Bishops Palace

Waterford antiquities from 1700 to the twentieth century are on exhibit in the Bishop’s Palace Museum, providing visitors with a fascinating insight into the history of what was, until the 1750s, Ireland’s second city. ‘The Mall is a lovely walk of about 200 yards… The Bishop’s Palace, which faces it, not only adds substantial elegance… the Palace is a superb building of hewn stone, with two fronts, and is wonderfully adorned with a gorgeous portico adjacent to the Mall.’ (History of Charles Smith, 1746) The ground and first floors of this superb architectural masterpiece, now a museum, continue to fascinate almost 250 years later, with the ground and first floors arranged as a very elegant 18th-century townhouse. From the 1900s until the 1960s, the upper level brings ‘old’ Waterford to life. Masterpieces in Glass, which debuted in 2019, is a re-enactor-led experience that culminates in a 17-minute 4D display that details Waterford’s lengthy history of glassmaking while vividly immersing you in 18th and 19th century Waterford.