We spent a couple days in Kilkenny and walked to the castle from our hotel. The castle is very beautiful inside and out. The furnishings are beautiful, and I loved the colorful staircase. Make sure you stop by to see the Wallpaper Archive and Tapestry Room. Photos are allowed in the Castle but anything that is the size of a backpack or larger must be checked. Allow at least 2 hours here to explore the castle and grounds.

I first had a look at the gardens, which surely look great when the weather’s a bit better. Then I walked inside and headed left into the Kilkenny Castle Wallpaper Archive, where they displayed a collection of Wallpapers. Next was the Chinese Withdrawing Room whose walls still have some of the original selections of hand painted Wallpaper from 1810. There’s one more room, before you reach a room with a huge marble table and elk antlers on the wall. From here you can now climb the stairs to reach the Tapestry Room, where one of the few examples of Irish produced wallpapers from the 18th century are displayed. It’s then time to climb some more stairs towards the Library. There’s also the Drawing Room before we climb more stairs towards the Blue Corridor. Once you pass those and one more room, it’s time for my two favourite places in the castle: the Moorish Staircase, which is just stunning, and then the The Gallery. This room was originally built with a flat roof, but after it began to cause problems, it was changed into what we see today. Kilkenny castle is really worth a visit and it’s all inside, which means that you don’t have to mind the Irish weather at all.

A beautiful castle restored with most care in every detail. To the right of the box-office, they have a little media presentation - a 8-10 minutes video with the history of the castle. A great stop on the road trip from Dublin to Cork.

This was such a fun guided tour that even our 19 yo son, who’s not much of a history buff, enjoyed it. In fact, our guide was so informative and entertaining that we took very few photos because we were listening so intently. It was well worth the money.

We’ll kept grounds and completely refurbished castle. Recent home to Butler family. Right in center of walkable beautiful Kilkenny. Somewhat hilly to walk to other churches but one of our favorite towns.

Interesting history of the castle is told in a series of renovated rooms. Despite only having three walls (Cromwell removed one of them) this is well worth a visit. We did not bother paying extra for the guided tour and found the explanations in the guide and the texts displayed in each room perfectly adequate. Tour route around the castle is well posted. There are a couple of staircases and I did not see any elevators. Just before the exit is an excellent tea room with fantastic scones and jam. Worth stopping for a break.

Sean was an excellent tour guide. He was friendly, humorous and very knowledgeable. I would recommend paying for a guided tour over the self guided tour. This allows you to learn so much more about the history of the castle. Wonderful experience!

You need at least 2 - 3 days to enjoy Kilkenny. We had only one night. So we did not enter the castle but enjoyed a short stroll in the green park and crossed the street (Parade) to visit the calm Castle Yard, where the coach-houses and stables of the castle were located. (nowadays - galleries and shops). Don't forget your cameras .

Based on the reviews of Kilkenny, it said that you can basically see the Castle from anywhere in the city. We found this mostly true and it is certainly a main reason that tourists make their way to this town. We saw it while crossing the bridge as we hiked to our hotel from the train station. We saw it as we crossed the street to our hotel and all over anytime another building wasn't blocking it or in the way. Once it was time for our tour, it was a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies, a few clouds, and a good breeze. We opted for the guided tour rather than the self-paced because of the reviews online and we would agree with what others are saying. For an hour long tour, you definitely get your money's worth. Our guide, John Kelly did a fantastic job keeping the group engaged and was a wonderful storyteller. It was really interesting to hear about the history of the castle and it's residents, the Butler family (and company). Our favorite part was the terrace leading our the garden, which the road had to be removed in order to make room for this expansive garden. You could see this all from the "guest rooms" which were decorated to match some of the periods the researchers were able to find picture of and replacate. Most of the items and decor were not originals, as we learned that there was a lot of damage before the castle was turned into a museum. We learned that the last "owner" sold the property for very very little in the 1960's to the community so that they could refurbish and open it to the public. The long room at the end of the tour was incredibly detailed and impressive. It was fairly new in construction compared to the rest of the castle and its design was inspired by an upside down ship hull. After the tour we had plenty of time to explore the park and surrounding area. For more recommendations and tips from our Ireland trip... Follow @vanmblin

Beautifully restored medieval castle that was "modernized" in the mid 1800s and then restored again in the 1970s back to its 1800s glory. The grounds are parklike, but only the courtyard was open the day we were there. I really wish we could have seen the front where the fountain was. Also for as large as the castle is, very little of it was open for tours. It's worth a stop in Kilkenny, and great to do when it's raining. A picnic by the fountain would be an excellent way to have lunch! They have public wifi and info via a self guided tour and QR codes (I think it was reading) but cell service and wifi was spotty at best. I missed a bunch of info because it wouldn’t load.