Filled with everything from magnificent medieval architecture to cutting-edge design, beautiful gardens, irresistible restaurants, bars and boutiques, compact enough to walk around and easy to reach, Kilkenny is a mouthwatering destination and the perfect host for one of Ireland's best-loved festivals.
Visit us
Tickets and attending events
The Kilkenny Arts Festival programme offers a mix of free and paying events, indoors and outdoors, ticketed and unticketed (please note that some free events are ticketed).
Our venues
From cathedrals to castles, galleries to gardens, Kilkenny Arts Festival stages events in some of Ireland’s loveliest venues. See below for details of some of the magnificent spaces that play host to the Festival each year.
Explore Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a beautiful medieval city nestled on the banks of the River Nore in the south-east of Ireland. Acclaimed internationally as a centre for craft and design, it plays host every year to major cultural events, including Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival.
Eat, stay, drink
Kilkenny is a wonderful place to spend time, packed with great pubs and restaurants, shopping options galore, and excellent hotels. We gratefully acknowledge all the wonderful local businesses that generously support the Festival and contribute to its success, whether through the provision of services or through donations both of cash and in kind. We simply couldn’t exist without them and we’re delighted to recommend them.
