Where to base yourself
- Cork city centre (St Patrick’s Street, South Mall, Oliver Plunkett Street): best for transport, pubs and restaurants.
- MacCurtain Street and the Victorian Quarter: across the river near the station, with theatres, good restaurants and old-fashioned hotels.
- Western Road: guesthouses near the university, 15 minutes’ walk from the centre.
- Kinsale: small hotels and B&Bs around the harbour — romantic, and dearer in summer.
- Cobh: a quiet alternative with harbour views and a quick train into the city.
Food and drink
County Cork is the larder of Ireland: farmhouse cheeses such as Gubbeen, Durrus and Milleens, Clonakilty black pudding, smoked fish from the coast and butter that was once exported around the world (there is a Butter Museum in Shandon). Eat at the English Market, try a pint of Murphy’s or Beamish instead of Guinness, and book a seafood dinner in Kinsale. The city’s pubs — the Mutton Lane Inn, Sin É for traditional music, the Franciscan Well brewery — are among the most characterful in the country.
Saving money
- The Crawford Art Gallery (check for reopening after renovation), the Glucksman at University College Cork and the English Market are free.
- Use the train to Cobh and buses to Blarney and Kinsale rather than tours if you are happy to visit one place at a time.
- The Heritage Card covers Charles Fort in Kinsale.
- Book Blarney Castle tickets online.
Practicalities
Cork is a safe, friendly city; the usual late-night common sense applies around the central bars. The Lee occasionally floods the low-lying centre in winter storms. Shops close on Sunday mornings and the English Market all day Sunday. Corkonians talk fast and tease freely — it is a compliment.
Sample plans
One day
English Market for breakfast, St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, a walk through the university grounds; afternoon train to Cobh for the Heritage Centre and cathedral; back for dinner and music on MacCurtain Street.
Two days
Add Blarney Castle in the morning and Kinsale in the afternoon, walking out to Charles Fort before a seafood dinner.
Three days
Head into West Cork: Clonakilty, the stone circle at Drombeg and the beaches near Rosscarbery — or take the train to Midleton for the distillery and Ballymaloe’s gardens.
