Start your day at Good Day Deli in Nano Nagle Place. The New Zealand-inspired menu is excellent, the coffee is spot-on and, on a sunny morning, the restored gardens are a beautiful place to sit outside or take a short stroll. From there, walk over to the Glucksman Gallery on the UCC campus to catch whatever exhibition is showing, then wander the university grounds. The college sits right in the heart of the city, giving the whole area a brilliant, youthful energy, and the architecture is genuinely lovely.
For lunch, head to Orso in the city centre – it’s relaxed and the food is consistently delicious; perfect for a lighter midday meal. Spend your afternoon exploring the essentials: step inside the English Market (even if you only pick up a coffee and some local treats, the atmosphere is unbeatable), then visit the Crawford Art Gallery – it’s currently being refurbished, but it will be spectacular when it reopens.
If live music is on anywhere, make time for it; Cork’s music scene is a huge part of its soul. Try to catch a gig at St Luke’s (the converted church venue) or, better yet, plan your trip around the Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival.
When evening comes, ease into the night with a glass of wine at L’Atitude 51, a brilliant natural wine bar, or MacCurtain Street Wine Cellar – both are excellent. Later, move on to a proper traditional pub: Callanan’s or The Oval are cosy classics that feel like the real Cork.
Book dinner at Goldie for outstanding seafood – it’s one of those places that makes you realise Cork’s food scene can easily rival bigger cities. For an overnight stay in the city, choose Hayfield Manor; it’s a classic hotel with beautiful mature gardens yet only minutes from the centre.
If you’d rather head a little further out, Ballymaloe House is hard to beat for its legendary farm-to-table cooking and a genuine sense of culinary history. And if you have even a couple of extra hours and the weather is kind, drive to the coast – Cork is surrounded by incredible beaches. Garretstown, Garrylucas or Inchydoney are all within easy reach, perfect for a bracing Atlantic swim followed by a beach sauna. It’s the ideal way to remember that Cork City is the perfect gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way and the breathtaking West Cork coastline.
Ryan Thompson is a UK-based menswear and lifestyle writer, whose work has appeared in, among others, the Financial Times, Mr Porter, The Rake and Ape to Gentleman
