Carlow is one of Ireland's smallest counties, tucked into the southeast between Kilkenny, Wexford, and Wicklow. The county town, also called Carlow, sits on the River Barrow and is a compact, walkable place with a handful of things worth seeing.
The ruins of Carlow Castle, a Norman keep built around 1207, stand near the river -- though much of the castle was accidentally destroyed in the 1800s when a local doctor tried to convert it into a lunatic asylum with dynamite. The Cathedral of the Assumption, with its fine lantern tower, dominates the town centre.
The county is better known for its countryside. The Blackstairs Mountains along the eastern border offer good walking, and the Barrow Way towpath follows the river south through gentle farmland -- one of the quieter long-distance walks in Ireland. The Brownshill Dolmen, just outside Carlow town, has one of the largest capstones of any dolmen in Europe, estimated at over 100 tonnes.
