A restored 15th-century castle and a 26-acre "living" folk park where 19th-century Irish village life, farmhouses and fairy trails come together on the banks of the Shannon.
Built in 1425 and restored in the 1960s, this is billed as Ireland's most complete and authentic medieval castle. Furnished rooms cover the Great Hall, bedrooms, chapel and battlements, with guides available and panoramic views from the towers.
Twenty-six acres with over 30 buildings recreating rural Irish life in the 1800s, from the poorest one-roomed dwelling to Bunratty House, the Georgian home of the Studdarts.
A row of brightly coloured shops and buildings - school, doctor's house, pawnbrokers, pub, drapery, printworks, grocery, hardware shop, pottery and post office - with traditional musicians and costumed characters such as the schoolteacher, policeman and village doctor.
An interactive booklet (download it beforehand or collect one at Admissions) leads children through the upper folk park to a miniature fairy version of Bunratty, with new fairy houses appearing over time.
Just off the Village Street, this playground has a Viking playship, rope walks, belt bridges, swings, slides, a 4-tower play castle, a 25m zipline and picnic benches; the ice-cream hut runs April to September only.
Built around 1804 as the kitchen garden for Bunratty House, this walled garden of just under half an acre is a surviving part of the original demesne and was restored under the Great Gardens of Ireland programme.
The park keeps rare and heritage breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs, ponies and poultry, plus Irish Red Deer, pygmy goats and resident Irish Wolfhounds Míde and Rían. Animal availability varies through the year.
An evening of food, fine wine and honey mead in the castle's Great Hall, hosted by the Earl of Thomond and lasting about two hours. Not suitable for children under four.
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