Cork has a thriving cultural scene that was acknowledged internationally when it was named the European Capital of Culture for 2005. Several festivals are held annually in the city giving the visitor an opportunity to experience a wide range of music, theatre and film.

• Midsummer Festival. A month long festival featuring theatre, music, art, poetry and much more, throughout the city.

Mid June - Mid July. (See http://www.corkfestival.com)

• Film Festival. Established more than 50 years ago, the festival features an impressive selection of Irish and international films. Beginning of October. (See http://www.corkfilmfest.org)
• Jazz Festival. One of the largest jazz festivals in Europe that consistently attracts top acts from around the world. Last weekend in October. (See http://www.corkjazzfestival.com)

• Cork Vision Centre. This is in an former church in North Main Street. It has a large scale model of the city which should help your understanding. Free admission.
• Elizabeth Fort. Offers a good view over the city. However it is not easily seen from the city. From Southgate Bridge, go up Barrack Street and turn right. There is a police station within the fort.
• St Finbarr's Cathedral. This is just a few minutes away from the Elizabeth fort and much easier to find. A fine 19th century Gothic building. Visible from the back is a golden angel high upon a tower.
• Shandon Church. The tower and bells are symbols of the city, and overlook it from the north. Visitors are allowed to ring the bells. This church is situated in a conservation area.
• Lewis Gluckman Gallery, [6]. This piece of modern architecture is situated within the grounds of University College Cork. Within is state of the art technology to protect and display major exhibitions of international art, along with facilities for workshops, film screenings, lectures and art classes. A café is situated on the ground floor.
• Cork City Gaol. Slightly outside the city centre, this attraction is very much worth the visit. It can be reached by using the city sightseeing bus, by taxi or by a 30 minute walk. There is a small admission fee, but is worth every penny. The Gaol also provides fine views of the west of the city, including the University.
• Cork Historic Walking Tours.[7]offer the visitor the opportunity to understand the City's history, from its foundation by St. Finbarre right up to the 20th Century. The tour brings the visitor to the site of the ancient monastery of Cork, through the areas of Viking settlement, the mediaeval streets of the Norman walled city and along the waterways of the expanding 18th and 19th century city. The tour explains the history of the city in an informative and relaxed way.
• University College Cork. Take a stroll through the College which is open to the public and take in the variety of architecture here, From the newly constructed extension of the Boole Library to the newly repointed limestone Honan Chapel which is popular for graduate weddings

By boat

Cork is situated on the second largest natural harbour in the world (Sydney harbour being the largest). Cork Harbour offers both roll on / roll off and lift on / lift off services. In terms of car ferries, Cork Harbour is connected with Roscoff and Swansea. There is a weekly ferry service to Roscoff which is offered by Brittany Ferries. The Cork-Swansea ferry service was suspended in 2007 for lack of a suitable vessel, but it is hoped the service will be reinstated in 2008.

By air

Cork International Airport (IATA: ORK) is the 3rd largest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Shannon Airport, and fourth on the island of Ireland. The airport is located 8km away from Cork City on the Kinsale Road and as such has excellent links to the city of Cork. The destinations available from Cork Airport are mainly European with a focus on internal flights and flights to the UK.

The airport is also served by taxi.There is a taxi rank located outside the arrivals entrance. Taxis to the city centre cost around €20 and can carry 4 to 8 passengers. Fares for longer journeys are reasonably priced and negotiable.

Among the main scheduled passenger operators out of Cork Airport are Aer Arran, Aer Lingus, Air Southwest, BMI Baby, Centralwings, Jet2.com, Malév, Ryanair, SkyEurope and WizzAir. There are a large number of operators offering chartered flights to some of the most popular holiday destinations around Europe:

Lorient, Malaga, Manchester, Munich, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice, Paris, Plymouth, Prague, Rome, Southampton, Warsaw.

See this page on the Cork Airport official website for the current list of direct destinations: Direct destinations from Cork Airport [2]

By train

Cork City boasts an excellent train service that provides easy and direct access to all the cities many of the larger towns in Ireland through Kent Station. The train service in Ireland is operated by Irish Rail who provide rail services from Cork to Tralee, and Dublin. All other major cities are accessible through connecting trains.

Trains in Ireland can be expensive by comparison by other modes of transport. A single adult ticket from Dublin to Cork costs €31. By booking online, you can reserve particular seats including first class seats. The Irish rail network is undergoing a significant upgrading in terms of both infrastructure and rolling stock.

