A gorgeous little sprawl straddling the River Nore in Ireland’s southeast, Kilkenny is a place you can walk in a day, fall in love with over a weekend and still find things to discover after a week. Its imposing Anglo-Norman castle and 13th-century cathedral bookend the Medieval Mile, a historic strip cutting through the city. But it’s between the old set pieces that the magic happens — the record store hidden down an alley; the talkative host of a pub squished into an Elizabethan townhouse; the stumbled-upon galleries, craft studios and vintage shops. Late summer and early autumn are good times to visit, with Culture Night (22 September) followed swiftly by Kilkenny Animated, and the Savour Kilkenny food festival a month later.
Start at Arán Bakery, one of a new wave of Irish bakeries and patisseries challenging the previous generation’s obsession with sliced ‘pan’ (bread). Sourdough is milled with local flour, while cinnamon rolls are dipped in local Highbank Orchard apple glaze. They do an all-day brunch, too, with unlimited coffee refills.
A short walk away on John’s Quay, Butler Gallery is in a former 19th-century servants’ home. The modern art exhibitions here change all the time, but a fixture is its collection of works by local artist Tony O’Malley bringing to life the landscapes of his native Callan. As at Butler House, the elegant hotel on Patrick Street, its name recalls the Butler family, generations of dukes and earls who resided at Kilkenny Castle.
The castle, which evolved over 800 years, is Kilkenny’s anchor attraction. Highlights include its long picture gallery and Victorian nursery. The plaza alongside is a focal point for festivals, but a lesser-known nook lies across the road. Pass through the arch into a former stableyard to find the National Design & Craft Gallery, where exhibitions cover both modern designers and traditional Irish crafts, and a scattering of makers at work in Castle Yard, including a jeweller and potter. You can rummage in more retail rabbit holes on nearby Patrick Street, where shops like Yesterdays and Folkster occupy Georgian townhouses. The former is a repository of weird and wonderful Victoriana, 1930s American crafts and other homewares; the latter a local edit of vintage-inspired clothes.
Meander down the Medieval Mile until you come to Rothe House. Tours are available of the 16th-century merchant’s home and its walled garden. Turning left down New Building Lane brings you to the off-radar Black Abbey — a Dominican church named for the colour of its priests’ habits. The exterior is forgettable, but there’s magnificent stained glass in its Rosary Window — said to be the largest in Ireland.
Smithwick’s is Kilkenny’s famous brewery, with a sensory
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Road trips in Montana really take you places. Massive mountains, glacier lakes, and wild rivers unfurl outside the window on the state’s wide-open roads, each diving into a state of exploration and pure natural wonder. And with plenty of Western scenery and outstretched landscapes along the way, road-tripping across Montana proves it’s all about the journey between destinations.
Visitors often come to Portland, Maine, for the first time because they want to spend a summer weekend in a quaint city by the water, or because they’ve heard about the city’s superlative seafood (80 percent of the United States’ lobster comes from Maine). Seduced by the easy access to nature and relative affordability, many return for longer stays or even for good. Between 2020 and 2022, Maine’s population had the highest percentage increase of any New England state.
As the summer travel season comes to a close, one airline is giving travelers a reason to start planning next summer's vacation. Delta Air Lines announced it will be operating its largest trans-Atlantic flight schedule ever, debuting just in time for summer 2024. The airline will be adding new destinations including Naples and bringing back service to Shannon, Ireland. According to Delta, next summer it will operate 260 weekly flights to 18 countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). This includes a new flight from JFK to Munich three times a week that will start on April 9, 2024, and a daily nonstop flight to Shannon, Ireland that will begin on May 23, 2024. The carrier will expand its existing service to Italy — it already flies to Milan, Venice, and Rome — with a new daily service to Naples. It will also resume service between Atlanta and Zurich, Switzerland, four times a week, which had originally been cut in 2019.
Pride parties in the summer, Broadway shows in the fall, holiday magic in the winter, cherry blossoms galore in the spring…there’s never a bad time to visit New York City.
Tempted to move somewhere new? Why not make some money at the same time. In recent years, a new trend has emerged in the United States, with cities and destinations offering financial incentives to attract new residents. While these incentives might have once been reserved for places trying to lure new high-profile corporations, today, the money is being given to people seeking a fresh start.
The beauty of New York State lies not just in its landmark attractions, but also in the places in between – the foliage-blanket hills of the Catskills , the serene stillness of the waters in the Finger Lakes and the silent strength of the peaks of the Adirondacks .
Beer lovers will enjoy nine days of all things beer during Denver Beer Week, including tap takeovers, rare beer tappings, meet the brewer events, beer and food pairings and more. The week once again is a prelude of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the country’s largest craft beer festival. As the premier U.S. beer competition, GABF will showcase more than 500 breweries pouring more than 1,800 beers from around the world and host over 40,000 attendees. Breweries have an opportunity to enter their beers to be judged by the festival’s professional judge panel, and festival attendees can sip beer entered in the competition during the tasting sessions. Learn more on the VISIT DENVER website.
With 114,000 square miles of canyons, deserts and forests, Arizona is the sixth-largest state in the US, and the country's favorite Wild West wilderness. As you might expect, this is classic driving country, but with decent rail and bus links, there are alternatives to guzzling gas.
New York City is home to 73 Michelin Star restaurants, with a new batch of awards due this fall. Before the official ceremony on November 7, the world renowned guide has announced a batch of 15 new restaurants that can be up for stars or Bib Gourmand recognition this coming year.
Paris is always a good idea. And now travelers can escape to the French city and more European hotspots for less with a new Icelandair sale that has flights starting at just $349 round trip.
The appeal of the Bavarian capital extends well outside its ornate historic centre — and beyond Oktoberfest season. Buzzy neighbourhoods like Schlachthofviertel put modern Munich’s creativity on show, stylish coffee shops and bakeries set you up for the day, and sprawling parks have helped to build the city’s liveable reputation.