The English Market has been around since 1788 and is known as the place to pick up traditional specialities like drisheen and pigs’ trotters, although the 55 or so stalls also stock bread, fish, cheese and fruit and veg. Today it is hailed as the "best covered market in the UK and Ireland" by chef Rick Stein, the English Market is thriving. Drop into the Farmgate Café for delicious dishes made from the market’s wares.

There's nothing quite like a stroll through The University College Cork, along the leafy banks of the River Lee. The trees adorning this verdant campus lend it a stately air; in the President's Garden, there even stands one that was brought back from the trenches of the First World War as a sapling that had sprouted in the pocket of a fallen soldier.

Indoors, the award-winning Lewis Glucksman Gallery hosts regular exhibitions and continues the university's proud tradition of nurturing the visual arts. In fact, the entire campus is dotted with numerous works of sculpture, photography, print and paint.

Although the cathedral that stands today is a French Neo-Gothic masterpiece, this site has been used for Christian worship since Cork's patron saint Fin Barre established a monastery here the 7th century. After numerous changes, renovations and re-builds, the current cathedral was completed in the 19th century, for the princely sum of more than £100,000 – obliterating the paltry original budget of £15,000.

When you see the beautiful stained glass, ornate organ and preserved 12th century carved stone heads, you'll appreciate why. 

Built almost 400 years ago, this bruiser regularly caught the eye of attacking forces, right up until the Irish Civil War of the 1920s. In fact, after the original structure took shape in 1601, locals were so worried by the potential for invasion that they destroyed it.  When order was restored, the people of Cork were made to rebuild it again at their own expense. The fort was replaced in 1624 and Oliver Cromwell is said to have added improvements while besieging the city, resulting in roughly what we see today. Take a stroll along the ramparts – many claim this offers the best view over Cork city