The art of free entertainment

IT'S A FREE WORLD:STENALINE IS offering its customers a free bus service to Dublin Port from outside O'Brien's sandwich bar in Westmoreland Street in Dublin's city centre.See stenaline.ie for details. On the way back the coach will be waiting at Dublin Port to transfer you back to Dublin city centre, stopping en route at Connolly Station.

Catch:there's one bus to Dublin Port and it's early, 7.15am.

Take note:single sail and rail fares to England with StenaLine are from €35 to €40.

• THE HUGH Lane Gallery hosts Sunday sketching workshops for children from seven years upwards. The hour-long classes are free and materials are provided. Bookings are not required but numbers are limited, so arrive a little earlier to guarantee a slot.

Catch:the topics are quite high brow. It's not every child that will thank you for introducing them to Francis Bacon's interpretation of William Blake's life. Check out hughlane.ie.

Take note:the Metropolitan Museum in New York also runs drop-in drawing classes for visitors of all ages. Classes are free when you pay the admission of $20 (€15) for adults but children go free (metmuseum.org).

• IF YOU'RE travelling to Barcelona on a budget, there are plenty of free things to do there. Some museums have free entry every day while others are free on specific days. Designed by Gaudi as an aristocratic city garden, Parc Güell is a bizarre but compelling public park with gingerbread houses and fountains. There's an admission charge to the small museum but everything else is free (gaudiallgaudi.com).

Catch:the man-made Barceloneta beach is close to the city centre and is a colourful human circus but the synthetic quality of the sand has been a source of ongoing controversy.

Take note:Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya is free to under 15s, over 65s and to all on the first Sunday of the month (mnac.es).

• IF YOU find yourself going on holiday to places you can't locate on a map, there are lots of free travel games online to help you brush up on your geography. Traveler IQ games on travelpod.com will test your knowledge and speed at locating capital cities on a world map and pinpointing the position of countries on continents. Travbuddy.com/geoquiz will test your general knowledge, and give multiple choice answers .

Catch:with your new found knowledge it might be hard to resist the urge to turn into a "bet you don't know the capital of Montenegro" party bore.

Take note:kidsgeo.com asks kids to place cities, states and countries on maps of continents and the world.

• Found a freebie on holidays? Email emorgan@irishtimes.com