Top 3 Reasons to Visit Blarney Castle and Gardens

To the northwest of the city of Cork, Blarney Castle is one of Ireland's most famous tourist attractions. I have to say that it was one of my favorite parts of my trip to Ireland, though not for the reasons you might think.

Why is Blarney Castle so famous?

For one thing, the Blarney Castle is partly famous because it's accessible. Most of the medieval castles in Ireland date back to this same time period, between the 11th and 13th centuries, and most of them are either completely in ruins or falling apart enough that they are too dangerous to enter. There are a few you can still see from afar, but if you actually want to go inside a medieval castle, much less climb to the top of one, Blarney Castle is your best bet.

So, part of the reason the Blarney Castle has become so popular among tourists is that it's in pretty shape and still safe enough to access. Another big part of the lure of Blarney Castle is the tradition and mythology around kissing the Blarney Stone. This is a centuries-old myth said to give you the gift of eloquence and persuasion, though it is unclear when or how this tradition got started. The tradition brings over 400,000 tourists each year, making it one of Ireland's most popular tourist attractions.

My favorite parts of visiting Blarney Castle

1/ Climbing to the top of the castle

Although I didn't enjoy the two-hour wait to get to the top, most of the wait is outdoors, so you can take turns in line with your fellow travelers and use your free time to wander through the garden, which I'll get to next. Once you're inside the castle, you get a really unique walking tour (albeit walking very slowly since you're in a line that moves at a snail's pace). It's a one-way walk past most of the rooms and up and down the staircases.

Without a roof, there is a ton of natural light, and even though it took a while to walk through, I really enjoyed getting to see inside the castle. It was cool to see how it was built, how the rooms were organized, and all the great views through the tiny windows. Although some adjustments have been made to make the staircases safer and add railings to protect people from falling, the castle is mostly intact and preserved in its historical state. I enjoyed getting to go inside and see what it would have been like to live here almost a millennium ago! I don't think I would have fared well...

When you get to the top, there are really awesome views of the rest of the gardens. Blarney Castle sits on over 60 acres of land, and you get pretty great vantage points from the top. You can see a good portion of the gardens, some of the surrounding structures and fortress walls, fields filled with grazing cows (the herd of Limousin cattle is cared for by the Colthurst family, which owns the castle estate), and the little town of Blarney in the distance.

2/ Walking through the Blarney Castle Gardens

If you read this blog regularly, you might have guessed that I loved Blarney Castle most for its gardens, and you're almost not wrong. We waited in about a two-hour line to get to the Blarney Stone, and switching off who was standing in line gave us both plenty of time to wander the gardens, which was obviously something I was planning on doing anyway! Blarney Castle has some beautiful landscaping around the castle with super unique plants, trees from around the world, and some really cool art installations.

Blarney Castle's Poison Garden and Carnivorous Courtyard

Right next to the castle exit, perfectly convenient to visit after you've kissed the stone and descended the castle stairs, there was a "Poison Garden" with plants like hemlock, foxglove, mandrake, rhubarb, and more. There was also a "Carnivorous Courtyard" with more pitcher plants than I've ever seen. These were really cool, especially the signs warning the kids needed to be accompanied by adults. These gardens were no joke!

Blarney Castle's Stables, Tropical Gardens, and Rock Close

While my mom waited in line, I went to get a coffee at the cutest cafe and souvenir shop tucked inside what used to be the stables (right next to the ornamental carriages pictured below) and then wandered around to the tropical garden, the "rock close," and the pine tree forest ("the pinetum"). It was a super cool garden to walk through, and I would definitely still recommend visiting Blarney Castle for this reason, even if you can't climb stairs or don't want to kiss a stone.

After such a long wait, we were pretty tired and pressed for time, so we didn't explore the entirety of the gardens. In addition to what we did see, there was also a mini Stonehenge situation called the "Seven Sisters," a fern garden, an "Ice House," and a few other stops. While we were there for three or four hours, you truly could spend all day exploring Blarney Castle Gardens!

3/ Kissing the Blarney Stone

Honestly, kissing the stone was a bit of an afterthought to me. We decided to do it because it was ~the thing to do~, but we mostly visited to see the castle. Unfortunately, waiting in line to kiss the stone is the only way to get inside the castle. So, it's like, once we waited that long, we might as well kiss the stone.

I've got another post coming that weighs the pros and cons to decide if waiting two hours to kiss the Blarney Stone is worth it. If you wanted to visit Blarney Castle and Gardens for just a couple of hours and didn't have time to commit to the stone, I would definitely still recommend it for the gorgeous walk, excellent plants, and unique history!