POWERSCOURT

HOUSE &

GARDENS

POWERSCOURT

HOUSE & GARDENS

POCKET IRELAND › Place Guides › Powerscourt House and Gardens

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The Powerscourt Gardens are extensive and spectacular in Spring and Summer. Voted #3 in the World’s Top Ten Gardens by National Geographic. The 47-acre estate offers a mix of sweeping formal terraces, secret hollows, and ornamental lakes, all set against the dramatic backdrop of the Great Sugar Loaf Mountain.

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Italian Garden

This is the dramatic centrepiece of the estate, designed to impress with its symmetry and scale. It features a series of grand terraces that were painstakingly carved out of the landscape over 12 years. At the foot of the terraces lies this ornamental lake, dominated by a fountain based on Bernini’s fountain in Rome. The design intentionally frames the view of the Sugarloaf Mountain, creating one of the most photographed vistas in Ireland.

Japanese Garden

Created in 1908 by the 8th Viscount Powerscourt and his wife, this garden offers a complete change of atmosphere. Built on reclaimed bogland, it is a sunken, introspective space designed for tranquility. It features winding paths, stone lanterns, and arched bridges crossing a stream. The area is planted with azaleas, Japanese maples, and Chinese fortune palms, which provide vibrant colour, especially in spring and autumn.

Tower Valley & Pepperpot Tower

Tower Valley offers a wooded contrast to the formal terraces, featuring a distinct variety of specimen trees. The Pepperpot Tower is a curiosity modelled after a pepper shaker from Lord Powerscourt’s dining table. You can climb its winding stairs for a unique view over the estate. This area is home to North American conifers and other exotic trees, planted to create a "wilder" woodland feel.

The Walled Gardens

This is one of the oldest parts of the estate, originally used to grow fruit and vegetables for the main house. Today, it is an ornamental garden known for its vibrant colours. A stunning 240-year-old gate, called the “Bamberg Gate” from Germany that acts as a grand entrance.