The Southeast

We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Southeast - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

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  • 1. Ballyteigue Burrow

    Nature lovers and walkers flock to the 8-km-long (5-mile-long) Ballyteigue Burrow, one of the finest sand-dune systems in Europe. It runs all the way from Kilmore Quay to Cullenstown, and is perfect for a long summer stroll and a picnic, with trails through the rolling dunes or along the beautiful beach. The western end is an important nature reserve rich in butterflies, flowers, and wading birds.

    Ballyteigue Burrow, Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford, Co Wexford, Ireland
  • 2. Enniscorthy Castle

    The town is dominated by Enniscorthy Castle, built in the first quarter of the 13th century by the Prendergast family. The imposing Norman castle was the site of fierce battles against Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century and during the Rebellion of 1798. There are exhibitions exploring the 1916 Rising in Enniscorthy and the work of furniture designer and architect Eileen Gray, who was born in 1878 just outside town. Gray went on to become one of the founding designers of the Modernist movement in the 1920s and now enjoys worldwide fame at staggering prices (one chair she designed brought $22 million at auction). The guided tour is a real treat, with a trip to the dungeon followed by a walk on the roof with impressive views out over the town and beyond and the bloody 1798 battlefield Vinegar Hill.

    Castle Hill, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland
    053-923–4699

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €6
  • 3. House of Waterford Crystal

    Iconic Waterford crystal is once again being produced in the city, albeit on a much smaller scale than before. The factory tour, which includes the blowing, sculpting, and cutting departments, is a must for anyone who appreciates timeless craftsmanship and unique design. After watching a team of glassworkers create a twinkling masterpiece from a molten blob, you may have trouble resisting the retail store, where you can select from the world's largest collection of Waterford crystal. You can have your purchase engraved on the spot. They also offer a sumptuous afternoon tea served on fine bone china.

    The Mall, Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland
    051-317–000

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Tour €15, Nov.--Feb., closed weekends
  • 4. Irish National Heritage Park

    A 35-acre, open-air, living-history museum beside the River Slaney, this is one of Ireland's most successful and enjoyable family attractions. In about 90 minutes, a guide takes you through 9,000 years of Irish history—from the first evidence of humans on this island, at around 7000 BC, to the Norman settlements of the mid-12th century. Full-scale replicas of typical dwellings illustrate the changes in beliefs and lifestyles. Highlights include a prehistoric homestead, a crannóg (lake dwelling), an early Christian rath (fortified farmstead), a horizontal water mill, a Viking longhouse, and a Norman castle. There are also examples of pre-Christian burial sites and a stone circle. Most of the exhibits are "inhabited" by students in appropriate historic dress who will answer questions. The riverside site includes several nature trails and a falconry center. There's a family restaurant and you can even stay a night in a medieval ring fort.

    N11, Ferrycarrig, Co. Wexford, Ireland
    053-912–0733

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €11
  • 5. Jerpoint Abbey

    Known for its rearing and massive 15th-century tower, Jerpoint Abbey is one of the most notable Cistercian ruins in Ireland, dating from about 1160. The church, tombs, and the restored cloister are must-sees for lovers of the Irish Romanesque. The vast cloister is decorated with affecting carvings of human figures and fantastical mythical creatures, including knights and knaves (one with a stomachache) and the assorted dragon or two. Dissolved in 1540, Jerpoint was taken over, as was so much around these parts, by the earls of Ormonde. The one part of the abbey that remains alive, so to speak, is its hallowed cemetery—the natives are still buried here. Guided tours are available or you can just wander at your leisure.

    N9, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    056-772–4623

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €5, Closed Dec.--Feb.
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  • 6. Johnstown Castle Gardens

    Set in a beautiful garden estate, this Victorian Gothic castle looks like it was designed for a Disney movie but it was in fact built for the Grogan-Morgan family between 1810 and 1855. The magnificent parklands—with towering trees and ornamental gardens—offer a grand frame to the castle. Unfortunately, you can't tour the building (it houses an agricultural college) other than its entrance hall, but the well-maintained grounds are open to the public. The centerpiece is the 5-acre lake, one side of which has a statue-lined terrace where you can take in the panorama of the mirrored castle. Because there's such a variety of trees—Japanese cedars, Atlantic blue cedars, golden Lawson cypresses—there's color through much of the year. Nearby are the Devil's Gate walled garden—a woodland garden set around the ruins of the medieval castle of Rathlannon—and the Irish Agricultural Museum. The latter, housed in the quadrangular stable yards, shows what life was once like in rural Ireland. It also contains a 5,000-square-foot exhibition on the potato and the Great Famine (1845–49).