Three lines operate from Kent Station in Cork City:

1. Suburban train to Cobh; serving: Little Island, Glounthane, Fota, Carrigaloe, Rushbrooke, Cobh.

2. National route to Tralee; serving: Mallow, Banteer, Millstreet, Rathmore, Killarney, Farranfore, Tralee.

3. National route to Dublin; serving: Mallow, Charleville, Limerick Junction, Thurles, Templemore, Ballybrophy, Portlaoise, Portarlington, Kildare, Dublin Heuston.

By bus

The main nationwide bus carrier in Ireland is Bus Eireann who offer an express bus from Dublin to Cork every two hours. Similar express direct bus services exist between Cork and Waterford (hourly) and Cork with Limerick and Galway (hourly).

By car

The road network in Ireland has over recent years been the subject of unprecedented investment. The M7 and N8 which joins Cork to Dublin is now a high quality road. Today a drive from Dublin to Cork will take roughly 3hours 30minutes depending on traffic. By 2010 large sections of the M8 will be expanded to motorway standard. Similarly other road networks from Cork have been improved, including the N20 which joins Cork with Limerick through Mallow.

Car rental

Car rental services in Cork mainly operate out of Cork Airport. The close proximity of Cork Airport to Cork City means that this is not as inconvenient as it might appear, particularly when the excellent bus and taxi services are included. Below are the car rental companies listed on the Cork Airport Website as having locations at Cork Airport:

• Atlas Car Hire - Not listed on Cork Airport website, but shares a location with Thrifty Car Rental
• Avis
• Budget Car Rental
• Hertz
• Irish Car Rentals
• Alamo / National
• Dan Dooley Car Rentals
• Dollar Car hire Cork - Operates as part of Thrifty in Ireland
• Enterprise Rent-a-Car
• Europecar
• Malone Car Rental Cork - Operates under the Thrifty umbrella
• Thrifty Car Rental Cork

Walk. Cork has a small city centre. A visitor will most likely be staying, eating, drinking and touring in the city centre. Taxis are plentiful (except for late Friday and Saturday nights, when demand exceeds supply). There is a bus service to the residential suburbs. Most buses leave from the main street, Patrick's Street or the nearby bus station at Parnell Place.

A guided bus tour departs from near the junction of Grand Parade and South Mall at regular intervals and provides an interesting tour of the main highlights of Cork for those who do not have a lot of time on their hands.

TAXI: There are numerous Taxi ranks located throughout cork city, fares are calculated on a meter and all taxis are the same price. Fares are also negotiable for longer out of town trips. Most drivers also offer fixed priced guided tours.(See http://www.taxiregulator.ie)

• Captain Americas Cookhouse and Bar, 4-5 South Main Street. A very popular restaurant with young,friendly and fun staff.Take a walk around the restaurant and look at the collection of music and celeb memobrilia. edit

• Bana Thai Maylor Street (Behind BT's). Excellent Thai food, great lunch menu, really relaxed atmosphere, hot waitresses a bonus.

• Liberty Grill Washington Street. this american-style cafe offers excellent food, especially their burgers.

• Nash 19 19 Princes Street, off Oliver Plunkett Street.

• English Market. This is an old covered market in the centre of the city with an abundance of excellent food to suit all tastes and a pleasant cafe, often with live piano music. It also includes an excellent cafe: "The Farmgate".

• The Bodega, Coal Quay. This is actually a cafe/bar set in a very large old industrial space. Very beautifully refurbished. As a place for a drink in the evening it has become less appealing over the years. However they do a very nice brunch menu on a Saturdays and Sundays. Priced from 8-12 euros. Also very nice lunch menu. The best eggs Benedict I have had outside New York City. The crowd is a very diverse mix of young people, professionals and families. Unfortunately, now closed and soon to be a TK Maxx.

• Café Paradiso, 16 Lancaster Quay, Tel 00353 21 4277939. Fantastic vegetarian restaurant, one that even the most hardened meat eaters flock to. At the upper end of the budget but worth it for the gourmet vegetarian delights. The Bridgestone Vegetarian Guide says "…I now firmly believe that Cork's Café Paradiso is the only vegetarian restaurant – maybe in the whole of Europe – where the actual enjoyment of the food is paramount."

