Must-see attractions in Counties Wicklow & Kildare

Wicklow's most visited attraction is this magnificent 64-sq-km estate, whose main entrance is 500m south of Enniskerry. At the heart of it is an elegant…

Nestled between two lakes, haunting Glendalough (Gleann dá Loch, meaning 'Valley of the Two Lakes') is one of the most significant monastic sites in…

Magnificent Castletown House is Ireland’s single-most imposing Georgian estate, and a testament to the vast wealth enjoyed by the Anglo-Irish gentry…

A stunning mansion in the Elizabethan Revival style, Killruddery has been home to the Brabazon family (the earls of Meath) since 1618 and has one of the…

The Irish National Stud, 1.5km south of town, is the big attraction in Kildare – visitors have included Queen Elizabeth II. Owned and managed by the Irish…

Engaging hour-long tours at this craft brewery guide you through the brewing process, from milling local grains to mashing, whirlpooling, fermenting,…

Housed within the ruins of a 13th-century abbey, the unusually tall and slender Moone High Cross – Ireland's second-highest, at 5.3m – is a masterpiece…

Magnificent Russborough House is one of Ireland's finest stately homes, a Palladian palace built for Joseph Leeson (1705–83), later the first Earl of…

This fine Palladian mansion was the birthplace and Irish headquarters of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–91), the 'uncrowned king of Ireland' and one of the…

Wicklow's infamous jail was notorious throughout Ireland for the brutality of its keepers and the harsh conditions suffered by its inmates. The smells,…

Part of NUI Maynooth, and turning out Catholic priests since 1795, St Patrick's College & Seminary is Ireland's second-oldest university (after Trinity…

The solid presence of 13th-century St Brigid's Cathedral looms over Kildare's Market Sq. Look out for a fine stained-glass window that depicts Ireland's…

Desolate and utterly deserted, the Glenmacnass Valley, a stretch of wild bogland between the Sally Gap crossroads and Laragh, is one of the most beautiful…

On the southern edge of the Powerscourt Estate, 6km south of Powerscourt House, is this picturesque waterfall. At 121m it's the highest in Ireland (though…

Wicklow's nickname, 'the Garden of Ireland', is justified by green idylls such as the 8-hectare Mt Usher Gardens, just outside the unremarkable town of…

Developed on an area of cutaway bog, where peat has been extracted for commercial purposes, this award-winning, family-oriented park offers a huge range…

Founded by Cistercian monks in 1148 and inhabited for nearly four centuries, this 56m-long, now-ruined abbey incorporates both Cistercian and Irish…

Run by the nonprofit Irish Peatland Conservation Council, this interpretive centre celebrates the amazing biodiversity of Ireland's bogs, and traces the…

Finding your way out of this 2m-high Celtic hedge maze is harder than it looks. Watch others attempt it from the viewing tower; there's also a hedgeless,…

Glendalough's trademark is St Kevin's Kitchen or Church, at the southern edge of the monastic site. This compact structure, with a miniature round-tower…