Waterford revival: the reinvention of Ireland’s oldest city

It was a pretty long interregnum, about 1,000 years, but Waterford is once again a hot travel destination.

The Vikings were the first to popularise this corner of south-east Ireland, liking it so much they settled, built a town and called it Vadrarfjordr, Norse for “winter port”, around AD914. There was no better refuge for weary raiders to rest and recuperate.

Its prominence faded as the Anglo-Normans spread across Ireland in the 12th century. Dublin became the main settlement and eventually the capital of the Irish Free State in 1922, leaving Waterford, as it became known, a sleepy footnote. The jet age didn’t change it much, because tourists tended to favour the west coast.

And then this year Waterford roared back into fashion. The New York Times ranked it alongside Paris, Maui, Valencia and Grenada in an article on 52 places to go in 2024. Condé Naste Traveller selected it as one of the best destinations in the UK and Ireland. The International Jury of the European Capital of Christmas – which sounds like something Kafka dreamed up after too much pudding – named Waterford this year’s European city of Christmas, a tribute to its Winterval festival.

The endorsements have not come completely out of the blue. The Guardian, among others, has been flagging Waterford in recent years.

“We were sort of forgotten and now we’re being noticed and discovered, which is fantastic,” said Tina Darrer, co-owner of Dooley’s, a family-run hotel by the quays in central Waterford. “There’s so much going on here and people are picking up on that.”

Since Covid restrictions ended, British visitors have poured off the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry, including Welsh rugby fans, who watch matches in local bars rather than trekking to Dublin, said Darrer. “They like it here.”

After a three-day break in Waterford with my wife and daughter, I share the sentiment. Waterford packs in history, scenery, fun and fine dining. We explored ruins, heard fabulous stories, imbibed nature, cycled along a greenway and ate and ate and ate.

The transformation into visitor magnet is all the more impressive given its roots in calamity: Waterford Crystal, the cut-glass manufacturer and global brand, shut its main factory in 2009, wreaking a devastating economic and psychological toll on a city long defined by the company. Authorities responded in part by creating a hub of monuments and museums within a “Viking triangle”. Bounded by ancient walls and perched atop tunnels, it lets you hopscotch from the 13th-century Reginald’s Tower to treasures in a silver museum to weird, wonderful clocks in a museum of time. The latest addition, a wake museum celebrating death rituals, opened last year.

“We had to reinvent ourselves,” said curator Donnchadh O’Ceallacháin as he guided us around stone ramparts, each with a story, such as a “murder hole”, through which defenders hurled nasty surprises on to attackers below. Our eight-year-old loved the concept: “I’d drop spiders.” Strap on a headset at the King of the Vikings virtual reality experience – book in advance – and you are immersed in a world of longship raids, burning monasteries and medieval political intrigue. Costumed guides – some used to work as extras on the TV show Vikings – complete the tour.

For chutzpah nothing beats the life of Thomas Francis Meaghar, whose statue gazes down on the city. Credited with flying the first Irish tricolour during a doomed rebellion, he was deported to Tasmania, escaped to the US, led an Irish brigade during the American civil war, was probably part of the honour guard that stood by Abraham Lincoln’s coffin, and became governor of Montana before drowning in the Missouri River, possibly murdered.

Sated on history, we explored the rest of the city, gorging at Bodega, a Mediterranean-themed wine bar, and marvelling at master glassblowers who shaped molten crystal with their breath and wooden moulds at Waterford Crystal’s visitor centre workshop. And, beyond the city, nature awaited.

Mount Congreve Gardens hosts one of the world’s biggest plant collections amid 28 hectares (70 acres) of woodland colour, aroma and birdsong. It is home at various times of year to Chilean flame trees, Japanese irises, carpets of bluebells, effusions of rhododendron, even some Wollemi pines, until recently believed extinct.

Since it reopened in 2023 after refurbishment, annual visitor numbers have surged to 100,000, double pre-Covid levels, and there is capacity for 200,000, according to Ray Sinnott, the estate manager. Sporadic droughts and monsoon-type downpours are challenges for the estate but the climate crisis is also enticing visitors who wish to avoid continental heatwaves, said Sinnott. “People tell us they’re coming for the weather – the cool air.”

Heading south-west, we curled along the Copper Coast, a 15-mile stretch of coves, beaches and disused mineshafts that was named a Unesco global geopark in 2015. Our guide, Deirdre Woodbyrne, led us through an outdoor display of geological records going back hundreds of millions of years. She too has heard visitors express appreciation for cool, damp conditions. Still, we were delighted when the sun emerged for our bike ride along a 28-mile greenway that runs along meadows, the sea and villages. Since opening in 2017, it has been named one of Ireland’s top attractions.

Related: How I learned to love the slow route home to Ireland

In Dungarvan we lunched on prawns – caught that morning – at the Local, a pub with a rich folk music tradition, tried a creamy fruit rice pudding at the 360 Cookhouse, then retired to the five-star Cliff House Hotel at Ardmore. Etched into a cliff, with steps down to the sea, it’s the sort of place you don’t ever want to leave. There is an infinity pool, a spa, a Michelin-star restaurant, spectacular sunrises.

The Vikings are gone but Waterford remains a refuge.

The trip was provided by visitwaterford.com. Doubles at Dooley’s from €119 room only. Doubles at the Cliff House Hotel from €210 B&B