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House of Waterford Crystal Tours
3 Tours & Activities

Tickets & Passes
6 Tours & Activities

Ireland Top Tours & Activities
45 Tours & Activities
1 hour (Approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
Keeping you safe during COVID-19
What you can expect during your visit
Face masks required for travelers in public areas
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitized between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Regular temperature checks for staff
More questions?
(888) 651-9785
Overview
Go behind the scenes and gain a better understanding of the time and work that goes into crystal making on this tour of the House of Waterford Crystal factory. Your guide explains the step-by-step process of crystal making, as you wander the rooms where different techniques are used along the way. Meet a few of the high-end crystal makers, and visit the retail store where you can explore one of the world’s largest displays of Waterford Crystals.
- Tour of the House of Waterford Crystal factory in Waterford
- Meet craftsmen, and learn about historical and contemporary production techniques
- Visit the mold room, and see blowers shape molten crystal with wooden molds and hand tools
- Watch as glowing balls of crystal are put through the 1300-degree furnace
- Browse the retail store, one of the world’s largest displays of Waterford Crystals
- Choose a departure time throughout the day during operating hours
- Tour is wheelchair accessible
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For your tour, make your way to the House of Waterford Crystal in Waterford. Tour hours fluctuate depending on what month of the year it is, so make sure to be aware of the operating hours for the day you want to do your tour.
Once you get to the House of Waterford Crystal and are ready to go on your tour, go behind the scenes at the factory. Waterford Crystal is one of the very few companies who still practice the ancient craft of mold making, and as you go through the factory, you’ll see little has changed over the centuries.
First up, go into the mold room, and witness blowers shape molten crystal with wooden molds and hand tools. Then, head into the blowing department where you can watch as glowing balls of crystal are put through a 1300-degree furnace. After their time in the furnace, each piece is cut, and sculpted, and engraved to perfection.
After the tour, enjoy some time exploring the retail store. From dining tables to golf trophies, this store houses one of the world’s largest collections of Waterford Crystals. If you need a break at any time during the day, there’s also a café you can pop into for a bite to eat or a beverage (own expense).
Once you get to the House of Waterford Crystal and are ready to go on your tour, go behind the scenes at the factory. Waterford Crystal is one of the very few companies who still practice the ancient craft of mold making, and as you go through the factory, you’ll see little has changed over the centuries.
First up, go into the mold room, and witness blowers shape molten crystal with wooden molds and hand tools. Then, head into the blowing department where you can watch as glowing balls of crystal are put through a 1300-degree furnace. After their time in the furnace, each piece is cut, and sculpted, and engraved to perfection.
After the tour, enjoy some time exploring the retail store. From dining tables to golf trophies, this store houses one of the world’s largest collections of Waterford Crystals. If you need a break at any time during the day, there’s also a café you can pop into for a bite to eat or a beverage (own expense).
Itinerary
At the House of Waterford Crystal, there is a manufacturing plant, and brand experience in Waterford, where we produce crystal and give visitors an opportunity to visit the factory and see how we make our beautiful products.
On the tour, guests visit the mould room where they witness mould making – a technique that has remained unchanged throughout the centuries, as the Master Blowers shape the molten crystal flawlessly with the use of wooden moulds and hand tools. The next part of the tour is truly magical, as visitors enter the blowing department where they see glowing balls of crystal transformed into majestic shapes as they are put through the 1300-degree furnace. The Waterford Crystal pieces are then hand marked for precision and accuracy, and they are then cut, sculpted and engraved.
While getting this behind the scenes sneak peak of this highly skilled method of crystal manufacturing, visitors also see the high standards that the House of Waterford Crystal has for each and every piece that leaves the factory.
The crystal is inspected at each stage of production, so each piece no matter how small goes through six inspections, and if it fails to reach the Waterford Crystal standards at any stage it is smashed and returned to the furnace to be re-melted so that the piece can be started again. The tour is fully guided and takes approx 50 minutes to complete.
On completion of the tour, visitors can experience over 12,000 sq ft of crystal heaven in the largest retail and showcase of Waterford Crystal in the world. The retail store represents everything that is made in crystal, including a showcase on golf and sport, which is a major part of the international business at the House of Waterford Crystal.
The main feature in the retail store is a centre dining table, with twelve Waterford Crystal Chandeliers on display. The lifestyle displays communicate the various brand stories including the Jo Sampson Collection, John Rocha, Jeff Letham and the core Waterford Crystal patterns.
The product range includes Waterford Crystal, House of Waterford Crystal, John Rocha, Jasper Conran, Jo Sampson, Archive Stemware, Marquis, Lighting, Holiday Heirlooms and the new Waterford Crystal Jewellery Collection.
Waterford Crystal continues to provide some of the most prestigious trophies to the world’s great sporting events made at the facility, and some of these trophies are on display in the retail store.
The Crystal café is open seven days a week, a daytime cafe, the Crystal Café is all about great food using nothing but the best locally sourced seasonal produce supporting as many Irish suppliers as possible along the way.
The menu offers café-style dining, incorporating scrumptious salads, soups, wraps, ciabatta’s and other healthy options, with fresh baking daily.
Duration: 1 hour
Admission Ticket Included
Traveler Photos
Traveler Tips
- "The one distraction is the noise level with such a large group made hearing difficult." See review
Reviews
Questions?
Product code: 29887P1
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