Muckross House is a large Victorian mansion on the shores of Muckross Lake, set in beautifully maintained gardens. The house was built in 1843 and is now a national historic property. Guided tours take you through the kitchens, dining rooms, and bedrooms, giving a good picture of how a wealthy nineteenth-century Irish household operated.
The gardens surrounding the house are open year-round and are particularly lovely in spring when the rhododendrons — introduced from the Himalayas in the Victorian era — are in full flower. The walled kitchen garden and the rockery are worth exploring. Muckross Abbey, a ruined fifteenth-century friary with an enormous ancient yew growing inside its cloister, is a 20-minute walk from the house.