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Shopping. Where do I start? It all depends on what you're looking for. While Cork can't really compare to the likes of London, Paris and even Dublin you still may find something you wouldn't find in any of those places. Patrick Street is the main thoroughfare in the city and this is where many of the clothes shops are located. There are stores for both men and women but those geared toward female fashion far out-number those for men. There are the usual 'High-Street' chain stores such as Top Shop, Next, Scuh, River Island, Jack and Jones, Monsoon etc. but there are also individual 'independent' stores. These are often located in the arcades off Patrick St. and on many off the other side streets. A good one to try is Prime-Time on Washington St. It is through exploration of these side streets and alleyways that you will uncover the real finds.

Paul St. and the area surrounding it is good for these stores but also for second hand and independent book shops. Indeed it is an interesting area for shopping of any kind and one may unearth some interesting things in the bric a brac shops. For any other kind of shopping the city centre is relatively pedestrian. There are one or two antique shops and a few jewelers but for anything else you might have to travel out of the city to the Shopping centres.

There are quite a few in the surrounding suburbs and they are generally self sufficient. To the North you have Blackpool shopping centre, to the West there is Wilton shopping centre, to the east there are two in Douglas and there is also the newest and largest one, Mahon Point. These are generally geared toward clothes shopping and also have food courts.

An interesting trip from the city would be to Killarney in Co. Kerry which is about an hour away by bus. Here there are outlet stores such as Nike and other large brands. Killarney is also a big tourist town so there are many smaller shops where one may pick up Irish souvenirs and clothing. They have horse drawn carriages which take tourists around the town. It is quite picturesque but also tourist driven.

If you still haven't found what you are looking for try some of the other surrounding counties. There are also outlet centres in Co. Limerick to the North and, if time allows, you could try Dublin.

Learn more about this author, Peter Tobin.
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