Blog - All Things Ireland

Things to see and do in Waterford Photo via Canva Check out Ireland's Oldest city!!! Waterford has many nice things to see and do, its a city full of history. The city of Waterford is located in the southeastern part o Ireland in the Provence of Munster. The city is one of Ireland's oldest city's. Waterford was founded by Vikings in the 9th century, the control of the city was taken over in the 12th century by Anglo-Normans. Waterford used to be one of the most important Old English areas during the medieval period in Ireland. The city has seen famines, battles, many invaders and economic boom and bust. The city has loads of nice retail shop, cafes, and nice pubs to pop into. The city and county have loads to keep you busy, it's just a nice city to stroll around and check out some of the old historic buildings. One of the best known Irish brands Waterford Crystal is a Waterford brand. You have to check out Waterford and the surrounding areas like Tramore and Dunmore East! Check out my post on Irish History Explained here! The House of Waterford Crystal Photo via Canva This cool visitor centre is home to Waterford Crystal, one of Ireland's best brands, who doesn't like Crystal right! Waterford Crystal has a long history dating back to the 1700s The visitor centre has a number of options, you can take a private tour or maybe a group tour you would prefer. In the year 1783, William and George Penrose asked Parliament to help them manufacture of flint type glass from there Waterford Glass House building. Down through the years, Waterford Crystal glass developed into one of Ireland's most famous and well-known brands. Currently, Waterford Crystal makes around 45,000 pieces of crystal per year, everything from sports trophies to stunning home décor pieces and hand-blown glasses. The tour is a great way to learn about how the glass is blown into different shapes and turned in masterpieces. Prices for the tour and enter into the visitor centre is reasonably priced at 13.50 euros for adults and kids under 10 years old are FREE. Children over 10 to 18 are 7.00 euros and there is a family ticket priced at 25.00 euros. It's of the cools attractions to check out in Waterford! Viking Triangle Photo via Canva The Viking Triangle is an area in the city that has a huge history attracted to it. The area has old walls that date back 100 years to when the Viking occupied the city. If you like history this area will be of great interest to you! The Viking Triangle is full of cool outdoor spaces with a nice atmosphere. The area is full of old building and sites and some very nice narrow old streets. There are a number of very interesting old building to check out in the Viking Triangle! The Viking Triangle is a great area to wander around and soak up the vibrant history of Waterford! Reginald’s Tower Photo via Canva Reginald's Tower was built to replace a Viking settlement by the Anglo-Normans. The tower is 54 feet in height. The stone tower seems to have got its name from a Viking ruler back in the day. The current tower is believed to be built in the 13th century. Reginald's Tower has managed to survive until current times, it was previously used as a prison, a storehouse. Reginald's Tower was used as the venue for Richard De Clare's wedding Its is now owned by the Waterford Corporation, it was used as the residence for the Chief Constable since 1861. Medieval Museum Photo via Canva The Medieval museum has an array of stuff to see, there's a virtual tour will take you back to the time when the city a ruled by Vikings. The museum houses a number of important artefacts that are of great importance to the history of Waterford. The museum has some very cool stuff on display dating back hundreds of years, the interior of the building is amazing with so many stone features. The is some cool paintings on display, maps of Waterford and plenty of informational displays and images explaining important historic facts. The Most Holy Trinity Cathedral Photo via Canva The Most Holy Trinity Cathedral is something to see, this beautiful Catholic church is located on Barronstrand St, Waterford. The Building was designed by Mr John Roberts and the building work begin in the year 1793, it's a beautiful Cathedral to pop into for some photos or maybe a quiet prayer. The Most Holy Trinity is one of Ireland oldest Catholic Cathedrals being 220 years old. The cathedral; features ten wonderful Waterford Crystal chandeliers that were given as a gift, this created a beautiful piece of décor inside the large Cathedral walls. The Cathedral is FREE to visit! King of the Vikings Experience https://youtu.be/schBRArrciQ This experience has good some good reviews and it won “Traveller Choice Award Best of the Best 2020 “. Its a virtual reality experience that takes you back in time to the time of the Vikings. The virtual reality experience is the first of its kind worldwide and blends old Viking house building with modern state of the art technology., the virtual reality experience last thirty minutes. You will experience what it was like in the heart of old Viking Ireland when times were very different! The King of the Viking experience is located on 10 Bailey new street, Waterford. There is an authentic replica of a Viking house assembled to see. Its an amazing visitor centre. you tube embed link https://youtu.be/schBRArrciQ Spend a few hours at the Theatre Royal Photo via Canva The Theatre Royal has a load of stuff to see and keep you busy! The Theatre Royal is the oldest operating theatre in the whole of Ireland. The building opened way back in 1785 an has seen many a good night. The super funky theatre features movies, musical events, comedy nights and education events. They cater to dance events and arts and culture events. The Theatre Royal is located in the Mall area of Waterford. There is a full bar with plenty of nice drinks to chose from, the bar operated from 7.00 pm on event evening. It s a great place to spend an evening checking out a live event. Check out Tramore Photo via Canva Tramore is a wonderful seaside town located outside Waterford City. Tramore is around twenty-minute drive from Waterford city centre. Tramore beach is such a nice beach. Tramore has plenty of good accommodation options from self-catering Air B&Bs to comfy hotels. The area has loads of stuff to see and lots of things to do, there Tramore gold course if you wanna go for a round of golf. There's Splash world for the kids, an indoor swimming pool with a large water slide. There's horse racing at Tramore Racecourse which is a great day out! A cool attraction for kids is the Copper Coast Mini Farm. There's fishing, pottery and surfing in Tramore. Another cool attraction in Tramore is the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway, you can take a ride on an old railway train, this is a great experience to see the how the old railway's trains worked in Ireland back in the day and actually travel onboard an old railway train is a great way to spend a few hours! Check out Dunmore Photo via Canva Dunmore is another cracking area to visit. Dunmore is a hugely popular fishing village. It has become a tourist hotspot in recent years due to its unreal scenery. Dunmore is located in Ireland south-eastern facing coast and on the west side of Waterford Harbour. Dunmore is around a 25-minute drive from Waterford city. There are water sports actives, nice beaches in the area to see and great pubs all around Dunmore. The area has beautiful walkways to check out and some cool art galleries. There are a number of gold courses close to Dunmore, four in total so it a great spot for the avid golfer. Dunmore often has events like the Bluegrass music festival and the Dunmore east golf classic and a cool walking weekend event, all in all, its a great area to spend a few days! See my Ireland Travel Guide post here with everything you need to know when visiting Ireland! I hope you find this post useful, I welcome any questions or suggestions by email to info@allthings-ireland.com Thanks John C All Things Ireland