The Medieval Mile Museum Guided Tour: Journey through Medieval Ireland's Fascinating History
4.9
120 Ratings
Kilkenny
Embark on an extraordinary journey through the annals of Medieval Ireland with our guided tour of the Medieval Mile Museum. Discover the epic tales of Strongbow, William Marshall, and Isobel, and explore the contrasting lives of the affluent and the underprivileged in Kilkenny City.
Duration:
1 hour
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Medieval Mile Museum - A 12th century church and graveyard with monuments and artefacts covering 800 years of history
What's Included
- Guided tour
- Unlimited exploration time
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Join us on a remarkable trip through the pages of Middle Ages Ireland via our directed exploration of the Medieval Mile Museum. Our proficient narrators bring the past alive as they narrate the heroic chronicles of Strongbow and Aoife, William Marshall - the ‘finest knight of all time’, and Isobel, a key force in the formation of Kilkenny City. You’ll plunge into the city’s beginnings and multicultural roots, probing into the emergence of powerful traders who influenced its course. Absorb an understanding of the starkly different lives of the wealthy and the deprived, revealing narratives embedded within the sanctified walls of St. Mary’s Church. Unearth the extensive influence this church held in the Middle Ages, serving as a hallowed asylum and an evidence to the citizens’ devoutness. This directed exploration provides an nourishing and enlightening adventure, making it a necessary inclusion for anyone aiming to comprehend the vivid weave of Medieval Kilkenny. A must-see on your Kilkenny trip.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- A maximum of 20 People per booking
Location
86 High St
High Street
Just off High Street, behind the Town Hall.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(120 Ratings)
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Joyceh1965
Apr 9, 2024
Wonderful tour! - Just finished this walking tour with John. The tour was amazing and John was the best guide of any tour I have done in Ireland. Be sure to do this! His attention to detail was fabulous. And a wonderful sense of humor, too!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
154ernieh
Mar 24, 2024
Go see John at the Medieval Mile Museum. - As a family we are not a big fan of guided tours and often times go off on our own to explore. We were on our first trip to Ireland and on our second day we came to Kilkenny to see the main attraction of a castle. After that tour we came across this place while walking around. That is where we came across a delightful man name “John.” We were our usual stand offish selves for about 30 seconds until he asked where we were from and what we have seen. For the next 45 minutes John taught us about the history of Killkenny in what can only be explained as a masterful presentation with quips, stories, and little known facts (to us). We have 15,13, and 10 year old and they were mesmerized by his stories and how brilliantly he spoke and engaged with them. It was quite an experience to watch. We saw him in the street later in the day and he came over and thanked us for coming and then recommended some other things we could do. I highly recommend this place and what ever they are paying John, they should double it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
543christiea
Mar 18, 2024
A must do guided tour experience - We ventured from Southern California to Ireland for our honeymoon and booked a guided tour. We got John as our tour guide and loved every second of it. The staff is friendly and turned what would have been a boring walk listening to audio into an interactive experience. John made jokes and taught us about the history behind the entire city. We saw kids having fun too since they pass out a treasure hunt for kids to do during the tour. If you’re considering going, I highly recommend taking a guided tour and even requesting John. We truly enjoyed the experience. PS- it’s mostly indoors and not a mile walk 😂
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephnee13
Jan 10, 2024
Be sure to book this tour! - We didn't know you could book a guided tour and not been in the museum long before John, one of the guides came over and kindly gave up his time to share some of his extensive knowledge. I wish we had been organised enough to book a tour with John of the whole Medieval Mile. He was incredibly engaging and brought medieval Kilkenny to life for us. Thank you so much John!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Barbara
Dec 3, 2023
Best Tour Ever - Our tour guide was brilliant at giving us the history of Kilkenny! I am not a history buff, but could have listened to her a lot longer and I have remembered what she said, and that is saying a lot. The museum is beautifully laid out and the artifacts well displayed. The interactive displays were very interesting and well done. I did the self guided tour prior and then the guided tour went into more depth with the major displays. You could tell that our tour guide loves what she does.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Noelie_foodie
Oct 2, 2023
Medieval Museum Kilkenny - An absolutely amazing museum & awesome guided tour. Pay for the guided tour, you will learn so much history by doing so. I never realised there was so much preserved history so locally. I can't recommend this museum & tour so much.
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310margb
Sep 29, 2023
An outstanding tour of Kilkenny! - The tour was fantastic! Our tour guide, John Halpin, was outstanding! He is so very knowledgeable and engaging, and related extremely well to each person on the tour. His knowledge of Kilkenny and Irish history is very impressive, as is his knowledge of much of the world. The tour was to have lasted 1.5 hours, but thankfully lasted longer because John had so much to tell us. We would have enjoyed spending the entire day with him! The is a not-to-be-missed agenda item on a visit to Kilkenny.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R2501jgkevino
Apr 17, 2023
A great tour with John - We had a guided tour yesterday with John and he was absolutely fantastic. While the museum was full of interesting exhibits from the past, it was John's abundance of knowledge and storytelling that really brought it all together and made it a great tour. Couldn't recommend enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
688zariag
Apr 15, 2023
Such a great tour! - Such a great tour! John and the Medieval guided tour was the highlight of our trip to Kilkenny. Locals and tourists alike should definitely check it out. We learned so much in a reasonable amount of time. Must see!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bill
May 25, 2022
A world class museum. Go here first. - This is a world class museum!
This is the best first stop for orienting yourself to the historical wonders of Kilkenny, Ireland. The museum is relatively new, 2017, and will only get better.
The museum is in the 13th Century church that was built by William Marshal, who built Kilkenny Castle. It contains a wealth of exemplary stonework, documents - e.g. a book started in the 13th Century with city records - and other history. It compares with an Egyptian tomb for relevance.
Receptionist Lynn was extremely helpful and provided a great overview of how the museum/church fit into the “Medieval Mile” in Kilkenny. Unfortunately we missed the tour with John, but he proved a fountain of knowledge when we happened to run into him and got to chatting. Take the tour if you can.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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