Cork City, Co Cork

CORK CITY
Nominated by Brian McCarthy who wrote: "Cork is a vibrant city, alive day and night and a haven for foodies. It is easy to explore on foot and well situated for exploring Co Cork and the beautiful south coast."
Read the full pitch at http://iti.ms/YYy39d

WHAT THE IRISH TIMES SAYS:
Cork is really a big town masquerading as a city. The city centre is walkable in about 20 minutes and a lot of the city is surrounded by hills. There are more derelict buildings than there used to be, the biggest is probably the old cinema on Grand Parade which has been vacant for several years. The redevelopment of the area across from City Hall is very impressive and functional. Corkonians take great pride in their city and are very open to visitors. Shopping is excellent and one of the high points is the English Market in the heart of the city. Upstairs, the lovely Farmgate Restaurant is a good people-watching spot.

On the motorway, it is only 2 hours and 30 minutes from Dublin. Accessing Cork from the West takes a little longer as the road between Mallow and Limerick is not great. There are regular buses from all major cities. Kent Station is within an easy walk of the town centre and has regular services including hourly trains to Dublin. The old Cork to Dublin road is a nice route and most hotels will cater for cycle tours. The city centre is easy to cycle around, there are no major traffic problems and it’s very easy to get around.

There are a range of accommodation options and you should easily get a good city centre hotel for less than €80. Lots of cheap food options and fast food restaurants