Phoenix Park, on the northwest edge of the centre, is one of the largest enclosed urban parks in Europe, more than twice the size of London's Hyde Park combined with the city's other royal parks. Herds of fallow deer have roamed its grasslands since the seventeenth century, and visitors can often walk right up to them.
The park holds several major attractions: Dublin Zoo, one of the oldest in the world; the residence of the President of Ireland, Aras an Uachtarain; the soaring Papal Cross; and the Wellington Monument obelisk. The Victorian People's Flower Garden and the tearooms make pleasant stops.
Reached easily on foot, by bus, or by Luas to Heuston, the park is where Dubliners come to cycle, jog, and picnic, and it offers a green escape just minutes from the city's heart.