    Off N25, Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland
    053-914–2888

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Gardens and museum €9, Castle tour €4.
  • 7. Kilkenny Castle

    Built in 1172 and set amid 50 acres of rolling lawns beside the River Nore, Ireland's most recognizable castle is a bewitching marriage of Gothic and Victorian styles. It conjures images of knights and damsels, dukes and duchesses. For more than 500 years, beginning in 1391, Kilkenny Castle served as the seat of one of the more powerful clans in Irish history, the Butler family, members of which were later designated earls and dukes of Ormonde. Around 1820, William Robert, son of the first Marquess of Ormonde, overhauled the castle to make it a wonderland in the Victorian Feudal Revival style. In 1859, John Pollen was called in to redo the aptly named Long Gallery—a refined, airy hall with dazzling green walls hung with a vast collection of family portraits and frayed tapestries, and a marvelously decorated ceiling, replete with oak beams carved with Celtic lacework and brilliantly painted animal heads. The main staircase was also redone in the mid-1800s to become a showpiece of Ruskinian Gothic. The castle's Butler Gallery, formerly the servants' quarters, houses a superb collection of Irish modern art, including examples by Nathaniel Hone, Jack B. Yeats, Sir John Lavery, Louis Le Brocquy, and James Turrell. Be sure to stroll the grounds, and the Celtic cross–shape rose garden, after a spot of tea in the old Victorian kitchen.

    The Parade, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    056-770–4100

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €8
  • 8. Lismore Castle and Gardens

    As you cross the bridge entering Lismore, you spot the magnificent Lismore Castle, a vast, turreted building atop a rock overhanging the River Blackwater. There has been a castle here since the 12th century, but the present structure, built by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, dates from the mid-19th century. The house remains the estate of the Cavendish family, and most of it is not open to the public. You can see the contemporary-art gallery, designed by Cork architect Gareth O'Callaghan, in the west wing, as well as the upper and lower gardens, which consist of woodland walks, including an unusual yew walk said to be more than 800 years old (Edmund Spenser is said to have written parts of The Faerie Queene here), certain months of the year. The gardens have an impressive display of magnolias, camellias, and shrubs, and are adorned with examples of contemporary sculpture.

    Off N72, Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland
    058-54424

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €8, Closed mid-Oct.–mid-Mar.
  • 9. Reginald's Tower

    Restored to its original medieval appearance, Reginald's Tower—a circular structure on the east end of Waterford's quays—is a striking setting for a museum on Waterford's Viking history. Built by the Vikings for the city's defence in 1003, it has 80-foot-high, 10-foot-thick walls; an interior stairway leads to the top. The tower served in turn as the residence for a succession of Anglo-Norman kings (including Henry II, John, and Richard II), a mint for silver coins, a prison, and an arsenal. It's said that Strongbow's marriage to Eva, the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, took place here in the late 12th century, thus uniting the Norman invaders with the native Irish. The impressive exhibits include the full weapon kit of a local Viking leader. On the top floor, there's an audiovisual display and objects to represent every century since the tower was built.

    The Quay, Waterford, Co. Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland
    051-304–500

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €5, Closed mid-Dec.--Jan 6., and Mon. and Tues. Jan. 7--mid-Mar.
  • 10. Ring (An Rinn)

    Unusual in the south and east of the country, Ring (An Rinn) is an unspoiled Gaeltacht area on Dungarvan Bay where you will find the Irish language still in daily use. Courses in Irish have been taught at Coláiste na Rinne, a language college, since 1909. It's a lovely spot for bikers, walkers, and bird-watchers—the area includes An Cuinigear, a long, thin peninsula that thousands of seabirds call home. Helvic, a tiny fishing village, commands great views over the Waterford coastline, with the Comeragh Mountains as a backdrop.

