Waterford is Ireland’s oldest city and is a brilliant place to start your historical tour. Waterford has recently been listed as one of the
New York Times’ 52 places to visit in 2024. A mixture of our culture, heritage and creativity has led to this prestigious honour and we’re expecting a big influx of US guests to our beautiful city this year to see it for themselves. Whether you love learning about ancient history or prefer to explore the more modern pub culture, Waterford has it all.
Discover Waterford’s Viking Triangle
As one of Ireland’s oldest cities, it’s no surprise that you’ll find some of the oldest and most interesting buildings and sites here in the city.
The Viking Triangle is a small area in Waterford where you can enjoy some of the key attractions of Ireland’s Ancient East, including the
House of Waterford Crystal, the award-winning
Medieval Museum,
Bishop’s Palace and
Reginald’s Tower.
There are also craft studios, cafes and lovely places to eat in the triangle and it’s one of the most vibrant parts of the county. You can walk through over 1,000 years of history picturing the comings and goings of everyday life, picturing the tall ships on the quay importing their wines from France and Spain.
Art in Waterford
Waterford is one of the most colourful and creative cities in Ireland. You’ll find everything from spoken word and playwrights to art galleries and street art.
The Waterford Art Collection is acknowledged as one of the oldest and best municipal collections of art in Ireland.
Ireland’s largest International Street Art Festival
The Walls Project took place in Waterford, in 2023 and we’re delighted to see so many new additions to otherwise ordinary walls and shopfronts in the city. A stroll through the streets will help you see where we got our reputation as a colourful city and there are plenty of unique shops, cafes, and small galleries to visit too.
Dining in Waterford
We may be biased but it’s also widely known that Ireland has some of the finest food in the world. The cuisine is founded upon the crops and animals farmed in our temperate climate and the abundance of rain! Fresh fish and seafood from nearby coastlands and home-farmed beef and pork are found everywhere from restaurants to supermarkets.
Our dairy is the best in the world and people come from all over to sample cheese, butter and chocolate from our local farms and farmers. Waterford has an excellent dining scene from a zero-waste cafe in the city to a Michelin-star clifftop restaurant, Waterford really does have it all.
Viking Hotel Waterford serves the finest, freshest food in our stylish restaurant.
Waterford Great Outdoors
Get back to nature in Waterford with a hike or a cycle outside of the city limits. One of the most popular routes for walking or cycling in Waterford is the
Waterford Greenway. The 46km of greenway will take 6 hours from start to finish – but you can start and stop at any point or hire an electric bike to make life easier! Enjoy sights like hills and valleys, bridges and mines, ancient architecture, and history on this magnificent route, seeing parts of Ireland inaccessible by car. Close to the city, you can visit the Irish coastline enjoying seaside towns like
Tramore, Brownstown and
Newtown Swimming Cove if you fancy a dip in the cold but refreshing water.
Waterford should be on every visitor’s Irish Bucket list. Viking Hotel on the skirt of the city offers convenient, comfortable and spacious accommodation in Waterford with excellent value for money. Book directly with one of the team or on our official website for our
best available rates, guaranteed.
