14 Best Sights in Killarney, The Southwest

Massive, glacial rocks form the sides of this narrow mountain pass that stretches for 6½ km (4 miles) between MacGillicuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountains. The Gap is a natural auditorium where sound waves can bounce from stone to return---creating almost an echo chamber, which can be fun to test out with a shout. Five small lakes are strung out beside the road. Cars are banned from the Gap, but in summer the first 3 km (2 miles) are busy with horse and foot traffic, much of which turns back at the halfway point. The entrance to the Gap is 10 km (7 miles) west of Killarney at Beaufort on the N72 Killorglin Road. If you drive or are on a tour bus, stop here and either hire a pony and trap or opt to walk. One advantage to an organized tour—and a popular option—is that, without the need to get back to your car, you can amble through the parkland as far as Lord Brandon's Cottage, then get a prebooked boat back to Killarney town.

This famed viewpoint, with a stunning panorama of the three lakes and the surrounding mountains, is especially glorious on a sunny day, but worth a visit in any weather. The name goes back to 1861, when Queen Victoria was a guest at Muckross House. Upon seeing the view, her ladies-in-waiting were said to have been dumbfounded by its beauty. You may find yourself speechless, too, so be sure to bring your camera.

This ivy-clad Victorian manor is located next door to Killarney National Park Visitor Center. Upstairs, elegantly furnished rooms are stuffed with, in typical Victorian fashion, rugs, animal wall mounts, and idiosyncratic decorative furnishing and, of course---china---which was commissioned for England's Queen Victoria's visit back in 1861. Paintings are original---and include the works of John Butler Yeats (father of artist Jack and poet William) and John Singer Sargent. The upstairs lifestyle of the landed gentry in the 1800s contrasts with the conditions of servants employed in the basement of Muckross House. 

The magnificent informal grounds are noted for their rhododendrons and azaleas, the water garden, and the outstanding limestone rock garden. In the park beside the house, the Muckross Traditional Farms include reconstructed farm buildings and outbuildings, a blacksmith's forge, a carpenter's workshop, and a selection of farm animals. It's a reminder of the way things were done on the farm before electricity and the mechanization of farming. Meet and chat with the farmers and their wives as they go about their work. You'll also find folk displays where potters, bookbinders, and weavers demonstrate their crafts. The visitor center has a shop and a restaurant.

This is an outstanding place to get a feel for what Killarney is all about: lake and mountain scenery. Stand beside Aghadoe's 12th-century ruined church and Round Tower, and watch the shadows creep gloriously across Lower Lake, with Innisfallen Island in the distance and the Gap of Dunloe to the west.

The monastic ruins on Innisfallen Island include a Celtic cross and date from the 6th or 7th century. Between AD 950 and 1350 the Annals of Innisfallen were compiled here by monks. (The book survives in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.) There is a rough walking trail around the island, a wishing stone, and wild deer, but don't expect any facilities. On a sunny day, this is a charming place to take a picnic. From Ross Castle, row yourself over or let a boatman-guide take you out to the island (both options €12), or you can join a cruise (€12) from the castle, in a covered, heated launch.

At the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe, Kate Kearney's Cottage is a good place to rent a jaunting car or pony. Kate was a famous beauty who sold illegal poitín (moonshine) from her home, contributing greatly, one suspects, to travelers' enthusiasm for the scenery. Appropriately enough, Kearney's is now a pub and restaurant, and a good place to pause for an Irish coffee.

At the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe, Kate Kearney's Cottage is a good place to rent a jaunting car or pony. Kate was a famous beauty who sold illegal poitín (moonshine) from her home, contributing greatly, one suspects, to travelers' enthusiasm for the scenery. Appropriately enough, Kearney's is now a pub and restaurant, and a good place to pause for an Irish coffee.

Hidden away behind tall walls in the center of town for many years, Killarney House is the official visitor center to Killarney National Park. Dating from the early 1700s, the house was originally the stable block of a more imposing manor that burned down in 1913. Today it contains a museum with information about Killarney Town and an interactive exhibition about the flora and fauna of Killarney National Park, as well as changing art exhibits relating to the area. The long-established formal gardens, spread over 30 acres, have been restored to their original 1720s French layout, and are enhanced by the natural backdrop of Killarney's wild mountains under a huge, ever-changing sky. There are easily accessible walks laid out in the grounds, and free guided tours every half hour.

The three Lakes of Killarney and the mountains and woods that surround them make up this beautiful national park. It extends to nearly 25,000 acres, which includes oak, holly, and yew woodlands, and is populated by red deer. The National Park Visitor Centre in town offers an audiovisual presentation that is a good introduction to what you can explore on the signposted self-guiding trails that thread the park.

The heart of the park is Muckross House & Gardens, which is 6 km (4 miles) from Killarney on N71. You can drive, walk, rent a bicycle, or take a traditional jaunting car (pony and a cart) to the house and from there explore this amazing landscape by foot or bicycle.

The air here smells of damp woods and heather moors. The red fruits of the Mediterranean strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) are at their peak in October and November, which is also about the time when the bracken turns rust color, contrasting with the evergreens. In late April and early May, the purple flowers of the rhododendron ponticum put on a spectacular display.

The Gap of Dunloe's southern end, 7 km (4½ miles) west of Killarney, is marked by Lord Brandon's Cottage, a 19th-century hunting lodge that is now a basic tea shop serving soup and sandwiches. From here, a path leads to the edge of Upper Lake, where you can journey onward by rowboat (a traditional wooden boat with a motor)—but only if you have booked it in advance. It's an old tradition for the boatman to carry a bugle and illustrate the echoes. The boat passes under Brickeen Bridge and into Middle Lake, where 30 islands are steeped in legends, many of which your boatman is likely to recount. Look out for caves on the left-hand side on this narrow stretch of water.

The Gap of Dunloe's southern end, 7 km (4½ miles) west of Killarney, is marked by Lord Brandon's Cottage, a 19th-century hunting lodge that is now a basic tea shop serving soup and sandwiches. From here, a path leads to the edge of Upper Lake, where you can journey onward by rowboat (a traditional wooden boat with a motor)—but only if you have booked it in advance. It's an old tradition for the boatman to carry a bugle and illustrate the echoes. The boat passes under Brickeen Bridge and into Middle Lake, where 30 islands are steeped in legends, many of which your boatman is likely to recount. Look out for caves on the left-hand side on this narrow stretch of water.

The monks were driven out of this 15th-century Franciscan friary by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1652, but it's amazingly complete (rare among Irish ruins), although roofless. An ancient yew tree rises above the cloisters and breaks out over the abbey walls. Three flights of stone steps allow access to the upper floors and living quarters, where you can visit the cloisters and what was once the dormitory, kitchen, and refectory.

A fully restored 15th-century stronghold of the O'Donoghue Ross clan, sited on the lower lake 2 km (1 mile) south of town, this castle was the last place in the province of Munster to fall to Oliver Cromwell's forces in 1652. You can see its curtain walls, towers, and display of 16th- and 17th-century furniture on a 40-minute guided tour.

You reach this roaring, 65-foot-high cascade by a footpath that begins in the parking lot outside the gates of the Muckross Park, 8 km (5 miles) south of Killarney. After your first view of the Torc, which will appear after about a 10-minute walk, it's worth the climb up a long flight of stone steps to the second, less-frequented clearing.