    Off N674F, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland
  • 11. St. Canice's Cathedral

    In spite of Cromwell's defacements, this is still one of the finest cathedrals in Ireland and the country's second-largest medieval church, after St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Behind the massive walls of this 13th-century structure (restored in 1866) is an exuberant Gothic interior, given a somber grandeur by the extensive use of a locally quarried black marble. Many of the memorials and tombstone effigies represent distinguished descendants of the Normans, some depicted in full suits of armor. Look for a female effigy in the south aisle wearing the old Irish, or Kinsale, cloak; a 12th-century black-marble font at the southwest end of the nave; and St. Ciaran's Chair in the north transept, also made of black marble, with 13th-century sculptures on the arms. In recent years, St. Canice's has achieved notoriety as the resting place of President Obama's great-great-great uncle, the Bishop of Ossory. The biggest attraction on the grounds is the 102-foot-high Round Tower, which was built in 847 by King O'Carroll of Ossory; if you have the energy, climb the tower's 167 steps for the tremendous 360-degree view from the top, as well as for the thrill of mounting 102 steps on makeshift wooden stairs. Next door is St. Canice's Library, containing some 3,000 16th- and 17th-century volumes.

    Dean St., Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    056-776–4971

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: From €4.50
  • 12. Swiss Cottage

    If there's little storybook allure to the brute mass of Cahir Castle, fairy-tale looks grace the 1st Earl of Glengall's 1812 Swiss Cottage, a dreamy relic from the days when Romanticism conquered 19th-century Ireland. A mile south of town on a particularly picturesque stretch of the River Suir, this "cottage orné" was probably designed by John Nash, one of the Regency period's most fashionable architects. Half thatch-roof cottage, half mansion, it was a veritable theater set that allowed the lordly couple to fantasize about being "simple folk" (secret doorways allowed servants to bring food without being noticed). Inside, some of the earliest Dufour wallpapers printed in Paris charm the eye. A pleasant way to get here is to hike from Cahir Castle on a footpath along the river. In peak season, crowds can be fierce.

    Off R670, Cahir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €5, Closed Nov.--early Mar.
  • 13. The Rock of Cashel

    Seat of the Kings of Munster and the hallowed spot where St. Patrick first plucked a shamrock to explain the mystery of the Trinity, the Rock of Cashel is Ireland's greatest group of ecclesiastical ruins. Standing in the middle of a sloped, treeless valley, the Rock's titanic grandeur and majesty creates what one ancient scribe called "a fingerpost to Heaven." Today, the great limestone mass still rises 300 feet to command a panorama over all it surveys—fittingly, the name derives from the Irish caiseal, meaning "stone fort," and this gives a good idea of its strategic importance. For centuries, Cashel was known as the "city of the kings"—from the 5th century, the lords of Munster ruled over much of southern Ireland from here. In 1101, however, they handed Cashel over to the Christian fathers, and the rock soon became the center of the reform movement that reshaped the Irish Church. Along the way, the church fathers embarked on a centuries-long building campaign that resulted in the magnificent group of chapels, Round Towers, and walls you see at Cashel today. Built in the 15th century—though topped with a modern reconstruction of a beautifully corbelled medieval ceiling—the Hall of the Vicar's Choral was once the domain of the cathedral choristers. Located in the hall's undercroft, the museum includes the original St. Patrick's Cross. The real showpiece of Cashel is Cormac's Chapel, completed in 1134 by Cormac McCarthy, King of Desmond and Bishop of Cashel. It is the finest example of Hiberno-Romanesque architecture. Preserved within the chapel is a splendid but broken sarcophagus, once believed to be Cormac's final resting place. At the opposite end of the chapel is the nave, where you can look for wonderful medieval paintings now showing through old plasterwork. With thick walls that attest to its origin as a fortress, the now roofless St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest building on the site. In the choir, look for the noted tomb of Myler McGrath. Note the tombs in the north transept, whose carvings—of the apostles, other saints, and the beasts of the Apocalypse—are remarkably detailed. The octagonal staircase turret that ascends the cathedral's central tower leads to a series of defensive passages built into the thick walls—from the top of the tower, you'll have wonderful views. At the center of the cathedral is the area known as The Crossing, a magnificently detailed arch where the four sections of the building come together. Directly beyond the Rock's main entrance is the 7-foot-tall High Cross, carved from one large block and resting upon what is said to have been the original coronation stone of the Munster kings. The cross was erected in St. Patrick's honor to commemorate his famous visit to Cashel in AD 450. This cross is a faithfully rendered replica—the original now rests in the Rock's museum. As the oldest building on the Rock, the Round Tower rises 92 feet to command a panoramic view of the entire Vale of Tipperary. A constant lookout was posted here to warn of any advancing armies.

