24 HOURS IN CORK CITY, IRELAND

I really liked Cork, I liked it more than Dublin… don’t get mad. Of course, I will be the first to admit that I didn’t spend enough time in either city to make much of an assessment. Cork just felt more accessible to me, like a small town with all of the best parts of a big city. Just like Dublin, Cork is now on my list for a return visit, I didn’t even get to kiss the Blarney Stone.

STAY
we stayed at The River Lee Hotel, which is of course on the River Lee. This a thoroughly modern hotel with huge glass observations areas that look over the river and town. The rooms were nice and much more modern than I was expecting and the breakfast buffet was delicious with both a full Irish on offer as well as lots of healthy options.

COFFEE
There gets to be a point when all I want is a decent drip black coffee, not always an easy thing to procure in Europe. I managed to find Filter Espresso and Brew Bar, who served me a pretty good cup of coffee while I proceeded to look like a weirdo who jogs in the rain and asks for a to-go cup. Cork seems to have quite the coffee culture if you're into that.

DRINK
​I’m still bummed that we didn’t have time to catch some traditional music at a pub while we were in Ireland. We did manage to hit An Bodhran Bar while we were in Cork, with a local to boot! The first thing you need to know about drinking in Cork is Beamish, the second is Murphy’s, the third is never order a Guinness. 

SHOP
Oliver Plunkett street, or 'Olly P’s' as its referred to by the locals, is an amazing pedestrian street full of shops, pubs and buskers. Olly P's has been around for about 300 years, and was named best pedestrian street in Ireland and the UK in 2015. Don’t forget to check out the English Market, Irelands most famous covered market, which is just a short walk away,

SEE
Cork is a very walkable city and they have taken advantage of this by creating self directed walking tours that criss-cross the city. I spent a couple of hours working my way from Oliver Plunkett street past city hall down to the River Lee over to the University of Cork, seeing the remains of the city’s original Roman fortification as I went.

There is so much more to do in Cork City and the surrounding countryside than I managed in my short time there. I can’t wait to go back