by Kate McKee

Created on: October 18, 2009   Last Updated: November 04, 2009

The Lonely Planet has named Cork as one of the ten best cities in the world to visit in 2010. We locals are delighted with this news, but hardly surprised: for a long time we have been unmovable in our belief that there is no better place to visit. And we love to talk about Cork. So, here is this particular local's guide to the rebel city. It will tell you about places to go and things to do that may not have made it into the guide books (even Lonely Planet!). It will give you a taste of the real Cork.

*City Center

Cork is an easy city to navigate on foot. If you start on Patrick Street (Pana to the locals) you'll find all the usual chains, and you can branch off to the Huguenot Quarter for more interesting little places: cafes, craft and jewelery shops, pubs and bookstores. We Corkonians insist on sitting on the terraces for our beverages in all but the very worst of the weather, so most places around here supply outdoor heaters. Oliver Plunkett Street, the Grand Parade and North Main Street are the other main streets. If you want a taste of the real old Cork, North Main Street and the Coal Quay are worth a visit. Call into the Vision Center on North Main Street, if you pass it, and have a look at the 3D model of the city. There's a guided walking tour of the city centre, and an open top bus tour, both of which depart from the tourist office on the Grand Parade, but really, it's easy to pick up a map and go it alone.

*Places to See

The Shandon Bells (St. Anne's Church): situated in the heart of the old city, it's worth your while to walk up from the city centre, if you don't mind the climb. The church itself is pretty unremarkable, but you can climb up to the belfry and have a go at ringing the bells, which is great fun. Go up a little higher and you arrive at the top of the clock tower, and you'll get the best available view of the city. While you're up in Shandon, there's a nice little craft centre that is worth visiting, and a butter museum, which, to be honest, is really not worth visiting (unless you have a particular interest in the history of butter making).

St. Finbarre's Cathedral is beautiful, and you can arrange for a guided tour, but it's better to go to one of the occasional concerts that are held there, or to an evensong.

If you're feeling energetic, there's a beautiful walkway that takes you from the Atlantic Pond (next to Pairc Ui Caoimh, Cork's GAA stadium) to Blackrock Castle and Observatory. The observatory is not a bad place to bring older

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