    Rock of Cashel, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
    062-61437

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €8
  • 14. The Waterford Greenway

    Running along a converted railway track between Dungarvan and Waterford City, the 46 km (29 miles) of the Waterford Greenway has quickly become a must-do destination for walkers and off-road cyclists. Passing through some of the region's most spectacular countryside, and crossing no fewer than three tall viaducts, you'll lose yourself in the natural surroundings. The flat, paved path is perfect for families, and you can take on the whole route or just do one of the many small sections. Bikes can be rented all along the way, and new, funky eateries are opening all the time.

    Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland
    053-584--1741
  • 15. Ballyhack Castle

    The gray stone keep of Ballyhack Castle dates from the 16th century. It was once owned by the Knights Templar of St. John of Jerusalem, who held the ferry rights by royal charter. The first two floors now house local-history exhibits. Guided tours are available by appointment.

    Ballyhack Castle, Ballyhack, Co. Wexford, Co. Wexford, Ireland
    051-389–468

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free, Closed Sept.--early May
  • 16. Bishop's Palace

    Among the most imposing of the city's remaining Georgian town houses, the Bishop's Palace is the home to the Georgian part of the Waterford Treasures exhibition, mapping the history of what was Ireland's second city from 1700 to 1790. The most impressive part of the collection is the elegant silverware and, of course, fine glassmaking, including the oldest piece of Waterford crystal on the planet—a decanter from the 1780s. Try to catch one of the regular tours, where local actors play some well-known scenes from Waterford history.

    The Mall, Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland
    051-304–500

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: From €10
  • 17. Black Abbey

    With a stained-glass, carved-stone interior that seems right out of the musical Camelot, the 13th-century Black Abbey is one of the most evocative and beautiful Irish medieval structures. Note the famous 1340 five-gabled Rosary Window, an entire wall agleam with ruby and sapphire glass, depicting the life of Christ. Home to a Dominican order of monks since 1225, the abbey was restored as a church by the order, whose black capes gave the abbey its name. Interestingly, it's also one of the few medieval churches still owned by the Roman Catholic Church, as most of the oldest churches in Ireland were built by the Normans and reverted to the Church of Ireland (Anglican) when the English turned to Protestantism. Nearby is the Black Freren Gate (14th century), the last remaining gateway to the medieval city.

    South of St. Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
    056-772–1279

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free
  • 18. Blackfriars Abbey

    While you can't go inside, you can get close to the remains of this genuinely medieval abbey and get a sense of how impressive it once was. This ruined tower belonged to a Dominican abbey that was founded in 1226 and returned to the Crown in 1541 after the dissolution of the monasteries. It was used as a courthouse until Cromwellian forces destroyed most of it in the 17th century.

    High St., Waterford, Co. Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland
  • 19. Cahir Castle

    The unavoidable focal point of the town, Cahir Castle is dramatically perched on a rocky island on the River Suir. Once the stronghold of the mighty Butler family and one of Ireland's largest and best-preserved castles, it retains its dramatic keep, tower, and much of its original defensive structure. An audiovisual show and guided tour are available upon request.

    Castle St., Cahir, Co. Tipperary, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: €5
  • 20. Cashel Heritage Centre

    In the same building as the tourism office, the Cashel Heritage Centre explains the historic relationship between the town and the Rock, and includes a scale model of Cashel as it looked during the 1600s.

    Main St., Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
    062-62511

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: Free, Closed weekends Nov.--Feb.

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