Waterford: Viking Triangle Walking Tour & Bishop’s Palace

4.61

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d barely made it to the Bishop’s Palace before our guide, John — red scarf, quick smile — waved us over like old friends. “You’re not late,” he said, even though we were. He asked where we’d come from (Dublin by train), and then pointed at the Palace’s stone steps. “These have seen more shoes than I’ve had hot dinners.” I laughed, but he was already steering us toward a battered door. The air smelled faintly of rain and something sweet from a bakery nearby.

The first thing that hit me in the Viking Triangle wasn’t the history — it was how alive it felt. Kids darted between old stones, their parents trailing behind with coffee cups. John stopped by the longboat replica and told us about real Vikings landing here, “not all beards and axes,” he joked. He let us take photos but didn’t rush anyone; when a little girl wanted to touch the boat’s carved dragon head, he knelt down to show her some runes. It was oddly moving — maybe because my own granddad used to tell stories like that.

Inside the Bishop’s Palace, there was this hush — not cold exactly, but you could almost feel the walls holding their breath. We stood in a reception hall with creaky floors and sunlight slanting through tall windows. John talked about Georgian parties and Victorian scandals (he winked at that bit). I tried to imagine Waterford 200 years ago: horses clopping past outside, someone baking bread just like now. The tour is only 45 minutes but covers a thousand years in what feels like a blink.

I didn’t expect to get so caught up in details — the way people nodded along when John mentioned Cromwell or how everyone went quiet inside the cathedral. There was time for questions (someone asked about ghosts; John just grinned). We ended back where we started, a little damp from drizzle but weirdly energized. I still think about that view down the Mall with its mix of old stone and new life — you know?