Russborough House and Parklands Admission and Tour Ticket
Description
Filled with hidden treasures from the Renaissance to the 20th century, Russborough is famous as Ireland’s most beautiful Georgian house. Admire the wonderful, richly decorated interiors. Make the most of your visit with a guided tour. Meanwhile there's a 200 acre park to roam around too, which takes full advantage of spectacular views to the Blessington lakes and the Wicklow Mountains beyond. Follow tree-lined pathways to discover the original Walled Garden, the ice-house, the lime kiln and the serpentine lakes. Wander trails and walks in every direction. View a map here. And, of course, leave time for Russborough's gorgeous new café with a courtyard, and its delicious seasonal menus. Explore our two-level gallery shop, a veritable trove of interesting gifts. Find diversions for all the family with a 2km maze, a children's playground and outdoor adventure zone, as well the National Bird of Prey Centre, Artisan Craft Courtyard and much more.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Parklands open at 10am and close at 6pm daily. Local people walk the Demesne each day and then drop into the Tea Rooms for morning/afternoon tea and coffee or lunch. Pre-booked coaches may be seen at Russborough each day bringing visitors from around the world to take a guided tour of the house, do some shopping in the well stocked gift shop and have refreshments in the Tea Rooms. Some may travel by car, bus or even bicycle as Russborough is very well located within only 20 km from Dublin off the road N81 and 4.5 km from Blessington, Co. Wicklow. Families are regular visitors to the Parklands as young children love the Maze, fairy trail, playground and tree trail. Recently introduced is the 2 km audio walking tour which is suitable for adults and children alike. The East & West Courtyards house many artisans which gives opportunity for additional shopping if so desired. Near the West Wing you will find the Birds of Prey Centre; please note that there is an additional charge for the Birds of Prey. From art lovers to historians to the curious passers by this tour will leave you feeling inspired. Lafranchini ceilings, furniture and tapestries from Louis XV's time all are on view during the guided house tour. The historic interactive exhibition located downstairs tells the story of the three families who lived at Russborough for over a period of 275 years; the Earls of Miltown, the Dalys and Sir Alfred and Lady Beit. The exhibition is free to fee paying visitors to the house.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A maximum of 15 people for pre-booked groups
- A moderate amount of walking is involved in the Parklands
- A small amount of walking is involved in the house
Reviews(56)
A wonderful experience both for the House Tour & walks around the parkland. Exceptional art & furniture.
Lovely parkland walk. Not too long even for my 83 old mother. The house tour was super interesting and being c50 mins was perfectly timed. Our tour guide, George, was excellent. Very relaxed and friendly and demonstrate a very detailed knowledge of the house and contents. Some of the rooms are breath taking and a joy to see preserved. Great value at €16 per adult. Relaxed in the cafe after which have an excellent choice of for and snacks. A great place for a 2-3 hour visit.
We had a fabulous guide, George, he made the house come to life with his stories, definitely worth a visit.
Worth the Price . Brian is a very good tour guide . Learned alot from him and enjoyed the tour
We enjoyed an excellent house tour by Tara who gave us really interesting insights into the lives of the families who lived there. Fabulous Palladian mansion. Claire gave us a tour of the Walled Garden which is maintained by dedicated volunteers. Lots more to see but we ran out of time. Gorgeous cafe with lovely food and friendly staff.
George is a wonderful guide and a great art historian .no question was too much for him .
Lovely house & interesting tour. Guide very knowledgeable. Not really arty but the Prodigal Son collection & story behind pictures was great, as was the history of all the robberies !! .Nice mixture of gifts in shop & great service. Grounds & garden lovely also. Lots of events there, so worth a visit.
Totally surprised by how great this tour turned out to be. George, the inhouse guide, was fantastic and incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable. In many ways we visited at just the right time as the Murillo paintings had been returned from the National Gallery, but on loan.
Called out to Russborough House after a 20+ year gap since our last visit. We had good memories from our last visit and this trip created more. A lot has been done to the house since we were last there, lots of restoration and a much bigger café. The basement houses a shop and a number of little museums, you could spend well over an hour down there alone ! We took the house tour, with the marvelous Martina, what a fountain of knowledge, she was also great with the kids on the tour, getting them involved. The OPW are lucky to have people like her. We then went for a long walk in the grounds and finished up with a visit to the walled Garden, which sells some of its produce there on the spot, whatever is in season at that time I would think. Its a great place, well worth a visit and a great place for families.
Very nice place, especially the grounds and walled garden. We were there on a Tuesday, one of the volunteer gardeners' days, with produce for sale. Walks around the beautiful grounds are flat. Children's' playground, a maze (which wasn't accessible) . A very good café, with long queues at lunch time. Good shop, too. Pleasant staff, clean toilets. If you take the house tour, be prepared for lectures on old paintings and for being locked in. Russborough house is typically Georgian and typically furnished, and in good condition, with paintings on loan from the National Gallery of Ireland. When we (group of 25) were admitted, we were to be locked in each room, and lectured about these old, Spanish and not likeable paintings, which would only be worth blackmail value if they were stolen. Their importance took preference over the tour of the first room. Stealing of paintings is still, it appears, feared, even though we, all aged between 70 and 90, would have been physically unable to run off with them. (Paintings have been stolen from Russborough in the past by people who were [I presume] desperate but ignorant of condition/close recording/ provenance etc. of artworks.) Also one wonders what the Fire Service thinks of such lock-ins. Locking people in is, in my view, dangerous and ridiculous. If standing is a problem, you may sit on the radiators, which are low, so you'd still need good lower muscles. I had to get myself buzzed out, as I had expected to tour the house and was very uncomfortable standing, crushed on a crowded "protective carpet" and being told about something I did not want or expect. I enjoy stately homes, architecture and period decor, so I was disappointed. (It may be arranged, I'm guessing, for interiors buffs to walk through, at a special time - at some period properties there is.) (As everyone knows, crowds spoil the atmosphere in such places.) The guide had excellent presentation, and knew her subjects. However there was no adjustment for the average age of the group or its level of interests. We were given the standard heavy-duty ordeal. Some of our party would have loved more seating along the path to the walled garden - they had to give up on visiting it. (Pity that I didn't get to see the house.)
