The Historic English Market has been trading since 1610. Here you will find an award winning selection of fish, local breads, and the largest gathering of meat and vegetable stalls in the country. Foods peculiar to Cork may be found here. Drisheen is a mixure of dried sheep’s blood and herbs made up like puddings in skins. Crubeen are pigs feet boiled ‘with the hoof on’, trotters are sheep’s feet boiled in water. All of which add to a unique cultural, shopping and gastronomic experience which is not to be missed. The excellent Farmgate Café on the first floor, serves superb value meals that often use ingredients sourced from the stalls below. The menu includes Cork delicacies such as tripe and onions with drisheen, Irish lamb stew and seafood chowder.

This picturesque park was opened in 1985 as part of the city's 800th birthday celebrations. It is named after Bishop Lucey, a much loved Bishop of Cork. The entrance archway dates from 1850 and was reconstructed from the Cork Cornmarket. The park includes a beautiful sculptured fountain of eight bronze swans representing the 800 years of the city as a chartered Norman town and remains of the early city walls can clearly be seen.

Visit the Beamish and Crawford Brewing company which was founded in 1792 and has maintained close links to Cork City and its inhabitants. Visit the hospitality suite, watch a dvd presentation on the history of the brewery and a sampling of the product. The home of the brewery at South Main Street lies in the heart of the old medieval city. Originally one of the old city gates stood nearby as did the Cork jail. A stone from the jail upon which the severed heads of the executed used to be displayed now stands outside the counting house door at the brewery. The huge lock on the door also came from the jail.

Originally ships deposited coal supplies for the city here. Now a market resides here. It gets into full swing on Saturday though some vendors trade all week and its at its busiest in the morning. It’s an outdoor market so if it rains you can find shelter and food in the nearby famous Bodega Bar.

South Mall is a thriving mercantile centre hosting solicitors, accountants and stockbrokers. Many offices have steps leading up to first and second floor offices with arches undernearth them. These date back to the time when the South Mall was a part of the river Lee, the arches were used for tying up boats and the steps lead up to the houses where merchants once lived.

Built in the 16th century on the site of a monastic settlement, Elizabeth Fort was destroyed in 1603 by citizens of Cork in an act of defiance against King James I. What remains today is the outer wall of the fort, ordered to be rebuilt by Lord Mountjoy. Since 1690 it has been used as a prison and a barracks, and is now a police station. It was used by the Black and Tans in 1920 and later by Republicans during the civil war who burned it down. The exceptional view afforded from this site accounts for its strategic importance, and for this alone it is worth visiting. After a visit you can imbibe at the Gateway Bar, which once counted the Dukes of Wellington and Marlborough among its patrons.

One of the premier public buildings in Cork. The site is the oldest occupied area in an Irish city. On this site St Fin Barre the founder and patron saint of Cork city started his monastic school in 650 AD and the cathedral was designed by William Burgess and built in 1870. This early French Gothic structure features highly ornamented and beautiful mosaic work and rich carvings. William Burgess was obsessed with all things medieval and there are soffits, gargoyles, birds and beasts, the rose window and a multitude of ornate carvings. The South transept houses a cannon ball fired during the siege of 1690. Hanging from the ceiling in this transept is the Roll of Honour of prisoners killed during the Great War 1914 – 1918. The doorway in the boundary wall on Dean Street dates from 1600.

University College Cork has just celebrated its 150 anniversary. The buildings are styled after the Tudor Gothic period and visitors can walk the corridors in the path of famous people such as George Boole whose Boolean Logic has become the basis of modern day computer science. The stone corridor in the scenic Quadrangle buildings houses a good collection of ancient Ogham stones. The Honan chapel possesses stained glass by Harry Clarke and a mosaic floor featuring the twelve signs of the zodiac; an unusual feature for a Catholic church. The award winning Glucksman Gallery is housed in the UCC grounds.

