Cork Travel Guide

Southwest Ireland is considered one of the most visited regions in Ireland, and anyone passing through there can understand why. This is thanks to the extraordinary combination of monuments, quiet roads, lively pubs, and most important: bike-friendly paths I decided to dedicate this post on our trip out to Cork, the "Gateway City." Cork is...

In a country like Ireland, you would expect he most splendid church building to be Catholic. However, the Gothic Revival period – one of the most chraracteristic in British history – coincided with a period of British dominance (not to say opression). That left some late 19th and early 20th century Protestant churches in Ireland. Cork Cathedral...

A lovely day trip to the colorful harbour city of Kinsale is a must do. It is only a 40 minutes bus trip from Cork city (25km). Kinsale is a pleasure for gourmet but not only... a walk around the city will give interesting views on the harbour and the colorful houses. After your walk many traditional pubs will welcome you for a refreshing and...

Yes, Luigi Malone was a real person and there is a large photo of him inside on the family wall. This beautiful restaurant surprises you the second you enter through the mahogany French doors. Right in front of you is the original station clock from Kings Cross Station (London) which was once at the entrance of the Great Eastern Line. One of the...

I spotted this on the reviews and thought I should share the sorry news, The Ginger Bread House is no more. Sometime in 2006 (I think) they closed for renovations - and never re-opened - and well is it missed. It was a ramshackle place with odd chairs and tables. You could sit for house over one pot of tea and write your memoirs. Emo kids sat...

I had my wedding at jacobs on the mall, it was low key, and so romantic. They even had a wedding cake made for us. All through the entire evening the service was spectacular and the food was absolutely amazing, and we only had the early bird menus, can't imagine how the expensive ones are. This restaurant has to be tried!

My stay in Ireland would have been incomplete without a visit to a pub with live traditional Irish music. So imagine my delight when on the last night of my stay Katherine offered to take me to such a session. She drove me to the city centre, having first checked which pub had live music on that day. The pub she chose, whose Irish name means 'a...

Widely considered to be the most authentic pub in Cork, this place is surely worth a visit for a pint or two. The pub opened in 1889 and received a name which could be translated as „That's it“ - a pun, as their neighbours are a funeral home. Before the pub, there was a barbershop in this place and its barbershop heritage can still be seen,...

A small bar which is not that easy to find. Nevertheless, many people still find it every day which can make the place a little too crammed. In case you can't find a place, there is the non-heated outside area. Inside, you will find a cosy atmosphere and a good selection of beers. The groups you find in this place are pretty mixed, though you won't...

Bus Eireann coaches will take you not only around the city but also to many places all over Ireland. The fares are lower than on trains and you can get special tourist rates. You can get the Open Road Pass valid for 6 - 30 days on all Eireann buses across the country, or the Irish Explorer ticket valid on buses as well as trains. And you don't have...

Cork is not as well linked to the rest of Europe as Dublin is. The city does however have useful links to some of Europe's larger airports through which you can connect to the rest of the world. Services include Ryanair routes to London/Stansted and several British and Polish airports. Aer Lingus offers links to some European hubs such as...

As one of the main shipping harbours in Europe, it seems very appropriate to travel to Cork by ferry. They sail through the night to Swansea, Wales, and Roscoff, Brittany, so you can arrive at your destination early for a full day's sightseeing. The Cork - Swansea car ferry leaves six nights-a-week at 9pm from Ringaskiddy, 8 miles south of Cork....

The market has existed on this site since 1610 but the present building dates back to 1786. Refurbished after a fire in 1980, it is a great place for the world gourmets, who will find here anything they can dream of, from exotic foreign foods, spices and luxury items to such Irish specialities as crubeen (pig's foot), tripe and drisheen, already...

Penneys is one of the department stores in St Patrick's Street, the main shopping street of Cork. If you look around, you will see many passers-by carrying their brown paper, and therefore recyclable, carrier bag. The shop is extremely popular with Corkonians and tourists alike, offering real bargains in comparison with the other department stores....

There are 2 huge independent bookshop, bridge street and lavitts quay, massive range of new and used books, if its not there chances are they can order it in. Excellent friendly knowledgable staff, the one on bridge street has really cheap books, starting at €1.99 for brand new books!!!!! The one on lavitts quay has a massive selection of new books...

Beamish is Corks other stout that is still brewed in the city. I enjoyed a pint at Cork Opera House during our VT Taste of Cork meet. (I must confess that Beamish is my least favourite stout when compared with Murphys and Guiness - it's a bit too sweet for my taste, but I still managed to sink it OK!) Some History:- Beamish has been brewed in...

Irish people promote the use of Irish Gaelic, which they call simply Irish, in all areas of life. Dual street names are just one sign of this, but there are also Irish names of pubs, signposts in both English and Irish, and names of people too have their Irish equivalents, or should I say Irish names have their equivalents in English? Irish is...

