Day Trip: Kildare

Begin your all-day tour at Castletown, Ireland’s largest and oldest Palladian-style house, built between 1722 and 1729, a one-and-a-half-hour drive outside of Dublin. Then, continue on to a private tour of the Castletown Stud, a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility that also happens to boast some of the finest Japanese gardens in the world. The Kildare Town Heritage Centre gives visitors a history of the region’s various attractions, including St Brigid’s Cathedral, Norman Castle and Roundtower.