White nights by the Lee
As we reach the longest days of the year, what better place to celebrate summer than Cork?
Start your morning in Cork with breakfast, at the Idaho Café on Caroline Street (open from 7.59am!) – it may be small but we are reliably informed they serve the very best porridge in the city. Then download the Cork Vintage Map and discover the best vintage and vintage-inspired clothing, accessories, flea markets, vinyl shops, antiquarian books and gifts. After a morning shopping or perhaps a visit to history-rich Cork City Gaol, have lunch at the Crawford Art Gallery Café. The food has won it a place in the McKenna Guides as one of the 100 Best Restaurants in Ireland, and the café makes the most of its lovely Georgian dining room which features artwork from the gallery and touches such as an Elizabethan granite fireplace. After lunch, explore the gallery’s mix of classical, period and contemporary art.
For a more relaxed lunchtime experience, it’s hard to beat a sandwich and perhaps a sneaky pint in another Cork institution, The Long Valley on Winthrop Street. Then, take a walk to UCC’s green spaces, where the Glucksman is an award-winning modern building in the 19th-Century campus with three floors hosting temporary and long-term exhibitions dedicated to art, architecture and design. With a riverside restaurant and gallery shop, it’s a great place to while away a couple of hours, including a walk in The Quad at UCC, built between 1847 and 1849 at the height of the Famine.
Back in the city centre, check out the neo-Gothic Anglican St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, where you might catch a choir at practice or the epic pipe organ at play. Look out for the large gilded angel on the roof – legend says it will blow its trumpet when the world comes to an end.
As the early evening arrives, have a glass of wine and some tapas at Meade’s Wine Bar on Oliver Plunkett Street, cosy, understated Georgian rooms with a great wine list and small bites made with locally sourced ingredients.
You are spoilt for choice when it comes to dinner options in this food-loving city. Near Meade’s is Orso, a popular spot with North African dishes and salads in a small space.
A fine dining vegetarian experience awaits at the famous Café Paradiso Restaurant on Lancaster Quay. One of the stars of the Cork restaurant scene, this award-winning restaurant mixes international influences with the best of locally sourced, organic and artisan produce.
After dinner, check out some of Cork’s famous bars, many of which come with music. Our shortlist includes The Mutton Lane Inn, The Roundy House, Sin É, the Oliver Plunkett, The Oak, Charlie’s Bar and Crane Lane.
For many more ideas for your trip to Cork, go to purecork.ie