Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre

The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre is the starting point for all visits to the monuments of Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland. The Visitor Centre is located near the village of Donore, County Meath. This tends to cause some confusion among visitors, as the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre is located on the south side of the river Boyne, whereas the monuments themselves are located on the north side of the river.

All access is by guided tour only and all tours begin at the visitor centre. Visitors cross the river via a footbridge and are brought by shuttle bus to the monuments. Visitors who arrive directly at the monuments will be redirected to the Brú na Bóinne Visitor centre. There, visitors are placed on the next available tour. Due to the small nature of the interior of the monuments, places are limited to around 700 per day at high season, which can fill up quickly - particularly during summer months. Tours are sold on a first come, first serve basis and so visitors are advised to arrive early.

The Visitor Centre is open all year round, with longer opening hours in the summer time. The Visitor Centre houses a large interactive exhibition on the Brú na Bóinne area, an audio-visual presentation, a wheelchair accessible replica of the interior of the passage and chamber at Newgrange. It also has a tourist office, gift shop and tea rooms. There is a large car park and a picnic area at the Visitor Centre. There is no left luggage facility.

A bus service runs from Drogheda to the Visitor Centre via Donore village. The bus service varies depending on season. For more information, please search the Irish national bus network Bus Éireann [http://www.buseireann.ie] . Enter the word Newgrange into the search to find connections to the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre.

Access to the other monuments in the Brú na Bóinne complex is also limited. Many of the satellite tombs are on private land, and therefore access is extremely restricted and requires permission from the landowners. The monuments themselves are protected by the Office of Public Works.

External links

* [http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/MidlandsEastCoast/BrunaBoinneVisitorCentreNewgrangeandKnowth/ Official website link]
* [http://www.meathtourism.ie/historicmeath/hmnewgrangemain.htm Meath Tourism website link]
* [http://www.ireland.ie/RESULT/IndividualResultTCS.aspx?touristItemID=12303 Fáilte Ireland website link]
* [http://www.theboynevalley.com The Boyne Valley Tourism Portal]
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Br%C3%BA_Na_B%C3%B3inne_Archaeological_Park WikiTravel guide]