• Scoozis, Off Winthrop Street. One of the most popular restaurants in Cork, always busy for lunch and dinner. Booking is advisable, but people also often just turn up and queue. Staff are young and friendly, menu is varied, cheap and full of very tasty food. Perfect for big parties, small groups of friends and even a romantic meal for two.

• The Ivory Tower, Oliver Plunkett St. This restaurant is a Cork institution. Very eclectic and eccentric food. A five course set meal at 55 euros a head. Cheap it is not. However an intimate and unusual small room with very friendly staff and award winning food. The famous dish from here is Sword fish with banana ketchup. For the less adventurous there is a good selection of high quality quite game-y food. A great wine list.

• Fenns Quay, No. 5 Fenns Quay, parallel to Washington St. Quite a modern looking restaurant, a step down price wise from the ivory tower. Contemporary and very high quality and continental cuisine in a nicely renovated old house. Expect to pay about 35-40 euros a head.

• Luigi Malones, Emmet Place. Famous for its International Food, Luigi Malones sits across for Cork Opera House.

• Jacobs on the Mall, South Mall. Award-winning restaurant with incredibly delicious gourmet food. Expensive but worth it, it's easily one of Cork's finest restaurants.

• Costigans, Washington St. Great atmosphere at weekends, Always a good place to start when doing a pub crawl of the lively Washington St.
• Sin é, Coburg St. Dark, small and welcoming. Good for traditional music. One of Cork's more atmospheric pubs.
• Long Valley, Winthrop St. Busy pub with constant turnover of clientele. Sandwiches are not to be missed! Classical and jazz music in the background. A bit expensive, but not overly so given its city center location.
• Franciscan Well, On the riverside north of the Gate Cinema. Has a large beer garden. Brews its own range of beers and has a fine section of foreign bottled beers. This pub organises beer festivals twice yearly.
• An Bróg, Oliver Plunkett St. off Grand Parade. Diverse patrons and music make this a favourite among all groups. A late bar open until 2AM. Expect to queue during the student year.
• The Mutton Lane Inn, Mutton Lane. off Patricks St (first turn after Burger King). This is owned by the same people that run Sin é and it shows. Dark and very comfortable with candle lit tables and trad sessions every monday night. Get in early this place gets packed. Nice selection of beers both foreign and local.
• The hi-b, Oliver Plunkett St. off Grand Parade. (Upstairs). This pub is owned by the grumpiest man in cork. It is a tiny room up old creaking stairs. It has a nice mixture of old guys and a young crowd very friendly and welcoming to newcomers despite its intimidating aesthetic. On a Wednesday evening an ole fella plays jazz piano and takes requests. This place is not for everyone, but if you like the kind of intimate place where a stranger sits to tell you his life story then the hi b is great. Be warned, the owner does not tolerate mobile phones in his bar (among numerous other things). Like a stranger sat at my table once told me "you are no-one in Cork until you have been kicked out the hi-b"
• Freak Scene, The Qube / The Works Oliver Plunkett Street, [8]. Great Student night every Wednesday. One room has alternative and indie, the other disco and soul. Running for 12 years it has outlasted all competitors in a fickle Cork scene. Casual Dress, in fact wear whatever you want!!!!
• Map of live music venues
• The Gateway Bar, next to Elizabeth Fort (see above), and is the oldest pub in Cork. It was established in 1698 and the Dukes of Wellington and Marlborough were among its patrons. It is possibly the oldest pub in Ireland. That title is being claimed by a few pubs in the country. The Brazen Head in Dublin had was a pub before The Gateway, but didn't hold a continuous license!
• MvM - Movies vs Music, Everyman Palace, McCurtain St. The Place to be on a Saturday Night. Playing all the hits from 60s,70s,80s,90s and modern day. They also have a comfy couch cinema showing the best in cult movie titles, such as 'Batman the TV movie', 'Whitnail and I', 'Planet of the Apes', to mention but a few. If that's not enough they have playstation, connect 4, draughts and electro buzz in their games room or chill out with a lovely cocktail! The latest club in Cork. 11.45pm - 2.30pm. Check it out, you'll love it!

• Savoy Theatre. St Patrick's Street, [9]. Home to "Bang" student night on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the college year, "Goldsounds" on Friday Nights and Rapture every Saturday Night Savoy is a must for under 20s visiting and at 10 Euro for entry its very reasonable. Opens at 11PM.