Is it worth it to spend a late afternoon/evening/morning the next day in Kilkenny if the castle is closed?
 

or is the castle the only reason to visit kilkenny? <BR>if your answer is "don't bother to go if the castle is closed" can you recommend another town halfway between Dublin and Killarney that we could spend that same amount of time in?

Hello <BR> <BR>Even without being able to visit the Castle, Kikenny is a nice town to visit. There are a couple of very nice old churches that are wothwhile, and one of them has a round tower thtat you can climb. There are also some very interesting smaller old buildings (though none are spectacular in their own right). The main street is fun to walk down, about 10 or 12 solid blocks of shopping, everyday life, good pubs, etc. If you get there in mid-afternnon, go for a nice walk, you can play it by ear how much, if any time you want to linger the next day. <BR> <BR>

On our trip to Ireland in October, we spent our first night in Kilkenny. We had toured the castle on a previous visit but didn't get to stay overnight, so this was a return trip. We arrived around noon, spent the afternoon walking around town, had dinner and took off the next morning. It's a lovely town with some great craft shops - well worth a visit. Enjoy! (And a word of warning: we found that Kilkenny was as far as we were interested in driving after the overnight flight!)

thanks for confirming what i thought, everyone. <BR>we won't be arriving in ireland that day, we will have already spent 2 days in dublin, and then attended a wedding on Sat nite in Saggart. i have heard the castle is open till 5 on sunday, so if we get out reasonably early on sunday after the wedding, we still might see it. <BR>while i have you all, any opinons on the Waterside for lodging? i got them from pat prestons site, the pictures are adorable, and the price is right. <BR>thanks! Edie

HI Edie, <BR>We really enjoyed Kilkenny, as the others have said. It was one of my favourite towns for just walking around and just poking about. If you get there early enough there is a walking tour that leaves from the Tourist office...we really enjoyed it. <BR>Have fun.