This past weekend brought some great weather, and with it, my first two days off work. On Saturday, I thought I would explore Kilkenny. I caught the train in Thomastown, and in just ten minutes, I arrived in Cill Chainnigh. (Gaelic for Kilkenny) Founded in 1609, Kilkenny is the largest city in the county of Kilkenny, and is home to over 24,000 people. Kilkenny has a fair amount of tourist activity, but the only attraction I knew about was the castle in the center of town on the river Nore.

This meant I had a lot of exploring to do in order to find out what makes this city so popular. I began with a tour of St. Canices Cathedral (right)  The cathedral is quite old, but its most popular attraction is the round tower. Standing over 100 feet tall, it offers the best view of the city.  The climb was short, but not easy. The tower itself is over 1000 years old, so the steps and openings into and out of the structure are very small. The tower was built for people who were much smaller in those days. I eventually made it up, and got a great view of the city and the surrounds.

I then headed back down through town, passing St Marys cathedral, the Back Abbey, and the town hall, all on route to Kilkenny Castle. The castle had a large number of people going in and out for various tours, but what surprised me the most was the extensive lawn extending from the castle. Now a park, the lawn is a large grassy field where people gather on the weekends to either read, picnic, or play rugby and hurling. The atmosphere outside the castle and around the grounds was great. I really enjoyed the relaxed pace, and seeing the sports that were being played on the lawn.

The castle itself is very impressive. The first towers were built in the early 1200s, and the entire castle was restored in the last century to its original grandeur.  The inside of the castle provided a brief, but pleasant tour of rooms that were set up to mirror the date of its prime, and paintings of the Butler family who owned the castle along with their family line that followed.

I left the castle, and headed to a pub called The Field for a late lunch, and after that, I ended my day at the Omniplex in Kilkenny to catch a movie. My day in Kilkenny was a perfect way to begin my summer of traveling solo. All and all, it now makes sense to me why this little city is such a popular destination for Irish and foreign visitors alike.