From Carlow Castle on: Carlow’s list
6 places to visit stand within 1 km of the middle of Carlow. The urban area itself has 9 places on our list; one more is within 5 km of its edge. Look for 3 museums, 2 cathedrals and a castle. If you have a day, head to Ballyloughan Castle, 9.9 km away.
Where to start in Carlow
Once you have seen Carlow Castle, try 2 cathedrals, 2 museums and an art gallery.
CastleCarlow Castlein town
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Maryin town
MuseumCounty Carlow Military Museumin town
MuseumCarlow County Museumin townArt galleryArt galleryVISUALin townCathedralCathedralCarlow Cathedralin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Finding your way
The list reaches out to Killeshin Romanesque Doorway, 5.4 km away.
The dashed line is Carlow’s urban area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
The list by type
There are more castles or historic places (5) than anything else, then museums or galleries (4).
Green: inside Carlow. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
The places, one by one
First the 9 in town, then one within 5 km of its edge.
The 9 inside Carlow come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches, protected structures and monuments belong to the History page, not here.
Monuments and historic buildings in Carlow → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Carlow →
Further out, the best known
The standout of the 12 is Ballyloughan Castle, 9.9 km from town.
CastleBallyloughan Castle9.9 km east
CastleBallymoon Castle15 km south
CastleKilkenny Castle30 km southwest
MuseumDunmore Cave25 km southwest
CathedralSaint Marys Cathedral30 km southwest
CastleShankill Castle and Gardens18 km south
CathedralSt Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower30 km southwest
CathedralSt Laserian's Cathedral13 km southwest
Abbey or prioryCastledermot Round Tower & High Cross & St. David's Graveyard10 km northeast
CastleHuntington Castle and Gardens24 km southeast
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksJerpoint Abbey39 km southwest
FortRathgall Hillfort18 km eastPlaces well known beyond Carlow (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Office of Public Works or National Parks and Wildlife Service property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
What visitors ask about Carlow
What are the main attractions in Carlow?
The best known inside Carlow’s urban area are Carlow Castle, Cathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary, County Carlow Military Museum and Carlow County Museum. In all, 9 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 1 more within 5 km.
Does Carlow have a museum?
4 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Carlow: County Carlow Military Museum, Carlow County Museum, VISUAL and St. Patrick's Trail - Driving Route.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Carlow?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Jerpoint Abbey (Office of Public Works), 39 km southwest.
What are the best-known days out near Carlow?
Within 40 km: Ballyloughan Castle (9.9 km), Ballymoon Castle (15 km), Kilkenny Castle (30 km), Dunmore Cave (25 km).
How is this list made?
From Fáilte Ireland’s open data on attractions (museums, castles, historic houses, abbeys, gardens, national parks, landscapes, islands, zoos and visitor farms: restaurants, pubs, shops and tour operators are left out), OpenStreetMap (places open to visitors; a ruined castle on farmland needs a sign it can be visited) and Wikidata (what each place is, who looks after it, its Wikipedia articles), merged into one list and placed in the town’s CSO 2022 outline or within 5 km of its edge.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in each town’s CSO 2022 outline. Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (16)
- Carlow Castle: Age Bosma, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cathedral of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary: Joe Byrne, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- County Carlow Military Museum: TheRealDug, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carlow County Museum: Smirkybec, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ballyloughan Castle: VisionsofthePast, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ballymoon Castle: Poleary91, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilkenny Castle: Tolivero~commonswiki, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dunmore Cave: Jan-Philipp Litza, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Marys Cathedral: Stevage, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Shankill Castle and Gardens: Sarah777 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- St Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Laserian's Cathedral: JohnArmagh, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Castledermot Round Tower & High Cross & St. David's Graveyard: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Huntington Castle and Gardens: Liam Hughes from Milwaukee, WI, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jerpoint Abbey: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rathgall Hillfort: Simon Dowling, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).