One day in Cork

Cork is the second largest city in Ireland. It is located in the south of Ireland, on the River Lee that separates into two canals and forms an island in the center of the city.

After hearing and seeing only good things about Cork (on facebook), we decided to venture for a few hours to explore it and see if it will meet our expectations. We traveled by train somewhere between 2 1/2 to 3 hours, with a change in Portlaoise.

To see

We like to explore more on foot the places that we are visiting, after doing a bit of research before, of course, so that we know how to divide our time. But we are not big fans of museums, unless they are specially recommended to us.

Therefore, the first place we stopped was the Shandon Bells & Tower St Anne’s Church, where we visited the clock tower. It was a pleasant surprise that inside the tower we were able to pull the cords to make the bells ring in the whole area (we do not know how the locals resist in the area) following the notes in a book that was available to tourists, and most importantly, the view from the top of the tower, from where we could admire the city.

In the center of the city is a small covered market “The English Market”. This is the oldest (since 1788) municipal market of its kind in the world, where besides admiring and purchasing of different fresh ingredients, you can enjoy their taste upstairs. It can be noticed immediately that the locals who work there are very proud of the quality of the products.

Wandering the streets we found a small tourist route in the south part of the city centre and we decided to follow. Thanks to it, we have discovered and admired the exterior of Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, and the Elizabeth Fort that can be visited for free and offers a beautiful view of the city.

Although we did not have the perfect weather, the rain could not stop us from exploring, and at the end of the day we were rewarded with a superb rainbow and a perfect sunset to end the day.

To eat

Although traditional Cork food consists of pork legs, beef belly and blood pudding, we have chosen to skip these delicacies.

Cork is the city where the first potatoes in Ireland were planted, so we chose something classic Irish, fish & chips. The small and cozy restaurant The Fish Wife is the place where we have calmed down our hunger, and the fish & chips were about 9 euros.

Large portions and very fresh and tasty fish make us recommend you to visit this restaurant if you find your way to Cork.

It left a good impression Ireland and we would like to return for a road trip through Northern Ireland.