For many years, a regular feature in Dublin's Sunday afternoon has been the artists on Merrion Square. Every week the square becomes an open-air gallery. A variety of painters come and hang a selection their works on the park railings.

There is always a great variety on display, with of course a great selection of Ireland's traditional landscape paintings. One of the great advantages is that the artists are there, and are happy to talk about their work with passersby.  And since there is no gallery fee to pay, you will find the prices are very reasonable too.

Most of the public galleries now open on Sunday afternoon and an increasing number of commercial galleries too. With the exception of the Museum of Modern Art, these galleries are generally located in the City Centre. Whether you are just in town for a stroll or for a bit of shopping, you will probably find that there's a gallery around the corner.

The Merrion Square area is ideal for browsing art, on a Sunday or any other day Within a few minutes walk of each other you have the artists on the square, the recently expanded National Gallery, and the Royal Hibernian Academy. A couple more minutes walk will bring you to the Apollo Gallery on Dawson Street.

Moving further from Merrion Square, the new Velka Gallery, Dublin's only commercial gallery of photography, is on South William Street. Then there is the magnificent Chester Beatty Library, in Dublin Castle, a museum rather than a gallery, but it cannot fail to impress anyone with an appreciation for fine things.

Across Dame Street and into Temple Bar, there is are three more galleries to visit. There's the Gallery of Photography on Meeting House Square and around the corner along Temple Bar itself, the Original Print Gallery and the Temple Bar Gallery and Studios.

If you cross the river to the O'Connell Street / Henry Street area, the Hugh Lane is located on the north side of Parnell Square, just across from one of the most peaceful places in Dublin, the Gardens of Remembrance.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham is a day's outing in itself, apart from the ever-impressive exhibitions, the Royal Hospital and its grounds are a lovely place for an afternoon walk.

For more information on any of these galleries or museums, including Sunday opening hours, click through to the individual gallery articles.