Southeast Ireland

In a land where weather is a constant topic of conversation and you can see four seasons in a day, the counties that make up Southeastern Ireland — Carlow, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford — not surprisingly boast that they get more sun than the rest of the island. The Wexford and Waterford coastline gets even more than the rest and offers fine summer seashore activities as well as coastal walks. Waterford is justly famous for its crystal, but it also has better-preserved old city walls than just about any other city in Ireland and an 800-year-old castle on an island in the River Suir that is now a luxury hotel. An equally ...

In a land where weather is a constant topic of conversation and you can see four seasons in a day, the counties that make up Southeastern Ireland — Carlow, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford — not surprisingly boast that they get more sun than the rest of the island. The Wexford and Waterford coastline gets even more than the rest and offers fine summer seashore activities as well as coastal walks. Waterford is justly famous for its crystal, but it also has better-preserved old city walls than just about any other city in Ireland and an 800-year-old castle on an island in the River Suir that is now a luxury hotel. An equally impressive structure that has not been converted into a hotel is Kilkenny Castle, a 12th-century Norman fortress surrounded by the River Nore and a focal point of the city. From the same era and just nine miles south on the river, Jerpoint Abbey is one of Ireland's finest Cistercian sites with intricate stone carvings in the cloister. Perhaps the most impressive site in the area is the Rock of Cashel, seat of the kings of Munster and the spot where St. Patrick first used a shamrock to explain Christianity's belief in the trinity, establishing the modest clover as a symbol of Ireland to this day.

About the Expert

Larry Habegger is Triporati's editor-in-chief and executive editor of Travelers' Tales, where he has edited or coedited dozens of books including Travelers' Tales Australia and Ireland.