bank holidays outside summer, 11am to 5pm; open daily in July and August; closed January and February
A working farm beside Curraghchase Forest Park, priced to include the indoor play area, a bouncy castle and ride-on go-karts as well as the animals outside. Christmas, Halloween and Easter run as separate ticketed events on top of the normal admission.
Before you go: From September the farm opens weekends only, so check the calendar before a midweek visit.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
9 of 9· Free
The Milk Market
- Where
- Mungret Street, Limerick city centre
- Setting
- Indoor
- Cost
- Free
- Open
- Friday and Sunday, 11am to 3pm; Saturday from 8am into the afternoon
A covered market under what the venue calls Ireland's largest single-column canopy, trading since 1852: food stalls, crafts and live entertainment. Sunday runs as a Family Fun Day, and Saturday is the big weekly market.
Before you go: Saturday is the market at full size, but it thins out by mid-afternoon — go in the morning.
Official site →Checked 13 September 2026
Sold out? Another parent may have spare tickets
TicketLoop is the parent-to-parent marketplace for kids’ events in Ireland. When a show, a Santa slot or a workshop sells out, ask on the wanted board and we email you the moment another parent lists a spare, always at face value or less.