Obviously language varies from place to place and its natural to expect things to be different from one language to another, and even from one area to another within one language. Of all the places I have ever been though in the English speaking world, the Cork accent is something else.

Alcohol could be expensive especially if you get a fine. I found this warning sign along the Liffey River... so stay safely inside the pub to enjoy the local pints and priceless Irish atmospere! Save your money... Drink with moderation!

July 18 Next we drove through Cork, I had an idea that we could find a B&B right in Cork, boy was I wrong. Driving in the country side with no street signs is one thing, but driving in a city with no street signs and a terrible map is something quite different. So, we drove into Cork and right back out the other side. July 19: At this point we...

Cork Jazz Festival is both a warning and an attraction! Every year during October Cork plays host to the Guinness Jazz Festival. During this time hotels are booked solid, the pubs are crammed with people listening to live Jazz and the all taps serve Guinness. Most of the pub venues are free but wall-to-wall jazz in the Jurys & Metropole hotels and...

Blarney Castle - yes I know I have photos of it in my travelogue but really unless you get excited at the thought of hanging upside down 300 feet up just to kiss a big stone then give it a miss!! This is especially true in Summer when you will probably have to queue for a while before your turn comes - just think of all those people slobbering all...

Blarney Castle - yes I know I have photos of it in my travelogue but really unless you get excited at the thought of hanging upside down 300 feet up just to kiss a big stone then give it a miss!!This is especially true in Summer when you will probably have to queue for a while before your turn comes - just think of all those people slobbering all...

Blarney Castle is 8km from Cork and a popular tourist attraction as according to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the Stone...

Cork is probably one of the wettest places in Ireland so an unbrella is a must. Don't let that put you off though as it's also one of the sunniest - you just need a brolly for the showers!! Pop into Pennys or Dunnes on Patrick Street (the main street) for a cheap one if you're forgetful like me and have long since lost your last brolly :)

Take a free map of Cork at the Tourist Information Office. The map includes the locations of the main sights and it is good for orientation purposes, especially when exploring the city on foot. The Tourist Information Office of Cork is located at the Grande Parade in the heart of the city centre.

Cork is probably one of the wettest places in Ireland so an unbrella is a must. Don't let that put you off though as it's also one of the sunniest - you just need a brolly for the showers!!Pop into Pennys or Dunnes on Patrick Street (the main street) for a cheap one if you're forgetful like me and have long since lost your last brolly :)

Cobh (pronounced cove) - formerly Cove and, subsequently, Queenstown, is a pretty resort and port situated on the largest island in Cork Harbour. Walking along the quayside lined with elegant hotels, good restaurants and interesting shops, the first time visitor might not even suspect the town's tragic past. And yet it was from here that over 2.5...

Go to the southernmost point of Ireland; Mizen Head. To go the whole way, you first have to climb the famous 99 steps down to the bridge which is 45 meter above the sea level. For more information, please have a look at my Mizen Head travelogue to the upper right corner of this page.

West Cork is one of the most scenic parts of Ireland. The main Towns in this area would be Bandon, Kinsale, Skibbereen, Glengariff and Castletownbere. I dont know it really well personally - apart from Kinsale, but hey, I can always visit some other time!

The Cork gaelic football and hurling teams are known as the Rebels. Try to see a match if you can (although you may have to sell your Granny to get tickets for an All-Ireland match and they're always held in Croke Park in Dublin!) - especially hurling which is said to be the fastest field game in the world.

The Cork gaelic football and hurling teams are known as the Rebels. Try to see a match if you can (although you may have to sell your Granny to get tickets for an All-Ireland match and they're always held in Croke Park in Dublin!) - especially hurling which is said to be the fastest field game in the world.

Gaelic Hurling Become an expert in this sporting eventbet you never thought that you had it in youwith a preformed ash timber stick and a small leather ball ,strike the ball with full force of the stick , the rule is not to allow the other side acces to the ball. you may walk run jump ect but you must get the leather ball into or over the goal post...

Cork is not too big a city,its suberbs do stretch out a bit but the city centre is small enough being about 1.5 mile squared. there are some interesting buildings in the city centre but most of the centre was burned down by the then occupying British forces in 1920,this episode is called,"The Burning of Cork", (Google it for more info) Here is a...

I had a real fascination with Castles and especially the Ramparts! I could just vision waiting up in the castle waitin for enemy to attack. Well I thought they were cool anyways! They reminded me the fairytales and stories that I read as a kid.

This setting is much more beautiful than my 20 year-old photo shows!!! I can still remember sitting and staring with awe the beautiful setting! The River Lee with that bridge...I'd love to go back for another look and a fresh photo!