Half way up Shandon Street on the North Side of the river is the Church of St Anne Shandon. You can climb the 120ft steeple and ring the Shandon Bells on the way up. Great fun for kids. The four faces of the clock all show slightly different times and as a result Shandon tower is known locally as the four-faced liar. The Cards mark out tunes on numbered bell ropes. The view at the top is panoramic. Open for services only on Sunday 9am and 10.00am.

Close by the church steeple at Shandon is the site of the old Cork Butter Exchange. In 1700 the Cork Butter Exchange became the largest butter market in the world, selling up to 1.2 million sterling worth of butter in its heyday in the mid nineteenth century. The building now houses the Shandon Craft Centre and the Cork Butter Museum.

Located at the top of Shandon Street is the North Cathedral is an excellent source for visitors wishing to trace their family history. Records of baptisms and marriages have been kept here from 1748. When the Cathedral was opened in 1808, Nano Nagle was then teaching and feeding the poor in the streets of Cork; the Christian Brothers were opening their first schools in Cork, and Daniel O'Connell was arguing the case for Catholic Emancipation in the British Parliament. The Penal Laws were fading fast and Catholic Cork was confident and strident in religious matters as well as other spheres of life. The Cathedral was opened in 1808 as the parish church of the single parish then on the northside of the city - hence its local name: the North Chapel. Record searches only by appointment and visitors are not given direct access to records, call 021 421 0717. Services 10am weekdays, 11am and 6pm Saturday, 10.30am and 12.00 Sunday.

Fitzgerald Park is a beautifully situated City Park with spectacular views of the River Lee. The Fitzgerald Park was the site of the Cork International Exhibition of 1902/03. The park was opened in 1720 and is accessed via the Mardyke. Adjacent to the park is the Sunday's Well Boating and Tennis Club, the Cork Cricket Club, and the University College Cork Athletic Grounds. It has children’s playgrounds and hosts the Cork Public Museum.

Here you can trace the story of Cork and discover the original treasures of Cork’s past. The museum hosts a collection of letters of Cork’s most famous son: Michael Collins.

Rory Gallagher is widely recognised as one of Ireland’s greatest musicians from his time with Taste, the band he formed in Cork in the 1960s to his untimely death in 1995. Take a tour round Cork City and its surrounds to follow the life of this famous Corkonian. The music library at the City Library on Grand Parade has been renamed and dedicated to him. For an illustrated walking tour information leaflet please visit the Rory Gallagher Music Library at Cork Central Library, Grand Parade.

The Cork City Gaol is an eerily beautiful 19th century prison which in its 100 year history has seen executions, rough justice and the imprisonment of Irish Republican Prisoners. Audio tours are provided in 8 languages. The Gaol also hosts the Radio Museum and a restored 6CK Radio Studio. Follow the footsteps of an amazingly life-like Governor, Warder and Prisoners through furnished cells with fascinating sound effects allowing you to experience daily life for prisoners and gaolers. It can be reached using the city sightseeing bus, by taxi or by the No. 11 bus from Merchants Quay or a 25 minute walk.

The Lifetime Lab is located at the old Cork City Waterworks which supplied water to Cork City for the last 300 years. The Lab is a unique attraction for visitors of all ages with its modern interactive exhibition, themed playground, beautifully restored buildings and equipment and scenic views over the River Lee. Enjoy the Steam Centre, Playground, Coffee Dock, picnic and sitting area, Sensory Garden and scenic views. No. 8 Bus to County Hall from Patrick Street

Located near the village of Blackrock to the south-east of the city, Blackrock Castle is one of Cork’s best known and historic landmarks. Historically its location where the River Lee flows into Lough Mahon provided a perfect defensive position for the medieval city. In 1600 a round tower was constructed by the Elizabethan government at the request of the citizens of Cork to protect them from marauding pirates and other invaders. It is currently undergoing an extensive refurbishment programme under the supervision of Murray Ó Laoire Architects and it is planned to reopen the castle as an astronomy centre with a restaurant and bar facilities. The castle’s state of the art observatory will be operated by Cork Institute of Technology and will be linked to others around the world. Expected opening: April 2007