Main Tourist Attractions Include :
The
National Stud & Japanese Gardens
Located at Tully, The
National Stud has 958 acres of land and operates
to promote the interests
of
the Irish Bloodstock industry. On site, a museum
serves as a historical archive of the Studs successes.
In the Japanese Gardens the 'Life of Man' is beautifully
symbolised through the landscape of the garden. The
visitor centre at the stud has been developed to
include a full restaurant and craft shop - there's
also a "lego" area for the younger visitor. Saint
Fiachras Garden is a new addition to the Stud and
was built to celebrate the Millennium.
Butterfly Farm
Located at Ovidstown, Straffan,
come and walk through a tropical Butterfly House
with colourful butterflies flying around you. View
a collection of reptiles, stick insects, tarantulas
and bird eating spiders - safely behind glass! You
can also learn about the interesting life and conservation
of butterflies in the Exhibition centre, featuring
butterfly collections.
Steam Museum
Located at Lodge Park Heritage
Centre, Straffan, a Victorian Gothic building - once
the Great Southern and Western Railway Church, has
been rebuilt here and now houses the power hall of
the museum.
The model hall displays early locomotive prototype models.
There is a memorabilia hall, an interactive area, courtyard
and an 18th century garden.
Celbridge Abbey
Located at Clane Road, Celbridge
and set amid the magnificent Celbridge Abbey Grounds,
features of the abbey include historical guided tours,
nature study tours, flora and fauna, themed walks
and a model railway. There's also a restaurant, children's
playground, natural woodland gardens and garden centre.
Peatland World
Museum
Located at Lullymore, Rathangan,
you can explore the fascinating history and science
of Ireland's boglands at Peatlands World Museum.
Housed in a beautifully restored nineteenth century
courtyard, it helps to explain the development of
bogs, their exploitation and future importance. A
series of trails have been established around the
centre and guided walks are offered to visitors.
Coolcarrigan
House & Gardens
Located at Naas, these gardens
are approached by a long, woodland avenue with a
large collection of rhododendrons and azaleas. The
formal gardens around the house have a good herbaceous
border, rockeries and fine Victorian greenhouse.
The rest of the garden, divided by various paths
and covering some eight acres, has a very interesting
collection of shrubs and trees, mostly chosen by
plantsman, Sir Harold Hillier.
Heritage Sites
Castletown
House
Located at Celbridge, the
most significant Palladian style country house in
Ireland. Built c.1722 for the Speaker of the Irish
House of Commons, William Connolly, the designs of
a number of important architects were used, notably
Alessandro Galilei, Sir Edward Lovett Pearce and
later Sir William Chambers.
The entire estate was sold by the Connolly-Carew family in
1965, and in 1967 the house and some parkland were purchased
by Hon Desmond Guinness. Both Mr Guinness and subsequently
the Castletown Foundation, who acquired the house in 1979,
devoted considerable effort and resources to the maintenance
and restoration of the principal rooms.
The inland county of Kildare is famous as a sporting,
racing and hunting region. Bordering
Dublin to the west, it is situated on the
edge of the central plain. The county's
main features are big open grasslands,
lush green pastures and large tracts of
ancient bogland-all interspersed with trees
and gentle rolling hills. 
