Killarney - My Highlights
Calling all lovers of nature and history!
For you, spending a day (or two) exploring Killarney and the National Park, with beautiful lakes and historic buildings, is a perfect choice. Make yourself a cup of tea, sit back and enjoy the little Killarney tour I created for you.
Killarney National Park covers a huge area, including three lakes (Upper, Muckross, Leane) and the surrounding mountains. It not only contains Ireland’s largest area of ancient oak forest, but also its only remaining herd of indigenous red deer. What we learned on our Sea Safari in Dingle: one of the Blasket Islands is home to a group of “back up deer“ for Killarney National Park.
Muckross House is open daily, the working farm next to it is open daily May-Sep and only on weekends Apr & Oct, so you might want to check their current opening times before heading there (after Covid, that is). The working farm project, Traditional Farms, gives you a good impression of what Irish rural life was like in the 1930s. There’s a craft shop in the Walled Garden Centre of Muckross House where Mucros Pottery and Weaving can be seen in action. There’s also a little café inside the visitor centre, which was coeliac friendly on our last visit in 2019. Most parts have universal access. Visit the official website of Muckross House & Gardens for more information.
Muckross House is the perfect start for a long (or short) walk around the surrounding area and the ancient woodlands. There are several alternative walks around the lakes and through the woods. Whether you’re walking or cycling, don’t miss the beautiful 20m Torc Waterfall. It’s about a 30 minute walk from Muckross House and really worth it.
If you’re in for a walk around Muckross Lake, follow the Torc Trail along the base of Torc Mountain and make a stop at the Old Weir Bridge. This is where Muckross Lake and the Upper Lake first meet.
The water of Upper Lake finally flows into Muckross Lake at the Meeting of the Waters, which you’ll reach if you follow the trail. Further along the trail, there’s Dinis (Dinish) Cottage, which once had been a hunting lodge and is now a tea room. Continue the trail and you’ll find the beautiful Brickeen (Bricin) Bridge, which was built c. 1830. Worth taking a photo, especially in the early mornings.
The path will take you along Muckross Lake and Lough Leane (on your left) and back to Muckross House. If you don’t follow any of the shortcuts back to the car park, you’ll come along Muckross Abbey, which was founded in 1448.
Back in your car and heading to Killarney, make sure to make a stop at Ross Castle. Ross Castle is a 15th-century castle situated on a peninsula in Lough Leane. Take a boat to Innisfallen Isle, where another abbey is situated. Again, plenty of opportunities to take beautiful photos.
Return to the N71 and head for Killarney.
Killarney was the “big town“ for me as a child. We used to drive to Killarney every 6-8 weeks to get some shopping done and get that feeling of “big city life“. When travelling through Ireland, Killarney is the perfect base from which to explore the surrounding area, the national park or even take day trips to the Dingle Peninsula, drive the Ring of Kerry or visit the charming town of Kenmare.
Back to downtown Killarney now though. The picturesque St Mary’s Cathedral, built between 1842 and 1855, is worth a visit - not only if you’re a fan of neo Gothic architecture.
Killarney itself is very picturesque as well with little Victorian lanes, beautiful houses, pubs with live music and restaurants. There’s also a good choice of accommodation thanks to Killarney being in the tourism game for many years now. Killarney being so famous with tourists, it gets a bit crowdy in summer - so if you don’t like that many people around, try to visit Killarney in late spring or early autumn.
Fancy a special experience? A boat trip through the lakes followed by a bike ride through the Gap of Dunloe is probably the classic Killarney region experience. Ask in your hotel, B&B etc for more information. The boats usually depart near Ross Castle in the mornings, taking you across the lakes (a lovely little cruise).
You cruise past Innisfallen Isle on your way, cross the pretty Brickeen Bridge and the Meeting of the Waters. The cruise will finally take you up to Lord Brandon’s Cottage, where you then can bike the 5km up to the head of the Gap. The views at the summit are amazing in both directions and you’ll enjoy the 6km downhill to Kate Kearney’s Cottage (café, pub, toilets). Follow the signs for Killarney after that (total cycle distance 23km) or take the shuttle bus back to Killarney.
There are also cruise & trek tours (in case you don’t like cycling) available.
Eat & Drink
Bricin (lovely Celtic-decorated restaurant, try the “boxty“)
Khao (Asian, vegetarian and coeliac choices available)
Smoke House
Lake Room Restaurant
Lir Café (great coffee)
O’Connor’s - live music, beautiful and tiny traditional pub
Do you have any questions about Killarney that haven’t been answered by this blog post? Feel free to shoot me a DM on instagram or send us an email.