Ireland from $1989

DUBLIN

Cake Cafe
Stop in for some delicious baked goods, soups and sandwiches. As one of Dublin's most famously recommended cafes, be sure not to miss it if you get a craving for something sweet during your freetime.

Andrews Lane
During your freetime in the evening head to Andrews Lane for some amazing local live music. Voted the most exciting venue in the city.

Phoenix Park and St. Stephen's Green
If you're looking for a relaxing outdoor activity, take a stroll through Phoenix Park or St. Stephen's Green, the two most popular and beautiful parks in the area.

Museums
Visiting the Irish Whiskey Museum and the Little Museum of Dublin are definitely fun and educational ways to spend your spare time in the city. If you're a lover of whiskey, take a look into the history and evolution of some of Ireland's most famous whiskeys. To learn a little bit more about this gorgeous city, stop into the Little Museum of Dublin to experience Dublin's fascinating history.

Dublinbikes
If you just want to take in the city scene of Dublin on your own schedule, stop by Dublinbikes and rent a bike for the day and simply go exploring.

Abbey Theatre
For those looking for a little culture, take in a performance at the Abbey Theatre and enjoy a night of theatre in the country that brought you some of the most renowned playwrights such as Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde.

CORK

English Market
In the heart of Cork City and with an eye-catching fountain at its center, this quirky roofed food market has been trading since 1788. Under the possession of the Cork City Council, it's one of the world's oldest municipal markets. Artisan breads, fruit, and freshly caught seafood are just some of the specialities on offer. In recent years, the market gained worldwide fame when Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain dropped by on her first ever state visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011. In addition to a wide range of produce, visitors can grab a coffee here or sample local fare at Farmgate Restaurant.

St. Patrick Street
Initially conceived in the early 18th century by wealthy merchants presumably anxious to part their fellow citizens from their cash, this has remained Cork's main shopping hub. An easy couple-of-minute's stroll from The English Market and known locally as "Pana" the broad, curving street boasts many fine shops including upmarket department store Brown Thomas. Shopping, of course, is one thing, but the citizens of Cork are a sociable bunch and, particularly during fine weather, visitors will see groups of friends and family simply chatting and spending time together. Various architectural styles reflect change over the past two hundred years or so. Dating from 1786, and rebuilt on several occasions since then, St. Patrick's Bridge abuts the thoroughfare.

St. Fin Barre's Cathedral
The eye-catching structure in French Early Gothic style was designed by William Burges and consecrated in 1870. It's situated on a site where Christian worship has been taking place since the 7th century. By its completion, in excess of £100,000 was spent on the building, an enormous amount of money at the time. Prior to the re-design a more modest Georgian style building and bell tower stood in its place. The interior is richly decorated with fine mosaics in the choir and sumptuous artwork in the chancel.

Kinsale
A little under a half hour's southerly drive from Cork, and at the gateway to scenic West Cork, is the quaint deep-sea fishing and yachting town of Kinsale. Once a medieval fishing port, historic Kinsale is one of the most scenic resorts on Ireland's southwest coast. Visitors will find no shortage of cafés and restaurants to suit every taste, and the surrounding scenery is quite simply breathtaking. In recent years, the town has also become a world-class golf destination. Other activities include heritage town walks, an annual gourmet festival, a wine museum and, in neighbouring Summercove, 17th-century Charles Fort.

DINGLE

Swim with Fungi
Fungi is Dingle’s pet bottlenose dolphin. He moved into the harbour the week after NBC broadcast the very last episode of MASH (coincidence? we think not!) and has been there ever since. This is one friendly dolphin! He is said to enjoy reading, the movies (obviously!) and crochet. But more than anything he enjoys swimming with any homosapiens willing to jump in the sea with him. This correspondent hasn’t yet had the pleasure, but apparently it is a life changing experience. Enquire at Brosnan’s on Cooleen, a street on the east side of the harbour. Or you can check the famous fellow out from the relative dryness of a boat.

Ice Cream at Murphy's
Though only 7 years old, Murphy’s Ice Cream on Strand Street in Dingle is already legendary. This isn’t just ice cream, this is ice cream perfection. So skip the restaurant desert and instead head to Murphy’s. This determined ice cream detective recently investigated samples of their Pink Champagne Sorbet, Honey Cardamom and Chocolate Whiskey ice creams and left the parlour in an altogether different mood. Ice cream as it should be – mind altering! Murphy’s also serves the best coffee in town. Additionally, the staff are some of the most cheerful & friendly people around!

Climb Mt. Brandon
Irish mountains are really only large hills (the highest is only just over 3,000ft), so most can be climbed in a matter of hours. And yet the reward is unimaginable. Unlike most lofty mountain ranges whereupon reaching the summit you are merely surrounded by many other lofty peaks, in Ireland reaching the summit of the local highest ‘mountain’ means you will probably have an uninterrupted view of a whole quarter of Ireland in front of you while the Atlantic yawns, stretches and glistens behind you. And Mount Brandon on the Dingle Peninsula is probably the greatest of Ireland’s local highest mountains simply because the surrounding scenery is Ireland’s greatest. Start just beyond the village of Claghane (over Conor Pass from Dingle) parking near Miss O’Connors’ House. Ask in Dingle or Cloghane for the best route. Best saved for a clear day.