Kylemore Abbey stands on the wooded shore of Kylemore Lough, its castle-like facade perfectly mirrored in the water below. It is the most photographed building in Connemara, and the view from the main road — grey stone towers and turrets reflected in the dark lough with the Twelve Bens rising behind — is one of the genuinely iconic images of Ireland.
The buildings are now home to a community of Benedictine nuns, who run the estate, its Victorian walled garden, and a girls' boarding school. The walled garden, restored after decades of neglect, covers 2.5 hectares and is divided into formal flower, vegetable, and fernery sections — one of the finest surviving Victorian kitchen gardens in Ireland. The neo-Gothic chapel, where the Henrys are buried, is included in the admission. Allow at least two hours; the abbey is busier in July and August than almost anywhere in Ireland outside Dublin.