Discover Carlow

Carlow brings together city history, museum collections and a surfaced path along the Burren River. If you’re looking for a hotel in Carlow, it helps to decide what you want to focus on first: would you mainly like to explore history and exhibitions, or also set aside time for walking and cycling? The city’s sights and other places in County Carlow offer different starting points for your visit.

Places and paths in Carlow

VISUAL is located in Carlow city centre on the grounds of Carlow College. The Linear Park along the Burren River offers an accessible, surfaced route for walking and cycling. It is about two kilometres long—a practical option if outdoor activity is among your travel interests.

Castle and Cathedral

Carlow Castle is close to the centre, on the banks of the rivers Barrow and Burrin. It is regarded as one of Ireland’s most significant Anglo-Norman castles. Today it is a ruin: two damaged towers and part of the wall between them remain. Its historical context and surviving structures offer two different ways to view the site.

Carlow Cathedral is next to St Patrick’s College in Carlow. It was completed in 1833 and was the first cathedral built after Catholic Emancipation. It offers another perspective on the city’s architectural and religious history, while Carlow Castle represents its Anglo-Norman history.

History in the collections

Carlow County Museum documents the history of County Carlow through the centuries. Its four galleries display objects of archaeological, historical and cultural significance. The collection brings together items from different periods and areas of life, including a carved pulpit measuring six metres from Carlow Cathedral and the original 19th-century printing press used by the newspaper The Nationalist.

Also on display are the tobacco pipe of Captain Myles Keogh, who was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and objects associated with John Tyndall. Tyndall was from Carlow and discovered the greenhouse effect. Another exhibition focuses on the Anglo-Saxon monk St Willibrord, who was educated in Carlow. Other items include Kevin Barry’s last cigarette and death mask, as well as a 340-million-year-old fossil. These examples span printing and scientific history, biographies and natural history.

County Carlow as a regional setting

County Carlow also offers further archaeological and early Christian themes. Brownshill Dolmen is thought to be between 4,900 and 5,500 years old and is regarded as a significant example of early Neolithic architecture. Its granite capstone is thought to weigh more than 100 tonnes and is considered the largest of its kind in Europe. The church ruins at St Mullins include five churches and the remains of a round tower; St Mullins is an early Christian site in County Carlow.

Choosing a focus for your stay

County Carlow adds early historical and ecclesiastical sites to this picture. If you choose Carlow as your search destination, consider which of these interests you’d like your stay to focus on.

Discover more destinations: Tullow, Muine Bheag, Ballon, Borris, Hacketstown, Bunclody, Rathvilly, Killerig.

For the broader travel overview: County Carlow.