Cork - Irelands other city (Cork (city) in General)

Member Name: Krystles

Product:	Cork (city) in General
Date:	16/04/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great attactions and friendly people

Disadvantages: If you were staying longer you would want to explore further than the city

Cork is situated in the southern Ireland province of Munster Ireland's second largest city.. The city has a population of 119,143, so is quite a small city which gives it a lovely quaint feel and also quite friendly. The city's name is derived from an Irish word that means "marshy place". Cork is actually a series of marshy islands that have been built over to make the city. Many of the streets run along waterway paths that have been built over and turned into streets, with the river running beneath. As well as the many waterways Cork is distinguished by a large harbour, the world's second largest after Sydney, Australia. Naturally the harbour is a major seaport and the maritime history of the city is quite evident

How to Get There

You can fly to Cork from Stansted for 1p on Ryanair. Of course once you add the standard taxes and charges a return trip will cost between 40 and 50 pounds, but there are train trips in the UK that will cost you more than that. Cork airport is located about 15-20 minutes from the city centre. There are shuttle passes into the city, many going directly to hotels in the city. Of course you can take a taxi, which will cost around 10 Euros.

Things to Do

Cork is a pretty city, and there is plenty to do just looking around. We took a bus tour around the city which gave a really good overview of the city. The tour is one of those where you buy a day ticket and you can get on and off as often as you want. Highlights include Cork City Gaol, City Library, St. Finbarr's Cathedral, Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, the English Market, Cork Opera House, Custom House, The Courthouse and City Hall. The tour cost about 12 Euros, which is cheaper than getting around in a taxi.

After the tour we were keen to have a look at the old City Goal, and found it very interesting. It was originally a mixed prison and then just for women. It was closed in the early 1920's but today remains as a demonstration of how it used to be. The goal uses lots of wax models and has an audio accompaniment that give you a lot of interesting history and a good idea of what the goal was like.

We also had a look at the butter museum, which was actually more interesting then it sounds, and it is recommended by the Financial Times, or so they claimed. It certainly gave a lot of information showing how butter has been an important export for the area. We actually went in there because Cork weather is just like London weather, and it had changed from just about to rain to actually raining quickly, and we didn't feel like getting wet.

Another highlight was the English Market. It is a covered market that sells fish, fruit, meat and vegetable. The markets origins have been traced as far back as 1610, while the present building dates from 1786. Foods from all over the world as well as traditional Cork foods can be purchased here.

Cork is also located 8 kilometres from Blarney, home of the world famous Blarney Castle where you can kiss the Blarney stone. You can also catch the train to Cobh, a great place if you want to trace a genealogical history of a family member who has emmigrated from Ireland. Of the nearly 6 million people who left Ireland 2.5 million left from Cobh.

Summary: A great place to visit