Start from 57 curated places around Cork, IE, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Ichigo Ichie
Chef Takashi Miyazaki's tiny Sheares Street counter is Cork's Michelin star, where a single nightly kaiseki menu plays Japanese technique against Irish produce. It's the city's destination splurge, served at a horseshoe bar in front of an open kitchen.
Paradiso
Denis Cotter's Lancaster Quay institution has been Ireland's flagship vegetarian restaurant since 1993, turning West Cork market produce into ambitious plates that win over committed carnivores. It's the most distinctive dinner in the city.
Trails & outdoors
The Lough Loop
A flat one-kilometre loop around a small freshwater lake just south-west of the city centre, home to swans and a designated wildlife refuge. The classic short Cork stroll, doable in twenty minutes.
The Marina and Atlantic Pond Walk
A flat riverside walk along a tree-lined Georgian promenade beside the Lee, looping past the Atlantic Pond wildfowl reserve. It's the locals' lunchtime stroll and joggers' favourite.
Things to do
Cork Opera House
Cork's flagship theatre on Emmet Place beside the river, hosting opera, drama, comedy, dance and concerts in a sleek 1960s auditorium. The city's biggest-stage cultural night out.
The Everyman
A beautifully restored 650-seat Victorian theatre on MacCurtain Street with a horseshoe of red-velvet balconies. Programming spans plays, comedy, music and trad sessions; the room itself is part of the show.
Landmarks & sights
English Market
Cork's covered Victorian food hall, trading since 1788, with butchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers and stalls selling everything from drisheen to olive oil under wrought-iron arches. It's the city's beating heart and the single most essential stop.
St Fin Barre's Cathedral
William Burges's exuberant Gothic Revival cathedral on the city's south side, with three soaring spires, twelve hundred carvings and a riot of stained glass. It's the most striking building in Cork and worth half an hour inside.