Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny

Absolutely beautiful castle. We did a guided tour and the guide was phenomenal. Extremely kind, patient, and intelligent. She was fabulous. I highly recommend taking a tour with her as we never would have gotten as much out of it if we didn't go with her. Best decision we made.

Beautiful castle and grounds. We bought tickets in advance online which is recommended, though there was no line when we arrived anyway (about 11am on a Sunday). We did the self tour and although I’m sure we missed out on a lot of information that a guided tour would provide, I felt we got enough out of the self tour to make it more than worth it. Especially enjoyed the art gallery. Be sure to take the extra time to explore the castle grounds before or after your visit.

Liked the architecture of the place. The paintings and tapestry were great. Really enjoyed the tapestries just before the exit, those inspired from the French Bayeux Tapestry. Loved the big hall, you MUST look at the ceiling and those statues hanging there. Beautiful! Staff was nice and friendly.

Kilkenny Castle is beautiful, located right on the bank of the River Nore. The grounds are very well maintained, and offer loads of open space (including a playground too). The gardens are nice and well maintained also. The interior of the castle is in great shape and there are lots of things to see and read about (if you don't choose to go on the guided tour). The main hall is huge and has a very cool ceiling, as well as lots of artwork (portraits) and items of interest. It's definitely a good place to spend the afternoon.

Such a beautiful and interesting place! The OPW have done a magnificent job restoring and maintaining this castle. Makes it easy to imagine life for the people who lived there. Definitely worth a visit. We ran out of time to properly explore the gardens, which are free to enter with no ticket - leave some time for that, in addition to the castle interior.