The fine art of pottering about

A cheap day out - Kilkenny: In the series on making your holiday euro go further, Rosita Boland explores the Marble City and its environs.

If you're on holidays, chances are, you won't be getting up too early. However, if you're up and raring to go, this is really the best time to scamper round the shops of Kilkenny city, since the place tends to get very crowded in the summer afternoons with foreign-language school tours and other tour buses.

Mid-morning: Drop into the Kilkenny Shop cafe for a mid-morning snack from its consistently fine array of goodies.

Sit on one side of the cafe and have a view of the castle, or sit on the other and look into the beautifully-restored stone horseshoe of buildings that compose the Castle Yard. Head into the Castle Yard afterwards for a free look at whatever show is currently on view in the National Craft Gallery: this month, it's Norwegian contemporary jewellery. You can also wander round some of the craft workshops in the Castle Yard and see potters and silversmiths at work.

Lunch and afternoon: Get some picnic things together from the Gourmet Store deli on High Street, and put together cheese, salami and fresh bread. If you're feeling lazy, head for the vast castle gardens, which are free to access, and find your own grassy spot, just minutes from the madding crowd.

If you're feeling lively, head off to some of the pretty nearby villages to picnic there instead. Inistioge has one of Ireland's lesser-known gardens, lovely Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum, which are undergoing major restoration. Explore the Monkey Puzzle Walk, rare trees in the arboretum, a Winter Garden, flowers galore, a dovecote, grotto, and walk around the ruin of Woodstock House itself, which was torched in the Civil War.

There are fantastic views over Inistioge, with its old stone bridge, on the way up. €2.50 entrance - or a bargain €20 season ticket for a whole year.

The South Leinster Way passes through Inistioge, should you want to walk off the picnic for a few miles.

Alternatively, you could head to atmospheric Thomastown for a wander round there. Have lunch or afternoon tea in the Watergarden, on Ladywell Street.

The Watergarden is a gem of a place, with terrific food, and a pretty garden where you can sit to eat outside. It's run by the local Camphill community, and all profits go back to Camphill. The food is cheap and delicious, with main courses around €7, and it doesn't make a mockery of the expression "home-made". Typical items include beetroot and tomato soup; gardener's lunch of soup, salad and bread; spinach roulade; and Bailey's Cake.

Twice a week, there are stalls selling local organic fruit and vegetables, and there is also a small garden centre attached. And being Kilkenny, all the tableware is of locally-made pottery.

Drop off in Bennettsbridge at Nicholas Mosse's huge and interesting shop in the converted mill by the river, where you can pick up seconds of his spongeware at reduced prices.

Evening: Back in the city, Fléva restaurant on High Street, with its funky interior and great cooking, is getting excellent word-of-mouth, where there is a €28.50 special set dinner menu from Monday-Thursday.

All produce is organic and sourced locally wherever possible. Typical à-la-carte menu item includes pan-seared scallops, spiked with lime and ginger, and served with wild mushroom risotto. Set menu includes warm smoked duck salad with honey-marinated red cabbage and crispy lardons of bacon.

Unless you are a visitor from Mars, you will know that Kilkenny people are very fond of hurling. Join hundreds of local people to watch them training in the evenings at Nowlan Park or James's Park, but probably best not to wear your own county colours there.

Nightlife: Kilkenny city is coming down with good bars, but the jewel of them all is the beautiful and thankfully listed Tynan's Bridge House Bar, John's Bridge, whose Victorian interior gives Belfast's Crown a run for its money.

And of course, the Kilkenny Arts Festival is ongoing until Saturday, with an array of shows, concerts and exhibitions, some of them free.

Drop into the box office on the Castle Parade for information and tickets and plan your entertainment.

Next Wednesday: Cork