Top Things to Do in Cork

Cork City and County is home to a wonderful range of health spas and places that provide rest and relaxation.    There is a huge choice available.   Why not build some 'You' time into your schedule to sample some of the luxury salon and spa treatments available?  Increasingly Cork City and County hotels are incorporating Spas into their product offer.    Please click onto our hotel listing for more

The Cork hurling team is renowned for its prowess on the pitch. Cork also plays host to the annual Cork City Sports event which attracts top international athletes and takes place during the Summer months annually. For betting enthusiasts there is Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium. County Cork Racecourse near Mallow plays host to several high profile events throughout the year. 

Cork is situated in the province of Munster which is home to the famous Munster Rugby team which took home the Heineken Cup in 2006 and again in 2008 , beating off the cream of Europe’s rugby professionals to land the prize. 

Restaurants in Cork are renowned for their quality food which features local produce. A proud tradition of culinary expression abounds in restaurants all over the city and county. Enjoy new Irish cuisine, acclaimed vegetarian menus and a variety of ethnic flavours just waiting to be discovered.     

Why not visit Kinsale which not only lays claim to be the oldest town in Ireland, but it is also renowned internationally for the number and quality of restaurants in the town. It is hailed as the gourmet capital of Ireland, with no shortage of pubs and restaurants to suit every taste. However relaxed or active you wish to be on your holiday Kinsale allows you to take things at your own pace. 

The sport of steeple-chasing was invested in Cork in 1752 so it should come as no surprise that horses and horse-riding are a popular and well loved outdoor activity across the County. Cork Racecourse is located at Mallow.  The county is home to some of the country’s top breeders and stables and regularly hosts international equestrian events. A horse can be hired by the hour or half day at several well-equipped stables. Trekking Ponies are also available for adults and children or you can go trail riding, or attend a specialised training course in dressage, show jumping and cross country riding.

A fine variety of social, cultural and sporting events take place in Cork City and County throughout the year. These include Cork St Patrick’s Festival, Cork International Choral Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival, Beamish Cork Folk Festival, Cork Film Festival and the Guinness Jazz Festival, Cork, Kinsale Gourmet Festival, the Kinsale Regatta and the Ballydehob Jazz Festival in West Cork.

Choose between gentle hill, forest paths, cliff tops or guided walking tours of the country’s historic towns such as Cork City, Youghal, Cobh, Kinsale, Skibbereen or Clonakilty.  Bird watchers will enjoy the cliffs at Ballycotton.  Enjoy one of Cork’s 4 long distance way-marked trails: The Ballyhoura Way, The Blackwater Way, The Beara Way or The Sheep’s Head Way.

The Royal Cork Yacht Club is the oldest in the world dating from 1720.  Sailing continues to be a popular pastime along Cork’s magnificent coastline and several coastal towns offer harbour cruises or boat hire.   The rivers and lakes of the county with their unpolluted water and great scenery are popular with canoeists and kayak enthusiasts.  Enjoy one of several Blue Flag beaches where surf-boarding is a rapidly growing all year round sport.  You can also go whale or dolphin watching.

Cork City Centre is a shopper’s delight with well laid out streets in a compact space. The City boasts department stores, multinational high street fashion retailers and home-grown small boutiques. Towns such as Kinsale, Midleton, Macroom or Clonakilty are treasure troves for gift shops, bookshops, second hand shops, local giftware, pottery, glass, paintings. Blarney Woollen Mills which is situated adjacent to the famous Blarney Castle is situated just outside Cork City and sells traditional Irish designs, gifts and homeware.

Art exhibitions and fairs, theatrical performances and opera take place all year round. Many bars offer free live music – whether it is traditional Irish or blues or rock. Cork City has a number of world famous theatres including the Cork Opera House, Everyman Theatre and the Cork Arts Theatre Club.  

Cork city is also host to a number of art galleries from the Crawford Art Gallery in the City centre to the Glucksman Gallery, winner of a Royal Institute of British Architects award in 2005, this stunning new building on the University College Cork campus is well worth a visit.

The warming influence of the Gulf Stream in Cork encourages a huge diversity of marine life and the very real possibility of landing a rare or unusual fish.  

Cork City and County Cork has a well deserved reputation as a world class golfing destination. Whether you are staying in the City or County a golf course is within a 20 minute drive  from the city centre. Some of the top key courses  available to visitors to play are the are Old Head of Kinsale, Fota Island, Cork Golf Club, Waterrock, Lee Valley, Capella at Castlemartyr.     Click for a list of CorkCity and County Golf courses.

How about a Food & Craft Tour of East Cork; to include a visit to Midleton Farmers Market.  This popular market with its wide range of locally produced produce was one of the first markets in the country with a ‘slow food’ ethos.  Midleton Food and Drinks festival happens the first Sat and Sun every September. The tour would also include a visit to Ballymaloe Gardens & Cookery School starting with a tour of the unique herb garden with its unusual variety of herbs and vegetables, the group will proceed for an exciting cookery demonstration at Darina Allen’s world renowned cookery school.   

Restaurants in Kinsale pride themselves on their high reputation for culinary expertise, and work together through the Good Food Circle to ensure that the 12 Member Restaurants offer a diversity of cuisine with a guarantee of quality, service, comfort and ambience and of course, fine dining. The Good Food Circle organises a number of events and special offers throughout the year.   The highlight of the year is the Kinsale Gourmet Festival in October.

Cork offers a multitude of team building opportunities from evening tours of the Cobh Heritage Centre where your guests can attend a reproduction Irish wake to an evening of ghostly encounters at historic Cork Gaol. For the artistically minded the Stephen Pearce Pottery in Shanagarry offers instruction in pottery making with a competitive edge where teams are pitted against each other for fun!