Best Things to Do in Cork, Ireland
Top Visitor Attractions in the Main City in the Irish SouthWest
Cork is Ireland's second city and main visitor center in the Irish SouthWest. The best things to do and see include the English Market, Cork City Goal, and Art Gallery.
Cork is Ireland's second city and main visitor center in the Irish SouthWest. With its own airport and cheap flights available from the UK, it's a hugely popular travel destination, one of the loveliest cities in Ireland. Some of the best things to do in Cork include:
One of Cork's finest products has been made here since the 17th century, but guided turs are at set times on Tuesdays and Thursdays in summer and Thursdays only in winter. Check current information on the website.
Cork's former butter market is now home to the Firkin Crane Theatre, and the fascinating story of the local butter trade is told nearby in this museum. It is a surprisingly engrossing tale of history and commerce, leading from the bogs of Ireland to the West Indies.
Life in Cork Gaol in the 19th and 20th centuries is recreated using sound effects and lifesize models in the cells, giving a vivid account of what life – and death - was like there. Also here, in what was the Governor's House, is the Radio Museum Experience. This tells the history of radio in Cork, and includes items from Cork's 1923 recording studio as well as a "juke box" of old radio recordings.
A handsome Georgian mansion in Fitzgerald Park contains the city museum, telling Cork's past from the Neolithic era to Roy Keane. Ireland's and Cork's tumultuous political history is also covered in some depth.
Crawford Municipal Art Art Gallery
This is one of Ireland's best art galleries outside Dublin, housed partly in Cork's 1724 Old Custom House. It hosts visiting exhibitions and its permanent collection has strong Irish and British works, and local Cork artists too. There is also a good stained glass and sculpture section.
English Market
Cork's arcaded Covered Market is one of its finest features, with about 140 stalls selling the finest food not just from local producers but from all over Europe.
Read more about Cork's English Market.
St Anne's Church
The tower of St Anne's church is one of the most distinctive sights in Cork. It dates from 1722, and the 120-foot climb to the top is not to be missed. While up there visitors can try ringing the bells. The tower is topped with a golden weather vane in the shape of a salmon, and has clock faces on all four sides.
St Finbarre is said to have been the founder of Cork, and put a monastery here in about 650AD. The present cathedral dates from 1879.
Many of the buildings date from the mid-19th century as the college was founded in 1845, and there's also an art gallery, the Lewis Gluckman Gallery, which displays work from the university's collection.
