Things to do in Naas
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Naas
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Jumps season and the quietest, cheapest hotel months. Muddiest for gardens and the Greenway.
Punchestown Festival in late April and early May, then the Guineas at the Curragh. Spring is the peak and the sweet spot either side of festival week.
Irish Derby Festival in late June, long evenings, golf and the lakes at their best.
Irish Oaks, summer race evenings and the Kildare Maze open daily. Peak family season, mild and changeable weather.
Irish Champions Weekend with the St Leger, softer light and crowds gone. A connoisseur month for golf and racing.
Jump racing returns, the Punchestown Winter Festival in November and the Moat panto from late November. Lowest hotel rates outside race days.
What's on
- Punchestown Festival 28 April to 2 May
Five days, 40 races and over 130,000 racegoers close the National Hunt season. The town sells out.
- Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle January
Grade 1 hurdle headlining Naas Racecourse's January card, the local jumps highlight.
- Irish Derby Festival Late June
Three days at the Curragh culminating in the Irish Derby, the flat racing peak near Newbridge.
- Irish Oaks Weekend July
Classic fillies racing at the Curragh in high summer.
- Irish Champions Weekend September
Includes the Irish St Leger at the Curragh, a softer light, high class racing weekend.
- Punchestown Winter Festival November
Two days of winter jump racing at Punchestown, calmer and cheaper than the spring festival.
- Spirit of Kildare Brigid Festival Around 1 February
Events around St Brigid's Day across Kildare, including performances at the Moat Theatre.
- Moat Theatre Christmas Pantomime Late November to December
The Moat Club's annual family panto, a Naas institution since the theatre's early decades.
Best things to do in Naas
Naas Racecourse
The friendly local racecourse with about 20 Flat and jumps meetings a year and dramatic uphill finishes.
The Curragh Racecourse
Home of all five Irish Classics, with a superb modern stand and close up parade ring access on big days.
The Moat Theatre
A 200 seat town theatre with drama, comedy, live music and a Christmas panto, plus a Friday market and cafe.
The Kildare Maze
Leinster's largest hedge maze with a wooden maze, crazy golf and a zip wire, all on one modest family ticket.
Johnstown Garden Centre
A much loved garden centre with a popular cafe, free to enter and ideal as a slow Saturday morning stop.
ODEON Naas
The town's modern multiplex on the Dublin Road, the reliable fallback that saves rainy family evenings.
Where to stay in Naas
Naas town centre
walkable racing and dining base
Lawlor's and the Naas Court Hotel put the restaurants, pubs and race shuttles on your doorstep.
Devoy Quarter, Naas
spa and calm rooms
A modern quarter a short walk from the centre, anchored by the Osprey and its pool and spa.
South Naas
special occasions and families
Killashee's gardens, spa and leisure club sit just south of town on the Kilcullen Road, a five minute drive to dinner.
Straffan
golf and full resort weekends
The K Club estate is the destination in itself, 20 minutes from Naas and priced accordingly.
Clane
family stays and festival overflow
The Westgrove gives a pool, space and fair rates 10 minutes north when Naas itself sells out.
Celbridge fringe
boutique luxury and north Kildare touring
Cliff at Lyons pairs canal side calm with Castletown House and Dublin side touring.
Think twice about
- M7 motorway interchange and retail park edges
Not unsafe, but pedestrian hostile and car only, with car parks instead of streets. Fine for a petrol stop, poor as a holiday base.
- Sallins as a car free Naas base
A lovely canal and station village, but it is 3.5 km from Naas centre, so late evenings mean a bus gap or a taxi every night.
Best restaurants in Naas
Neighbourhood Naas
Naas's acclaimed flagship, serving produce led contemporary Irish cooking in a stylish room.
Vie de Chateaux
Fine French cooking by the Grand Canal, long rated among Kildare's best restaurants for a special occasion.
Bouchon
A small dinner only bistro above Kavanagh's pub, the locals favourite for modern European cooking.
The Brown Bear
An award winning village gastropub south of Naas, with serious cooking and the area's best Sunday lunch case.
Butt Mullins
A former coaching inn serving generous Irish European cooking, a Naas institution for family dinners.
Lemongrass Fusion
The town's most reviewed restaurant, a lively Asian fusion room with strong vegan range and a cocktail bar.
Las Rada Tapas And Wine Bar
A cosy wine bar serving tapas style sharing plates, the best group dinner format in the town centre.
