Compact city of culture, partying and quality of life , Kilkenny's not all architecture, art and crafts - it also attracts a year-round "good time" crowd. Michael Parsonsreports

'The dearest thing I know is a memory of sunny Sunday mornings in Kilkenny; the lovely line of castle, roof-top, spire and round tower against the pale blue sky, the sun revelling in the quiet colours of old stone, old walls, old tree; the tip-tap of the feet of people on the flagstones, and above all the flocking floating notes of the church bells. Sunday has a flavour of its own there, a clean, sweet, warming flavour.'

FRANCIS MacManus, the Kilkenny-born writer who died in 1965, and after whom the RTÉ short story competition is named, would find little changed on Sunday mornings in the Marble City of 2007.

He might, though, be taken aback by Saturday nights on John Street, Kilkenny's "Temple Bar", where skimpily-clad "hens" cavort with rustic youths more used to handling giddy heifers, Polish builders rub shoulders with camogie kittens, hurlers' molls eye up the Britney competition, English tourists encounter rebel "folk" music, "stags" develop a taste for Smithwick's, HiCo snooties "down from Dublin" discover that "the country" can be rather animated and business executives, overstaying a conference, finally get to let their hair down.

The nightlife isn't all innocent fun. Local politicians and media have recently been highlighting a growing drugs problem in the city. And the A&E department at St Luke's can rival the clubs for queues on a bad night.

Kilkenny's ability to combine high culture with a very earthy joie de vivre has made it one of the most-visited weekend destinations in the State and an increasingly popular choice for Dubliners seeking a permanent move to a "better quality of life".

The country's 12th largest urban centre revels in the title of "city" accorded by Royal Charter in 1609 - though, strictly speaking, under the dry terms of local government legislation it is today run by a borough, and not a city, council.

Kilkenny is compact and eminently walkable - which is fortunate, as there is no public transport, though it is served by a large fleet of taxis. The historic and architecturally rich city centre is dominated by one of the country's most iconic buildings. Kilkenny Castle, with its rose-garden and sweeping 120-acre park, which overlooks the serpentine River Nore just yards from the busy High Street.

Visitors and locals can indulge in the nation's favourite leisure pursuit - shopping. Meander through a labyrinth of winding streets and lanes and discover a range of often unique local produce from hand-made jewellery to pretty pottery.

There are 300 retail outlets and many more on the way, with two major new shopping centres in the pipeline, and a splendid farmers' market every Thursday morning. Explore the National Craft Gallery or purchase the best of contemporary Irish ware at the Kilkenny Design Centre; take afternoon tea at the stylish-yet-comfortable Ormonde Hotel or an aperitif on the waterside terrace of the Rivercourt; choose between classical concerts at St Canice's Cathedral or drama at the Watergate Theatre.

Pub-goers will find venues to suit all ages and tastes from trendy to traditional and foodies can sample a surprisingly eclectic range of restaurants (including Italian, French and Asian), intimate bistros, bustling café-bars and more conventional dining at hotels and pubs. The city is a popular venue for business conferences, office parties and summer festivals, with large crowds always drawn to both the annual Cat Laughs comedy event and the August Arts Festival.

Sporting enthusiasts can enjoy nights at the dogs, racing at nearby Gowran Park, golf at one of seven 18-hole golf courses in the surrounding county (including Mount Juliet) or take lessons at the local flying club. Classic country pursuits - hunting, shooting and fishing - are easily accessible in the hinterland. And, of course, there's hurling, which you can watch at one of the many local clubs where future Croke Park stars are hatched with nonchalant frequency. The county team, currently All-Ireland champions, and known as "the Cats", are accorded the status which the Spaniards grant to great matadors and attract a fervent following. You'll be hooked.

The city's pastoral setting allows easy access to rolling countryside, scenic river valleys and villages which recall and preserve "the way we were", with traditional shopfronts, stray dogs, ivy-clad Norman castles, old corn mills, hump-backed bridges and macho pubs.

