Powerscourt named as third best garden in the world

National Geographic Magazine listed the formal gardens in Enniskerry, Wicklow as the third best gardens in the world.

versailles

Only the Château de Versailles in France and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in England were listed above the Irish gardens.

And to mark the accolade, President Michael D Higgins will plant a tree at the gardens this Saturday with wife Sabina.

The recognition follows a string of other recent awards including: the Top 10 Houses in the World (Powerscourt House, Lonely Planet) and the Best Parkland Venue in Ireland 2014 Award.

There has been a notable increase in the numbers signing up to become annual members of Powerscourt, according to Aoife O'Driscoll of the Powerscourt Estate.

"We now have over half a million people visiting Powerscourt Estate each year, with over 209,000 visitors to the gardens in 2013," she said.

"Our visitor numbers this year are showing solid growth on last year and we expect to finish the year with strong results."

Just last week National Geographic profiled Dublin as a foodie heaven.

restaurant

Photographer Catherine Karnow travelled to the capital with a food journalist and sampled the menus at some of our top restaurants and said the quality and creativity "were on par with what you'll find in some of the most sophisticated cities in the world". Chapter One, Etto, Coppinger Row, Trocadero and L Mulligan Grocer all got an honorable mention.

hnews@herald.ie