33 South Main
A buzzy gastropub with generous modern pub cooking, praised cocktails and a dedicated live music space.
Best bars in Naas
Haydens Bar
A family run pub since 1820, the town's default for a proper pint, big match days and live music.
Kavanagh's
A traditional Main Street pub with snugs, an open fire and a covered beer garden, under Bouchon restaurant.
Outdoor things to do in Naas
Punchestown Racecourse
The home of Irish jump racing, whose five day spring festival is the biggest week in the Irish racing year.
Palmer North at The K Club
Arnold Palmer's Ryder Cup course along the River Liffey, famous for its island green 16th in the river itself.
Palmerstown House Estate Golf Club
A championship parkland course with back to back island greens, a serious test below K Club prices.
Naas Golf Club
A Top 100 members parkland course with midweek green fees around 35 euro, outstanding value near Dublin.
Craddockstown Golf Club
A welcoming members owned parkland course with six small lakes and visitor fees around 45 to 50 euro.
Grand Canal Greenway
A flat, traffic free canal towpath walk or cycle linking Naas Harbour with Sallins and the main Grand Canal.
Mondello Park
Ireland's only permanent racing circuit, for spectator race days or bookable single seater and supercar drives.
Irish National Stud & Gardens
Ireland's national stud, combining champion racehorses, a racehorse experience and two famous gardens.
Best hotels in Naas
The K Club
A five star golf resort in a 550 acre Liffey estate around Straffan House, with a spa and seven dining spaces.
Killashee Hotel
A Victorian house hotel in gardens south of town, with a loved spa, hydrotherapy pool and a 25 metre pool.
Cliff at Lyons
A boutique luxury hotel in a restored canal side milling village, with a garden spa and acclaimed dining.
Lawlor's of Naas
The refurbished grand hotel of the town centre, with 138 rooms, two restaurants and everything walkable.
Osprey Hotel
A contemporary spa hotel with a 20 metre pool, large rooms and free parking, a short walk from the centre.
The Westgrove Hotel
A family friendly four star in Clane with a leisure club and pool, the smart overflow when Naas sells out.
Naas Court Hotel
A budget town centre hotel above late bars and live music, cheap and central if you are part of the night out.
The Town House Hotel
A small family run hotel near Mondello and the racecourses, with a traditional bar and honest rates.
Is Naas expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €160 a person |
| Splurge | €420 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Naas Racecourse: a few days ahead
- The Curragh Racecourse: weeks ahead
- The Moat Theatre: a few days ahead
- The Kildare Maze: a few days ahead
- Punchestown Racecourse: months ahead
- Palmer North at The K Club: weeks ahead
- Palmerstown House Estate Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Naas Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Punchestown Festival week in late April and early May sells out every hotel room in the region, so book months ahead or avoid the dates.
- Book Killashee spa slots, K Club tee times and weekend tables at Neighbourhood and Vie de Chateaux days to weeks ahead.
- Irish Derby weekend in late June and Irish Champions Weekend in September also lift Naas hotel prices.
Is Naas safe?
- Naas has no area that is unsafe to stay in. Where you base is about convenience, not danger.
- South Main Street is loud, not threatening, on weekend nights. Keep valuables out of sight in race day car parks.
- The Grand Canal Greenway is a daylight pleasure. Some stretches are unlit and can be muddy after rain.
- Emergency number is 112, as across the EU.
Naas travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not build a Naas trip around Kildare Village. Pair it with the National Stud and cap it at two hours.
- At Naas Racecourse, general admission plus the parade ring beats the panoramic restaurant package on recent reviews.
- At Mondello, the shortest supercar tasters draw the complaints. Buy longer single seater or Ultimate formats instead.
- Bouchon is closed Sunday to Tuesday, Las Rada is closed Mondays and Lock 13 is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Getting around Naas: public transport and more
- A car is the default for Punchestown, Mondello, the golf clubs, the Stud, Castletown and Blessington.
- The train station is Sallins and Naas, 3.5 km north, with trains to Dublin Heuston about every 30 minutes in 32 to 35 minutes.
- The 126 bus links Kildare Town, Newbridge, Naas and Dublin about every 30 minutes, but allow around an hour to Dublin.
- For the Punchestown Festival, use the shuttle buses between Naas and the course and the extra Dublin services.
Who Naas suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Naas your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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