Cork insists it is the real capital of Ireland, and the argument has a certain logic. The city sits on islands in the River Lee, its hilly streets rising from the water in layers of Georgian terraces, church spires, and the kind of independent shops that have been replaced by chains in most cities. The English Market — a covered food hall dating to 1788 — is the spiritual center: fishmongers, butchers, cheese sellers, and a tripe and drisheen stall that has been there longer than most countries have existed. As a Frenchman, I have strong opinions about food markets, and the English Market is the only one outside France that has made me reconsider my chauvinism.
The English Market and Cork’s Food Scene
The food scene extends well beyond the market. Cork has become Ireland’s culinary capital, with restaurants sourcing from the surrounding farmland and coastline with an intensity that reminds me of farm-to-table culture in Oaxaca. The Farmgate Café, perched on a balcony above the market floor, serves food that is impossible to improve upon — the best Irish stew I have eaten, made from ingredients purchased twenty feet below the table. Nano Nagle Place, a restored convent complex, has become a cultural center and garden that represents the new Cork — respectful of its past, ambitious about its future.
Shandon and Beyond
Shandon, the old butter-trading quarter, climbs a hill crowned by St. Anne’s Church, whose bells you can ring yourself for a small fee — I played a terrible version of a French folk song that echoed across the city and probably annoyed several thousand people. The Crawford Art Gallery holds a strong collection in a beautifully repurposed customs house. Day trips to Cobh — the last port of call for the Titanic — reveal a town of pastel-colored houses stacked up a hillside like a painting, with an emigration museum that tells stories of departure that still resonate. Kinsale, half an hour south, is a gourmet village with a harbor so pretty it looks staged.
When to go: May through September for the best weather. The Cork Jazz Festival in October fills the city with music. The English Market is open year-round and deserves a visit regardless of season.