Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [206]
Pro Musica ( 021-427 1659; Oliver Plunkett St) The heart of Cork’s world for musicians: sheet music, instruments and a notice board with ads by and for musicians.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Cork Airport (ORT; 021-431 3131; www.cork-airport.com) is 8km south of the city on the N27. Facilities include ATMs and car-hire desks Click here. Airlines servicing the airport include Aer Lingus, BMI, Ryanair and Wizz. There are flights to Dublin, London Heathrow and a few cities in Europe.
Click here for information on getting into town.
Boat
Brittany Ferries ( 021-427 7801; www.brittanyferries.ie; 42 Grand Pde) sails to Roscoff (France) weekly from the end of March to October. The crossing takes 15 hours and fares are widely variable. The ferry terminal is at Ringaskiddy.
See below for information on getting into town.
Bus
Bus Éireann ( 021-450 8188; www.buseireann.ie) operates from the bus station on the corner of Merchant’s Quay and Parnell Pl. You can get to most places in Ireland from Cork, including Dublin (€12, 4¼ hours, six daily), Killarney (€16, 1¾ hours, 14 daily), Kilkenny (€17, three hours, three daily) and Waterford (€18, 2¾ hours, 14 daily).
Citylink ( 1890 280 808; www.citylink.ie) operates services to Galway (3¼ hours) and Limerick. Buses are frequent and fares are as low as €10.
Train
Kent Train Station ( 021-450 4777) is north of the River Lee on Lower Glanmire Rd. Bus 5 runs into the centre (€1.60) and a taxi costs from €9 to €10.
The train line goes through Mallow, where you can change for the line to Tralee, and Limerick Junction, for the line to Ennis (and the new extension to Galway), then on to Dublin (€36, three hours, 16 daily).
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
SkyLink ( 021-432 1020; www.skylinkcork.com; adult/child €5/2.50; hourly) buses pick around central Cork and take up to 30 minutes.
A taxi into town costs €15 to €20.
To/From the Ferry Terminal
The ferry terminal is at Ringaskiddy, 15 minutes by car southeast of the city centre along the N28. Taxis cost €28 to €35. Bus Éireann runs a service from the bus station to link up with sailings (bus 223; adult/child €5.50/3.50, 50 minutes). Confirm times. There’s also a service to Rosslare Harbour (bus 40; adult/child €23.50/16; four to five hours).
Bicycle
You can rent bikes and glean cycling tips from Rothar Cycles ( 021-431 3133; www.rotharcycletours.com; 55 Barrack St; per day/week €25/80). It offers a one-way pick-up service from other towns for €30 (with a €100 refundable deposit) and runs frequent summer cycling tours.
Bus
Most places are within easy walking distance of the centre. A single bus ticket costs €1.60. A day pass is €4.40.
Car
PARKING
Streetside parking requires scratch-card parking discs (€2 per hour), obtained from the tourist office and some newsagencies. Be warned – the traffic wardens are ferociously efficient and the cost of retrieving your vehicle is hefty. There are several signposted car parks around the central area, with charges of €2 per hour and €12 overnight.
RENTAL
The following companies have desks at the airport.
Alamo/National ( 021-431 8623; www.carhire.ie)
Avis ( 021-432 7460; www.avis.ie)
Budget ( 021-431 4000; www.budget.ie)
Hertz ( 021-496 5849; www.hertz.ie)
Sixt ( 021-431 8644; www.e-sixt.ie)
Thrifty ( 021-434 8488; www.thrifty.ie)
Taxi
For taxi hire, try Cork Taxi Co-op ( 021-427 2222) or Shandon Cabs ( 021-450 2255).
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AROUND CORK CITY
BLARNEY CASTLE
One of the most inexplicably popular tourist stops in Ireland is Blarney Castle ( 021-438 5252; www.blarneycastle.ie; Blarney; adult/child €10/3.50; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat & 9am-5.30pm Sun Jun-Aug, 9am-6.30pm Mon-Sat & 9.30am-5.30pm Sun May & Sep, 9am-sundown Sun Oct-Apr, last admission 30min before closing). Crowds flock here to kiss the Blarney Stone, a cliché that has entered every lexicon and tour route.
The stone is perched at the top