Powerscourt country house (downloaded from http://www.powerscourt.ie).

Visiting the Powerscourt house, garden, and waterfall–located south of Dublin–makes a nice outing from the city.  Some coach companies offer a day trip here, but you can save a lot of money if you just take Dublin bus!  The interior of the house is a bit disappointing, as it was gutted by fire. But the exterior, garden, and nearby waterfall are glorious.

The garden (downloaded from http://www.powerscourt.ie).

View of house from the garden (downloaded from http://www.powerscourt.ie).

The waterfall (downloaded from http://www.powerscourt.ie).

The Garden of the Powerscourt House, south of Dublin…

…is formal and has a view of Sugarloaf Mountain.

The house has a grand plan…

…but was destroyed by fire…

…and hasn’t been fully restored.

Some rooms house a museum today…

…and some are used for functions.

This grand hall has been restored…

…to its pre-fire glory.

Much of the house is filled with shops, like this furniture store.

While the formal gardens were nice, it was much too hot to venture out without shade.

So I headed to the nearby Powerscourt waterfall….

…to play in the cool water…

…splash around on the rocks…

…and watch Irish and Polish families enjoy the sun.