Following my first post on how we spent 24 hours in Dublin, today’s post is all about how we spent a day in Kilkenny. When I was researching places to visit in Ireland, Kilkenny instantly caught my eye. In my opinion, a visit to Kilkenny should be at the top of your list! In fact, it turned out to be one of my favorite places we visited in Ireland! It is the loveliest medieval town with a beautiful castle overlooking the river, a quaint cathedral, and colorful storefronts. Again, for sake of time, we only spent one night here, but I felt that we saw most of the main sites. Read on for my recommendations of how to spend a day in Kilkenny!
After picking up our rental car at the Dublin airport, we drove straight to Kilkenny. The drive was about 1.5 hours long and all on the highway, giving us time to get comfortable with driving on the other side of the road (and the car!). Once we arrived in Kilkenny, we checked into our hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then headed out to explore the town.
Where we stayed:
We stayed at The Pembroke in Kilkenny, which was right in the heart of the town. It’s a small town so everything is within walking distance (only about 10 mins from one end to the other!). We enjoyed the hotel and especially liked the view (below) of the castle from our room! As another option, we also looked at the Kilkenny River Court Hotel, which is right on the River Nore.
What we did:
Our first stop was to Kilkenny Castle, which was the first castle we visited on the trip! We didn’t enter the castle, but we enjoyed walking around the grounds and viewing the gardens. It’s a beautiful castle and the views of the river were really nice!
Then we walked up the Medieval Mile (which runs from the castle to St. Canice’s Cathedral), checking out the lovely colorful storefronts as we passed. We also came upon this fun umbrella display in one of the alleyways! If you’re interested in visiting a brewery, I’ve heard good things about the Smithwick’s Experience tour and tasting. We didn’t have enough time to include this in our itinerary, but I would do it if I came back!
At the end of the Medieval Mile, we reached St. Canice’s Cathedral. They had a mass going on so we couldn’t enter, but we enjoyed walking around the grounds and listening to the choral music. There is also a round tower that you can climb for impressive views of the town. It was closed by the time we got there, but we were told it is a pretty intense climb to the top via ladders and platforms – may not be the best activity for those scared of heights, like me!
We then went to the Brewery Corner to have a few pints of local O’Hara’s craft beers and split a few pizzas. It was a quiet spot with good beers, food, and a nice local vibe – it was filled with regulars!
After dinner, we decided to take a walk along the river to walk off some of the food. The views were lovely and it was really peaceful out. You can walk for miles along the river, but we only went for a bit before turning around and heading back to the hotel for the night.
The next morning we were off to our next destination: Killarney! Although I wish we had more time in Kilkenny, I feel like we got to see most of everything that was on my list and it was enough time to fall in love with this medieval town! If you are visiting Ireland on a road trip, I would definitely recommend stopping by for a night. I hope this will help you plan how to spend a day in Kilkenny!
What I wore:
We got lucky with the weather on this day – the sun was out and it was actually quite warm! I threw on one of the more “summery” looking outfits that I had packed. I purchased this beautiful Michael Kors quilted olive jacket from Macy’s before the trip. It comes in both petite and regular sizes (I’m wearing a petite XXS) and although it’s a bit pricey, it’s high quality! Macy’s also frequently has sales so I would check back! I paired the jacket with an oatmeal crewneck sweater from J. Crew, which is very soft and on sale (I’m wearing the color Heather Oatmeal in an XS). On the bottom, I put on a pair of white jeggings from American Eagle – they are very comfortable and super stretchy (TTS) – and the best black booties from Blondo.
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