Things to do in Co. Kilkenny
11 places
1.Kilkenny Castle
800 years of continuous occupation
An 800-year-old Norman fortress turned Victorian country house, set in 50 acres of rolling parkland right in the heart of Kilkenny city — one of Ireland's most complete and accessible castle experiences.
- Highlights
- 800 years of continuous occupation — one of Ireland's longest-inhabited castles
- Magnificent Picture Gallery with the Butler family art collection
- 50 acres of free-to-enter parkland with rose garden, lake, and woodland trails
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
2.Woodstock Gardens & Arboretum
Conservatory by Kew Gardens' architect
Restored Victorian gardens and arboretum overlooking the River Nore Valley — home to champion trees, grand avenues, woodland trails, and a charming tea room in a Turner conservatory.
- Highlights
- Champion trees in the arboretum
- Monkey Puzzle Avenue & Noble Fir Avenue
- Turner Conservatory — by Richard Turner of Kew Gardens fame
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access
3.Castlecomer Discovery Park
Ireland's longest over-water zipline
An 80-acre woodland adventure park on the former Wandesforde Estate, built on Castlecomer's coal-mining heritage. Home to Ireland's longest over-water zipline, high ropes courses, and family-friendly trails — all run as a not-for-profit social enterprise.
- Highlights
- Ireland's longest over-water zipline — 300m
- Three-level Skywalk Challenge with 40 aerial games
- Free Elf & Fairy Village with sensory playhouse
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
4.Dunmore Cave
Europe's largest free-standing stalagmite
A dramatic limestone cave system where 300-million-year-old calcite formations meet a dark Viking past — explored by guided tour deep beneath the Kilkenny countryside.
- Highlights
- The 7-metre Market Cross — Europe's largest free-standing stalagmite
- Viking silver hoards and artefacts from c. AD 930–970
- 700-step descent into chambers 46 metres underground
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
5.Jerpoint Abbey
a 12th-century abbey with carved saints, knights & dragons
One of Ireland's finest medieval Cistercian abbeys, Jerpoint is renowned for its astonishing 15th-century cloister carvings — a gallery in stone of saints, knights, mythical beasts, and everyday medieval life.
- Highlights
- 15th-century cloister arcade with carved saints, knights, and mythical beasts
- O'Tunney mensa tombs with 'weeper' figures of apostles and saints
- Incised slab of two 13th-century knights — 'The Brethren'
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
6.Smithwick's Experience
Brewing tour inside 12th-century abbey ruins
An immersive, multi-sensory guided tour through 300 years of Irish brewing history at the old St Francis Abbey Brewery on Kilkenny's Medieval Mile, finishing with a perfectly poured pint of Ireland's oldest ale.
- Highlights
- 300-year brewing story brought to life by local guides
- Interactive multi-sensory tour — mill malt, stir mash, smell hops
- Complimentary pint of Ireland's oldest ale at tour's end
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
7.St. Mary’s Medieval Mile Museum
a 13th-century church turned museum on Ireland's Medieval Mile
Housed in the 13th-century St Mary's Church — considered Ireland's finest medieval church — this museum brings 800 years of Kilkenny history to life through carved tombs, civic treasures, and expert-guided tours.
- Highlights
- Ireland's finest example of a medieval church, built 1202
- Largest collection of Renaissance tombs in Ireland
- Rothe Chapel — best surviving medieval chantry chapel in Ireland
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
8.Sullivan's Taproom
323 years of brewing heritage behind every pint
A craft brewery and taproom at the edge of Kilkenny's Medieval Mile, pouring beer from a brewing lineage that dates back to 1702 and pairing it with hand-stretched pizza.
- Highlights
- Brewing heritage dating to 1702, revived in 2016
- Maltings Red Ale — Best Draught Ale in the World 2017/18
- Three core beers brewed with Kilkenny-grown malt
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
9.The National Reptile Zoo
Hourly hands-on animal encounters
Ireland's only reptile zoo — get hands-on with snakes, lizards, tarantulas and more at hourly keeper-led encounters inside this indoor Kilkenny attraction.
- Highlights
- Ireland's only dedicated reptile zoo
- Hourly hands-on animal encounters included with every ticket
- Over 100 animals across 50+ species
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
10.Jurassic Newpark
17 life-size animatronic dinosaurs
Ireland's only dinosaur theme park — set across 25 acres on the grounds of Newpark Hotel in Kilkenny, with 17 life-size animatronic dinosaurs, a wildlife farm, inflatable park, and medieval castle playground.
- Highlights
- 17 life-size animatronic dinosaurs
- Ireland's largest covered inflatable park (Jurassic Bounce)
- Medieval castle playground (opened July 2025)
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
11.Nicholas Mosse Pottery
see spongeware made by hand in a riverside mill
A family-run pottery in an old stone mill beside the River Nore, where every piece is made by hand through a 20-step process you can watch through viewing windows.
- Highlights
- Handmade 20-step pottery process
- Viewing windows into the working mill
- Founding family story since 1976
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access