St Anne's Church
St Anne's Church is one of Cork's true landmarks. Built in 1722 on a hill above the city, it offers visitors the chance to scale the stairs inside the steeple walls to a parapet that has 360-degree views of the city. Moreover, it is possible to play the church's eight bells with the assistance of sheet tune cards.

Church Street, Shandon
Tel: (021) 450 5906.
Website: www.shandonbells.org

The English Market
The covered English Market is one of Cork's greatest assets, with a wonderful, lively atmosphere and an array of meat outlets, fruit and vegetable shops, fishmongers, Italian and French cheese stalls, fresh bread stands and much more.

Entrances on Princes Street, Patrick Street and the Grand Parade
Tel: (021) 425 5100.

The Cork Butter Museum
This museum on O'Connell Square celebrates one of the great Irish success stories, the butter trade, which was central to Cork's prosperity from the late 18th century onwards. Cork was at one point the largest butter market in the world.

O'Connell Square
Tel: (021) 430 0600.
Website: www.corkbutter.museum

Crawford Municipal Art Gallery
Located beside the Opera House in the heart of the city, Crawford Municipal Art Gallery has a permanent collection comprising over 2,000 art works, ranging from 18th-century Irish and European painting and sculpture, through to contemporary video installations. At the heart of the collection is a number of Greek and Roman sculpture casts, brought to Cork in 1818 from the Vatican Museum in Rome.

Emmet Place
Tel: (021) 490 7855.
Website: www.crawfordartgallery.ie

Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle in Blarney, a village 8km (5 miles) to the northwest of Cork, is among Ireland's oldest castles. It is famous for its stone, the Stone of Eloquence, which is traditionally believed to have the power to bestow the gift of eloquence on all those who kiss it.

Blarney, County Cork
Tel: (021) 438 5252.
Website: www.blarneycastle.ie