Kilkenny Medieval · One-day tour with guide in Spanish

About This Tour

Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s best-preserved medieval cities, and this full-day trip from Dublin explores it entirely in Spanish. Known as the “city of marble” for the distinctive black stone quarried nearby - you’ll spot it throughout the buildings - Kilkenny has a layered history that your guide brings to life with local stories and legends, including the famous tale of the cats and the story of Ireland’s oldest reputed witch.

Your guide covers the city’s unusual division between the English town and Irish town, the many churches, abbeys, and monasteries scattered through the streets, and the Norman castle that dominates the bend of the River Nore. You’ll also have free time to find lunch, wander the medieval streets, visit St. Canice’s Cathedral (an impressive English Gothic building), and sample a pint of Smithwick’s - the beer that’s been brewed in Kilkenny for centuries.

What’s Included

Private transportation
All fees and taxes
Air-conditioned vehicle
Spanish-speaking guide

What’s Not Included

Lunch
Breakfast

Itinerary

A guided visit to Kilkenny Castle, which sits on a bend of the River Nore and has been at the heart of the city’s history for over 800 years. Inside, you’ll get a sense of how its inhabitants lived across those centuries, with the story of the Duke of Ormonde featuring prominently. The castle’s rose garden is worth a look too. (60 min)
A guided walking tour of the medieval city, taking in the streets, the river, the castle from outside, and the broader layout of this compact, walkable city. (120 min)

Meeting point: 9.30am at the door of the Riu Plaza Gresham Hotel.

Good to Know

Conducted in Spanish; group size up to 53 people
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Infant seats available; infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Local Tips

The Medieval Mile is the spine of the city - Kilkenny Castle at the south end, St Canice’s Cathedral with its climbable 9th-century round tower at the north end, and a kilometre and a half of medieval laneways in between. Your guide covers this on the walking tour, but knowing the shape of the city in advance helps you use your free time well. After the guided sections are done, you can walk the whole Mile independently in 45 minutes, or take longer and duck down the side alleys.

For lunch in your free time - Kilkenny has real food options beyond the tourist strip. Foodworks on Parliament Street is a solid bistro that handles both a long brunch and a proper lunch. Rinuccini, opposite the castle on The Parade, has been run by the Cavaliere family since 1989 and the pasta is made daily. If you want something quick before climbing St Canice’s round tower, the Kilkenny Design Centre restaurant in the castle stables does good simple plates.

The witch story your guide will tell - Dame Alice Kyteler lived on the site of what is now Kyteler’s Inn on Kieran Street. In 1324 the Bishop of Ossory accused her of heresy and witchcraft - the first such trial recorded in Ireland. Alice escaped to England and was never heard from again. Her maid, Petronella de Meath, was burned at the stake on High Street that November. It is not a cheerful story. It is also genuinely medieval in a way that the castle walls sometimes are not.

Smithwick’s has history - John Smithwick set up his brewery at the ruins of St Francis’ Abbey on Parliament Street in 1710 and the family brewed there for nearly three centuries. The Smithwick’s Experience offers a tour and tasting (book separately) and the ruined abbey wall the brewery was built around is still standing in the middle of the visitor attraction. The pint is the local pint; the abbey is the reason the brewery is where it is.

Nearby on IrelandMe

Kilkenny - the smallest city in Ireland by charter, with a Norman castle, a medieval cathedral, a climbable 9th-century round tower, and a reputation for hurling that the rest of the country quietly resents