Kilkenny City has many sights to behold and your tour includes stops at some of Kilkenny’s most revered historical landmarks. Within the city alone you will stop at Kilkenny Castle, Rothe House & Gardens, St. Canice’s Cathedral, The Black Abbey and many more. Our tours can extend to some of the popular areas in wider Kilkenny, or you can hire a bike for a day and explore them at your own pace. Here’s some of the sights on offer in Kilkenny city and county.
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This park comprises 80 acres of mixed woodland, 20km north of Kilkenny City. The park is open all year round, complete with two rainbow trout lakes, crafts village, visitor centre with giftshop and café and childrens’ adventure playground.
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Footprints in Coal is based at Castlecomer Discovery Park, the museum tour covers over 300 years of mining history in the region through life-sized reconstructions, videos, fossils, scale models and displays.
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The rainbow trout lakes in Castlecomer offer year-round angling, fly fishing and bait fishing. A charge of €15 for four hours angling allows for two fish to be taken away.
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The Dunmore Caves contain almost a quarter of a mile of passages and at its deepest point is 150 foot below the surface. Its mention in Irish history stretches back over 1,000 years. Tours average 90 minutes with last admission 45 minutes before closing.
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Nicholas Mosse Pottery was established by Nicholas Mosse in 1976 after periods of training in England and Japan. His mission was to produce beautiful, functional pottery in the style of Irish Spongeware.
Irish spongeware was the traditional pottery of Ireland used in the 18th Century. It was mainly made in simple honest shapes with a decoration applied with a cut sponge.
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Woodstock Gardens are located in the south east of Kilkenny just outside the picturesque village of Inistioge. The gardens, overlooking the River Nore Valley, offer the visitor a wide variety of attractions and are a most relaxing and beautiful environment in which to spend a day.
The gardens are currently undergoing restoration by Kilkenny County Council and further features and planting are being added all the time.
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Jerpoint Abbey is a Cistercian abbey, founded in the second half of the 12th century, near Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located 2.5 km south west from Thomastown on the N9 national primary road.
There is a Visitor Centre with an exhibition. It has been declared a national monument and has been in the care of the Office of Public Works since 1880.
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Jenkinstown Park is a park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated off the N78 road about 10 km north of the city of Kilkenny and 11 km south of Castlecomer. Facilities include a picnic site, forest walks, deer park and a craft centre.
A small garden to commemorate Thomas Moore’s association with the house has been laid down on the site of the old house. There are walks of between one and three kilometres through a plantation of mixed broadleaf and conifers.
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Duiske Abbey or Graiguenamanagh Abbey is a 13th century Cistercian monastery situated in Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny in Ireland. It was founded by William Marshall in A.D.1204.
Duiske Abbey was one of the first, largest, and perhaps the finest of the thirty-four medieval Cistercian monasteries in Ireland. The Abbey is the parish church of Graiguenamanagh town and beautifully dominates the town centre.
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Kells Priory is one of the largest and most impressive medieval monuments in Ireland. The Augustine priory is situated alongside King’s River beside the village of Kells, about 15 km south of the medieval city of Kilkenny. The priory is a National Monument and is in the guardianship of the Office of Public Works.
One of its most striking feature is a collection of medieval tower houses spaced at intervals along and within walls which enclose a site of just over 3 acres (12,000 m2). These give the priory the appearance more of a fortress than of a place of worship and from them comes its local name of “Seven Castles”.
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Cushendale Woollen Mills is one of the oldest woollen mills still in operation in Ireland. A family run business, they continue to produce quality, 100% Irish made textile products currently available in brushed mohair, bouclé mohair, 100% Irish wool, lambswool and cotton chenille.