10 Hour Waterford & Kilkenny Day Tour

10 hour Waterford and Kilkenny Day Tour

The Waterford and Kilkenny Day Tour is the perfect way to get a great insight into cities with your Driver/guide from Chauffeur Ireland who will take you to visit:

The undisputed heart and soul of Viking & Medieval Ireland.

Reginald’s tower  —  Waterford crystal  —  Waterford Museum of Treasures

Kilkenny castle  —  Rothe house  —  The Smithwick’s brewery  —  Kytlers Inn

You can choose to enter any of the attractions but admission is not included in the price and may mean not all of the sites will be viewed. If you have other sites that you would like to visit your driver would be happy to oblige as long as it is within the tour time.

Waterford city

From the Old Norse Veðra fjǫrðr, meaning “Winters fjord” founded by Vikings in in 853 at the strategic position of the junction of the three sisters – the Rivers Suir, Barrow and Nore. It was here that Strongbow, Lord of Richard de Claire, the leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 married his Irish wife, Aoife, the day after his forces had captured the city of Waterford. “Her wedding gown was spoiled of blood from the battle”

Reginald’s tower (1003 AD) originally dating from the Viking foundation of the city, oldest mortared building in Ireland, contains a Viking museum. Waterford crystal – Guided tour of Ireland’s oldest glassware manufacturer, founded in 1783, Waterford crystal chandeliers were installed in Westminster Abbey and the Kennedy Center. They also made the 2,688 crystals for the famous New Year’s Eve Ball that is dropped each year in New York City’s Times Square.

Waterford Museum of Treasures, and the 19th-century Bishop’s Palace. City museums with religious relics and even King Henry the VIII’s hat, interspersed by an impressive collection of swords and scrolls and even Viking boat timbers.

Kilkenny city

The undisputed Medieval city of Ireland, this Norman city is a maze of narrow alleyways, twisting and turning their way around abbeys and cathedrals, restored houses and crumbling city walls. The impressively restored castle was home for nearly eight centuries to the Norman landowning family, the Butlers of Ormond.

A ride through the city on road train called the “Black & Amber“ which drives you around the city for 30mins, it comes with a great commentary.

Rothe house a 16th Century Tudor  merchant’s house, a wonderfully restored medieval jewelry box of a building from 1594. 3 Separate rectangular buildings and inner courtyards with wooden walkways and gardens.

Kilkenny castle, the most famous Norman castle in Ireland built 1207 belonging to the Butler family for over 700 years. It is an OPW site so they have their own tour guides inside. The refurbished Stables, house the famous Kilkenny design centre perfect for shopping and a lunch stop.

The Smithwick’s brewery (Ireland’s oldest surviving brewery since 1705) An interactive guided tour which tells an amazing story of the Smithwicks family and a pint at the end too. Walk along the Butter-slip and drop into Kytlers Inn a bar since 14th Century, home to Alice Kytler who in 1324 was the 1st witch to be tried in Ireland.

Time and weather permitting options

Inistioge a beautiful scenic spot with a beautiful ten arch bridge built c.1765 ten equal arches built to withstand the pressure of even the greatest floods and to accommodate a canal which was never completed. Nearby the picturesque Woodstock Estate has over 50 acres of formal gardens and parkland dating from the Victorian period.

New Ross (The Dunbrody famine ship) a museum on board a replica ship from the 1845 -1849 Irish famine, with passengers who tell you their sorrowful tale and the site where the great – grandfather of John F. Kennedy sailed from in Ireland to America during the Famine.

The Kennedy Homestead The farm house home of J.F. Kennedy’s great grandfather which he visited on 27 June 1963, now a museum telling all about the Kennedy Clan / Irish connections through the last 150 years.

Altamount gardens (Tremendous private gardens with its lake & swans). Rathwood garden centre and lifestyle centre just outside of Leighlinbridge near Carlow, a favourite stop for shopping and coffee.

Jerpoint abbey built c.1160 by the King of Ossory, for the Benedictine monks. In 1228 the population of the abbey had reached 36 monks and 50 brothers, in 1540 with the dissolution of the monasteries the abbey was granted to James, the Earl of Ormond.

 

(*) Entry to attractions not included in tour price unless stated.

The Waterford and Kilkenny Day tour includes:

Driver/guide (1 person)

Luxury vehicle / Complimentary Wi-Fi

Complimentary water

Complimentary tour map with site details.

Advisable to bring:

Wet weather clothing

(Complimentary umbrellas available for use)