Peter McCreery, whose family has been buying and selling property in Kilkenny for five generations since 1876, is managing director of Sherry Fitzgerald McCreery and believes that "Kilkenny represents extremely good value for purchasers coming from Dublin". Prices in 2006 increased by "between 10 per cent and 14 per cent" but he expects increases this year "to be in single figures" following a "stabilisation in the market place where buyers now have a choice and are seeking value for money". His agency traditionally used to close on Saturdays, but three years ago he decided to open the office due to increased interest from visitors to the city who now account for "over 50 per cent of Saturday enquiries and viewings". The average profile of someone moving to Kilkenny is aged "in the mid-40s with a young family and tends to be self-employed, self-sustaining or in senior management". They are "people who will telework via the internet and perhaps commute to Dublin one or two days a week and have "decided to come to Kilkenny because they have made a lifestyle choice".

Over the past two to three years a number of "executive home" schemes have been developed on the outskirts of Kilkenny, including Rose Hill, Weir View and Seville Lawns, which offer a good selection of four or five-bedroom detached houses "from €500,000 to around €900,000". According to Mr McCreery "these are top of the range with high quality kitchens and bathrooms and are a lovely purchase for someone coming from Dublin who wants a quality spacious house". They also offer buyers an opportunity to "buy into communities with green spaces where children can play with the neighbours' kids in safety".

He's also selling more affordable "good value" houses in College Park (a three-bed semi costs around €330,000) a new development on the western fringe of the city. Half the buyers are "incomers - a mix of people moving to Kilkenny or Kilkenny people coming home from Dublin or overseas".

While Kilkenny offers a good selection of new houses and apartments, the stock of period housing is very limited.

Residential use of Georgian houses on the Parade, Patrick Street and Parliament Street has declined and most have now been converted for commercial use.

McCreery said the remaining private Georgian townhouses are owned by old established Kilkenny families "who never leave, but if one does come up for sale it would most likely go to a commercial buyer".

He cited among Kilkenny's attractions: "Heritage, culture and excellent education". For people who choose to live a few miles outside of the city he recommends "sought-after villages such as Kells, Bennettsbridge and Thomastown" and believes that when the new motorway opens there "will be an explosion of value in villages like Gowran and Stoneyford - as they are conveniently located for access".

According to Michael Boyd, of Boyd Real Estate Alliance, Kilkenny's best address is Castle Gardens, an enclave of mostly detached 1950s houses located opposite Kilkenny Castle, where last year's average price was €1.9 million. On the city fringes, he'd recommend Talbot's Inch and the Ballyfoyle Road where "family homes" in a new development called Glendine Woods start at € 710,000. There are, of course, more affordable options. Mr Boyd said a "starter-home" two-bed apartment can still be had from about €195,000 and "a good three-bed semi for about €325,000".

Mr Boyd has found significant interest among buyers from "the greater Dublin area" attracted to Kilkenny's "quality of life, good nightlife, fabulous restaurants and excellent educational facilities". Demand is mostly from people "in their early twenties to mid-forties who plan to telework from home using the internet or start their own small business". He said the city "is a hub for small entrepreneurs who employ three or four people" and believes that "it is easy to integrate" as Kilkenny is "not clannish".

Clodagh Daly, who worked with Sherry FitzGerald in Dublin before returning to her native city and establishing an estate agency, says, "The average price for a typical three-bed semi in Kilkenny rose from about €274,000 in 2005 to about €300,000," last year. Over the last 12 months, about 43 per cent of her sales were to first-time buying couples and about 18 per cent to first-time buying singles. Another 18 per cent was to investors and the rest to government bodies for social and affordable housing.

Daly surveyed buyers at Ayrfield - an estate of mostly detached houses opposite Loreto School, where prices range from about €360,000 to €950,000 - and found that over 33 per cent were couples moving back to Kilkenny from abroad, Dublin or Kildare, and a further 20 per cent were people new to the area, with no connection to Kilkenny, mostly from Dublin.

One reason they gave for choosing Kilkenny is that "the schools are far better than Dublin".