Kilkenny Tours

About Kilkenny

Kilkenny is Ireland's best-preserved medieval city, a compact, walkable place where 800 years of history remain visible in the streets. The Medieval Mile — a heritage trail running roughly one kilometre from Kilkenny Castle at the southern end to St Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower at the northern end — is the spine of the city, threading through cobbled lanes lined with Tudor merchant houses, Gothic churches, and craft workshops. Kilkenny Castle dominates the southern skyline. Originally a Norman fortress built in the 12th century by William Marshall, son-in-law of the invader Strongbow, the castle was remodelled over centuries by the Butler family and sits today in 52 acres of parkland along the River Nore. Tours run year-round and cover the Long Gallery, the restored Victorian kitchens, and the medieval undercroft. Walking north along the Medieval Mile, you pass Rothe House — a 1594 Tudor merchant's townhouse with a courtyard garden — the Smithwick's Experience on Parliament Street (a 5-minute walk from the castle), the Medieval Mile Museum housed in the 13th-century St Mary's Church, and the Butter Slip, a narrow medieval lane. At the far end, St Canice's Cathedral offers one of only three climbable round towers in Ireland — 30 metres tall with panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. Beyond the city, the surrounding countryside holds some of Ireland's finest monastic ruins. Kells Priory — an extensive walled Augustinian priory, 15 minutes south — is often described as Ireland's most impressive monastic ruin outside of Glendalough. Jerpoint Abbey, 25 minutes south, has a carved Romanesque cloister that ranks among the finest medieval stonework in the country.