48 Hours In: Cork

WHY GO NOW?

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WHY GO NOW?

Ireland's second city is finally finding its place on the European stage. Cork's year as Capital of Culture for 2005 is getting into gear, and you can find details of events by calling 00 353 21 455 2005 or at www.cork2005.ie. Some of the citizens feel that, amid the global celebration, local creativity is not sufficiently represented. But the city is looking finer than it has for decades, and is an ideal weekend destination.

TOUCH DOWN

You can fly non-stop to Cork from the three London airports ­ Heathrow (on Aer Lingus, 08459 737747; www.aerlingus.com), Gatwick (on easyJet, 0871 244 2366; www.easyJet.com) and Stansted (on Ryanair, 0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com). In addition there are flights from another 13 UK airports: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Durham Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, Nottingham, Plymouth and Southampton. The Bus Eireann Air Coach has a staccato service ­ no departures between 9-10am, then seven in the next two hours - but is the cheapest way to travel between the airport and the city. Tickets cost ¤3.70 (£2.65) single, ¤6 (£4.25) return to the bus station (1) on Parnell Place. A cab to the city centre will cost around ¤25 (£17).

GET YOUR BEARINGS

The heart of Cork occupies an island created where the river Lee splits into two channels. The airport is well to the south, while many of the accommodation options reside on the north bank. Most places of interest lie on the island, including the helpful tourist office (2) on Grand Parade (00 353 21 425 5100; www.ireland.travel.ie). It opens 9am-5pm from Monday to Friday, 9.30am-4.30pm on Saturdays.

CHECK IN

MacCurtain Street runs parallel to the northern branch of the river and a block north. Along it you will find the comfortable and characterful Isaacs (3) at number 48 (00 353 21 450 0011; www.isaacs.ie), where a double room costs ¤110 (£76), with breakfast. Its arch rival, almost opposite, is the Gresham Metropole (4) (00 353 21 450 8122; www.gresham-hotels.com), which is more traditional and a little more expensive at ¤130 (£89) for a double with breakfast. For somewhere impressive on the island itself, try the Imperial Hotel (5) on South Mall (00 353 21 427 4040; www.flynnhotels.com) at ¤125 (£86) room only.

SATURDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH

For an overview of the city, head for the Cork Vision Centre (6), housed in the 18th-century St Peter's Church on North Main Street (00 353 21 4279 925; www.corkvisioncentre.com). It has a large relief model of the city at its centre, as well as a rotating exhibition from each of the accession countries to the European Union. The centre opens 10am-5pm daily except Sunday and Monday, admission free.

TAKE A HIKE

From the tourist office (2), go north along the wide Grand Parade then turn right into Oliver Plunkett Street, which is more representative of the city's thoroughfares (not least because of the number of pubs along it). Turn left on Princes Street, then jig right and left to walk down French Church Street. This is the heart of the Huguenot area, where many Protestants fleeing France settled. The small square dominated by a large Tesco is Rory Gallagher Place (7), whose west side has a surreal sculpture to the guitar hero of Taste. Walk through the shopping mall to emerge by the river, and follow the Lee a couple of hundred yards upstream, passing the shiny new Opera House. Cross on Cork's latest bridge ­ a graceful chord, for pedestrians only ­ then zigzag uphill to the Old Butter Exchange (8) on Exchange Street. This handsome building houses craft shops and celebrates Cork's role as the world's leading market for butter. Adjacent is the Cork Butter Museum (00 353 21 430 0600; www.corkbutter.museum), tracing the role of the commodity in the city's development. It opens by appointment only between November and the end of February; thereafter it opens 10am-5pm daily, entry ¤3 (£2.20).

