Travel to the waterfront city of Cork with Small Luxury Hotels of the World for nights of Irish folk music in lively Gaelic restaurants. Tour the elegant stone chambers of medieval castles or hire a private sailboat to spot dolphins beyond the city’s huge, deep-blue harbour.
Luxury things to do in Cork
Aqua-green stained-glass sculptures reflect light down the corridors of the Crawford Art Gallery, which showcases vivid portraits by local and international artists. Admire Cork’s brightly coloured waterfront residences as you float down the twisting River Lee on a private 40ft yacht. A climb up the limestone staircases of the centuries-old Church of St Anne rewards you with panoramic views over the rolling Irish hills.
Luxury shopping in Cork
Sumptuous handmade tapestries are sold at the craft boutiques on St Patrick’s Street, Cork’s main shopping boulevard. In the Merchants Quay Shopping Centre, twisted golden pendants give a warm yellow hue to the windows at Brian de Staic, an exclusive Irish jewellers specialising in Celtic designs.
Gourmet Cork
The intoxicating smell of fine barley fills the halls of the Midleton Distillery, where master brewers produce individually numbered bottles of Midleton Very Rare. After sampling a glass, let your chauffeur drive you to an artisan Irish smokehouse, where salmon is cured over fragrant wood smoke. At an 18th-century quayside restaurant, follow your main course of rich Irish duck with an artisan platter of locally crafted cow’s milk cheese.
Stay in a luxury hotel in Cork with Small Luxury Hotels of the World to relax in mature leafy gardens in the heart of the city. Take afternoon tea by a crackling open fire, or unwind in the spa with an exotic lime and ginger salt treatment.