Tour of Kilkenny and The Rock of Cashel

About This Tour

Two of Ireland’s most rewarding historic sites in one private day trip from Dublin. Kilkenny is Ireland’s most intact medieval city - compact, walkable, and full of genuine character. The Rock of Cashel is something else entirely: a hilltop cluster of ancient ruins that you genuinely don’t expect to be as dramatic as it is.

Your chauffeur will pick you up from Dublin and take you to both sites, with the flexibility to customise stops along the route if something catches your eye.

What’s Included

• Luxury private chauffeur service
• Bottled water and in-car refreshments
• Customisable stops along the route

What’s Not Included

• Admission fees to sites

Itinerary

1. Kilkenny (approx. 5 hours)

   • Kilkenny Castle - a magnificently restored 12th-century castle with formal gardens, right in the heart of the city
   • Medieval Mile - walk the historic core of the city, taking in St. Canice’s Cathedral and its Round Tower
   • Rothe House and Garden - a well-preserved 17th-century merchant townhouse that gives you a real sense of Kilkenny’s prosperous past

2. Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary

   • Round Tower and Cathedral - sweeping views over the Tipperary plain from one of Ireland’s most iconic hilltop sites
   • Cormac’s Chapel - a beautifully preserved Romanesque chapel with some of Ireland’s oldest surviving frescoes
   • Hall of the Vicars Choral - a fascinating window into medieval religious life in Ireland

3. Return to Dublin - drop-off at your hotel or a designated location, arriving back at approximately 4:30 PM

Good to Know

• This is a private tour
• Suitable for all fitness levels
• Prams and strollers welcome
• Public transport available nearby at departure point
• Admission fees to Kilkenny Castle, the Rock of Cashel, and any other sites are payable on the day
• Tour is conducted in English

Local Tips

Walk the Medieval Mile from the castle to the cathedral, not the other way around. Starting at Kilkenny Castle and walking north toward St Canice’s Cathedral takes you uphill through the city’s medieval core - past the Tholsel, Rothe House, Black Abbey, and the Butter Slip alleyway. The round tower at St Canice’s is climbable (100 steps, 9th century, not for anyone with a hip issue) and the view from the top puts the whole town in perspective. The walk is free; the castle ticket is separate.

Lunch in Kilkenny before heading to Cashel. Kilkenny has far more lunch options than Cashel, and you’ll want to eat before the Rock. Foodworks on Parliament Street does sourdough and eggs that hold up well, or try Café at Anocht in the old stable block opposite the castle gates - both are close to the Medieval Mile. Tynan’s Bridge House is the local’s choice for a pint of stout, no food and no music, just the room.

Arrive at the Rock of Cashel as early in your afternoon as you can manage. This is one of Ireland’s most visited OPW heritage sites and the car parks fill before 11am in summer. The tour order puts you here in the afternoon, which is better - the light on the limestone in the afternoon is worth something. Walk up from the town car park (five minutes on foot) rather than driving to the base; arriving on foot and seeing the walls rise above you is how the place is meant to work. Give Cormac’s Chapel proper time - the Romanesque frescoes inside, discovered under limewash in the 1980s, are the only ones of their kind surviving in Ireland.

Don’t miss Hore Abbey on the way out. It’s a short walk downhill from the Rock car park, free to enter, and usually empty. The ruined Cistercian abbey (1272) sits in a field with direct sight-lines back up to the Rock - it’s the best view of Cashel you’ll get, and it’s free.

Nearby on IrelandMe

• Kilkenny - a castle at one end, a cathedral at the other, and a kilometre and a half of medieval lanes in between; Tynan’s has the best pint of stout in the city
• Cashel - the Rock rises 60 metres above the Tipperary plain without warning, and Cormac’s Chapel holds the only surviving Romanesque frescoes in Ireland