← All Kilkenny tours via Viator · From €805 · 10 hours 
Waterford and Kilkenny City Private Tour
Free cancellation Booked securely via Viator
Check availability & prices →
From €805 per person
Ireland’s medieval southeast packs a lot into a day. This private 10-hour tour takes you through two of its most historic cities - Kilkenny and Waterford - with your own private transport throughout. You’ll visit Kilkenny Castle, explore the city’s medieval streets at your own pace over lunch, and see how Waterford Crystal is made at the House of Waterford factory.
Kilkenny Castle (45 min) - A tour of the 12th-century castle, one of Ireland’s most iconic medieval landmarks. You’ll step inside a building that has shaped the history of the region for nearly a thousand years.
Kilkenny City (1 hour 40 min) - Time to explore the medieval streets of Kilkenny City at your own pace, with a lunch stop at a local bar or restaurant (lunch not included).
House of Waterford Crystal, Waterford City (2 hours) - Waterford has a long Viking history and an even longer tradition of crystal-making. The House of Waterford takes you behind the scenes of the factory to watch the process firsthand, and there’s a shop on-site if you’d like to bring something home.
In Kilkenny - the whole medieval city is a fifteen-minute walk end to end, so use your free time well. The Medieval Mile runs from Kilkenny Castle to St Canice’s Cathedral at the top of the hill; the round tower at the cathedral is one of the few climbable ones in Ireland, about 100 steps up, and the view across the black limestone rooftops is worth every one of them. For lunch during your free time, Foodworks on Parliament Street does sourdough and eggs done properly, or Rinuccini opposite the castle gates has been making fresh pasta since 1989.
Parking and walking in Kilkenny - the medieval streets were laid out for carts, not cars. If your driver drops you at MacDonagh Junction or the Market Yard, you can walk the entire city without the stress of narrow stone lanes. The castle gates are a 10-minute stroll from either.
At the House of Waterford Crystal - the factory floor is the real draw, where skilled artisans are still blowing and cutting glass by hand. The showroom is free to browse, so if you’ve seen glass-blowing before, it’s worth knowing that the Bishop’s Palace on the Mall also holds the oldest piece of Waterford Crystal in the world, as part of the Waterford Treasures collection - a good add-on if you have time after the factory.
Waterford city centre - spend any spare time around the Viking Triangle, the tight cluster of streets where the city has its oldest bones. Reginald’s Tower at the corner of the quay is Ireland’s oldest civic building, and the walk from there along the Mall to the crystal factory takes about fifteen minutes with plenty to look at on the way. For a proper Waterford lunch, a blaa from Walsh’s Bakehouse is a Waterford institution - soft white roll, heavily dusted in flour, eaten warm.