The River Nore runs through most of this list, and Kilkenny city sits at the top of it. The Medieval Mile starts at St Canice’s Cathedral, where the round tower is one of only two in Ireland you can still climb, and runs down past Rothe House to Kilkenny Castle and its free 50-acre park. Two more are city entries: the Design Centre in the castle’s stables and coach house, across The Parade, and Talbot Tower, a corner of the 1270s walls in a free park on Lower New Street.
Downstream, the villages come in order. Bennettsbridge is six kilometres south, its old mills by the weir now given over to potters and candle-makers, and the Nore Valley Walk reaches it from the city on foot. Stoneyford lies 14km south on the R713, and just west of Thomastown Jerpoint Glass has blown glass by hand since 1979, the furnace worked on weekdays only and cold at weekends. Inistioge is furthest down, a green and a ten-arch bridge with Woodstock Gardens climbing the hill behind, open dawn to dusk.
The last three need their own drive. Goresbridge is over east on the Barrow, nine granite arches of 1756 on a flat stretch of the Barrow Way; Dunnamaggin is a farming village on the R699 between Callan and Knocktopher with no marquee sight, a quiet base for Kells Priory; and Newtown Jerpoint, the medieval town vanished under grass, lost its tour when Jerpoint Park closed, so Jerpoint Abbey is the visit now.
Anchors the county with the Medieval Mile, a climbable round tower at St Canice's, and a castle whose 50-acre park costs nothing to walk.
A much-photographed village on a curve of the Nore, built around an 18th-century ten-arch bridge, with Woodstock Gardens and its champion trees on the hill above.
Six kilometres south of the city, its old mills by the weir now hold potters and candle-makers, reachable on foot by the Nore Valley Walk.
Named for the nine-arch granite crossing of 1756, the longest on the Barrow, and set on a flat, easy stretch of the Barrow Way.
Two glassblowers work the furnace at Stoneyford in front of a free viewing area on weekdays, with seconds sold at reduced prices in the shop.
9 of 10 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Kilkenny, kilkenny
Only two round towers in Ireland can still be climbed, and one stands beside St Canice's Cathedral – 121 steps up to the best view of the Marble City. The Medieval Mile below it holds Kilkenny Castle and its free 50-acre park, Rothe House, the Smithwick's brewery and the pub tied to the 1324 witch trial of Dame Alice Kyteler.
Inistioge, kilkenny
On a curve of the River Nore, Inistioge is a small, much-photographed village built around an 18th-century ten-arch bridge and a green with a Tighe family fountain. Above it sits Woodstock Gardens, a Victorian arboretum with champion trees and long conifer avenues, open daily from dawn to dusk.
Bennettsbridge, kilkenny
Bennettsbridge is a small craft village on the River Nore, six kilometres south of Kilkenny city, where the old mills by the weir now hold potters and candle-makers. An 18th-century stone bridge anchors it, the riverside Nore Valley Walk reaches it from the city, and Nore Valley Park's open farm is a short drive out.
Goresbridge, kilkenny
Goresbridge is a small east Kilkenny village on the River Barrow, named for Gore's Bridge – the longest crossing on the river, nine granite arches built in 1756. It's a flat, easy stretch of the Barrow Way and the home of Goresbridge Horse Sales, Ireland's biggest sport and leisure horse auction.
Stoneyford, kilkenny
Jerpoint Glass has been blowing glass by hand at Stoneyford, west of Thomastown, since 1979. Visitors can watch two glassblowers working molten glass at the furnace from a viewing area, free of charge. The blowing runs on weekdays only – at weekends the shop and upstairs gallery stay open but the furnace is cold – and the shop sells the full Jerpoint range alongside seconds at reduced prices.
Kilkenny City, kilkenny
The former stables and coach house of Kilkenny Castle now hold a craft store stocked with work from Irish makers – Castle Arch Pottery, Nicholas Mosse, K Kajoux jewellery – and the Anocht restaurant upstairs. Entry is free, and it sits directly across The Parade from the castle gates.
Lower New St, kilkenny
A stone corner tower of Kilkenny's medieval walls, built around 1270 and later named for mayor Robert Talbot. The park around it is free and open daily; the tower interior and roof can be seen by appointment. Excavations here found 9th-century barley, the oldest evidence of farming near Kilkenny.
Dunnamaggin, kilkenny
Jerpoint Park, kilkenny
Stoneyford, kilkenny
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