TAKE A VIEW

You are close to St Anne's (9), whose Shandon Tower presides over the north bank of the Lee. The church opens 9.30am-5pm daily. Inside, you can ring the bells for ¤6 (£4.40). Afterwards, restore your energy with some home-made sweets from Linehan's (almost opposite), the last family confectioner in the city.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

The name of the English Market (10) stems from the time when only English settlers were allowed to shop at this elegant 19th-century trading forum. Today, it is open to all ­ and rapidly becoming more gentrified. Besides the usual meat, fish and vegetable stalls, you can buy superb organic cheeses and a dozen variety of olives. Traditional Cork food is featured, too: from the stand at the Grand Parade entrance, you can buy tripe and drisheen ­ a sausage-like creation made from sheep's blood. To try some for lunch, head upstairs to the Farmgate Café (00 353 21 427 8134), where you can also enjoy fry-ups, soups and salads, with tea in abundance.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

Yeast culture helped to fund Cork culture. The city's Crawford Art Gallery (11) on Emmet Place (00 353 21 427 3377) was created in the old Customs House thanks to the benevolence of one of the families who owned the Beamish & Crawford Brewery. Today, it shows Cork's cultural transition. Part of this handsome location is a traditional civic art gallery, including a room full of classical statues complemented by cutting-edge temporary exhibitions. It opens 10am-5pm daily except Sunday. Admission is free, and it has an excellent café. The City Library (12) on Grand Parade has a modest display on the guitarist Rory Gallagher.

WINDOW SHOPPING

The curious lamp-posts along the main retail drag, St Patrick's Street, are more distinctive than many of the shops. For more characterful retail opportunities, aim for the market at Coal Quay (13) on Cornmarket Street, the city's answer to e-Bay.

AN APERITIF

You are guaranteed a convivial start to the evening at almost any city-centre pub. My favourite is the upstairs parlour at HiB (short for Hibernian) (14) (00 353 21 427 2758), whose entrance is on Oliver Plunkett Street at the corner of Winthrop Street. For live music and the freshest of stout, try An Spailpin Fanac (The Wandering Traveller) (15) at 27 South Main Street (00 353 21 427 7949), just opposite the Beamish brewery.

DINING WITH THE LOCALS

Cork's most appealing location is Café Paradiso (16) at 16 Lancaster Quay (00 353 21 427 7939; www.cafeparadiso.ie), where the decor matches the style of cuisine: exotic and Mediterranean. Unlike the average city restaurant, this place is strictly vegetarian: innovative main courses are augmented by delicious soups and salads. You will need to book in advance to be sure of a table on Saturday evening ­ and be warned that it closes on Sundays and Mondays.

OUT TO BRUNCH

In the heart of the Huguenot Quarter, Amicus (00 353 21 427 6455) (17) at 14 French Church Street is small, bustling and full of atmosphere. The restaurant serves Irish breakfasts (eggs, sausage, black pudding and more) between 12-3pm on Sundays that cost ¤9.95 (£6.85).

TAKE A RIDE

Cork's Kent railway station (18) can be awkward to find, but it is on one of the finest stretches of line in Ireland. Every 45 minutes or so, a small diesel train departs to Cobh (pronounced Cove, and known before 1921 as Queenstown). The track runs beside the Lee as it broadens out to an estuary, then crosses part of the magnificent Cork Harbour ­ which is a natural haven to rival Sydney's. This was a one-way journey taken by about three million Irish emigrants on their way to the US; liners, including the Titanic, made Queenstown their last port of call before setting out across the Atlantic. The station at Cobh has been deftly converted to the Queenstown Story (00 353 21 481 3591; www.cobhheritage.com), where sombre exhibits depict the American wakes that were held to mark the departure of loved ones. It also tells the tale of the Lusitania ­ which was torpedoed in 1916 with the loss of nearly 1,200 lives. It opens 9.30am-5pm daily (until 6pm in the summer and autumn), and admission is ¤6 (£4).

A WALK IN THE PARK

Take a long walk or a short taxi ride to the churchyard at Clonmel, above Cobh, where many of the Lusitania victims are commemorated with lines of simple, modern headstones.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Back in Cork, settle down on the quayside (19) as the sun sets and casts its glow on the sturdy civic buildings (including the imposing City Hall) and houses painted in primary colours that line the Lee's south channel.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

Get to the airport in good time for your flight. Cork has one of the few remaining civilised airports in the British Isles, where you can sip a glass of stout and watch the planes ­ through big picture windows ­ and the people come and go.

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