Kilkenny, Ireland on the River Nore

​Kilkenny is a medieval city, one of the first in Ireland.   Kilkenny was built by the Norman’s who initially invaded from the Normandy region of Northern France.  Kilkenny is also referred to as the medieval mile.  The town is very quaint with its cobblestone streets and stone buildings.  There were many brightly painted doors.  It was in Kilkenny that I began taking pictures of the painted doors and we notice how several of the doors had a smaller door within the larger door.  Many of these I was able to walk through easily.   These little doors are called Wickets, and they were typically found in a large castle or gate.  The smaller door or wicket was only able to fit one person at a time.  Back in the medieval times, the larger double gates were designed to allow wagons and coaches to pass through.  The purpose of the wicket was to avoid the main castle gate to be open for just one or two persons to walk through, using the wickets helped the guards to control better access to the castle with having one person enter at a time. 

Kilkenny Castle sits along the River Nore and is a medieval castle shaped in a U with the courtyard in the middle.  The view down the valley from the castle was magnificent even on the typical day in Ireland with the clouds.  You could see the mountains in the distance looking over the rose gardens.  There was a statue outside of the castle of Diana the Huntress.  The castle was a very peaceful place with so much history to explore.  
Some of the other sights to see in Kilkenny are St. Cancie’s Cathedral, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Black Abbey Dominican priory.  There was a pub on every corner, and one place that stood out was a tavern called the Left Bank.   This building is a former branch of the Bank of Ireland, and at first, I thought it was a funny name for a bank and then realized it was a great restaurant and bar.

One of the hotels we toured was the Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel.  The Kilkenny Hibernian is a  4-star boutique hotel in the center of Kilkenny.  The hotel had a complete renovation in 2016 to all of its rooms, but it still kept many of the stained glass works throughout the building.  It has the original grand staircase to access many of the rooms along with the modern features of a lift.  The hotel offers classic room and deluxe room accommodations, as well as a few penthouse suites.  All rooms offer free wifi, bottled water, and Orla Kiely amenities. The hotel has a great restaurant and bar called Harper’s. Along with a traditional bar the Hibernian Bar. 
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The city of Kilkenny is a must see in Ireland, it is located in the southeast of Ireland and has the old world charm with its narrow winding streets with so much to explore.