Things to do in Co. Cork

1.Fastnet Rock Lighthouse

The last sight of home for emigrants

A 54-metre granite tower stranded in the Atlantic off West Cork, Fastnet Rock was the last sight of home for thousands of emigrants — Ireland's "Teardrop" is now reached only by boat.

Highlights

• Tallest and widest rock lighthouse in Ireland and Britain, rising 54 m
• Known as Ireland's Teardrop
• Only reachable by boat - landings are not permitted

2.Kinsale Mead Co.

The first new meadery in 200 years

Ireland's first new meadery in 200 years, tucked behind Lidl in Kinsale and only a ten-minute walk from the town centre. Drop in for a tasting or book an hour-long tour that ends with a flight of award-winning meads in an oak bar cut from a 300-year-old tree.

Highlights

• Ireland's first new meadery in 200 years
• Hour-long guided tour with mead and raw-honey tasting
• Oak bar tasting room made from a 300-year-old tree

Facilities

Wheelchair access

3.Seaside Alpacas

Lead an alpaca to a West Cork beach

A small family farm on the Wild Atlantic Way where you lead a gentle alpaca along coastal paths all the way down to a sheltered cove.

Facilities

Good for kids

4.Beara way

a strenuous 200km waymarked coastal loop

The Beara Way is a waymarked long-distance trail that loops the wild Beara Peninsula, linking rugged Caha and Miskish mountain passes with Atlantic villages and a cable-car crossing to Dursey Island.

Highlights

• 220km waymarked circuit of the Beara Peninsula
• Start and finish at Glengarriff
• Ireland's only cable car, out to Dursey Island

5.Gougane Barra National Forest Park

Six free trails in a horseshoe mountain valley

A glaciated valley of sitka spruce and heather ringing a lake where St Finbarr founded a monastery in the 6th century. The infant River Lee rises among the surrounding peaks.

Highlights

• Six waymarked trails for all abilities
• 3 km scenic forest drive
• St Finbarr's Oratory on a lake island

Facilities

Wheelchair access

6.Ardnakinna Lighthouse(Teach Solais Ardnakinna)

an island lighthouse reached only by ferry

A white lighthouse on the wild western tip of Bere Island, reached only by ferry and a rugged coastal loop trail, with sweeping views to the Sheep's Head and Mizen peninsulas.

Highlights

• White tower lit on 23 November 1965, flashing every 10 seconds
• 11 km purple-arrow loop walk from the West End ferry pier
• 360 degree views over Bantry Bay, the Beara and Sheep's Head peninsulas

7.Ballyhass Coachford

floating assault course with 11m-high nets

Ballyhass Coachford is an outdoor adventure centre on an old quarry lake in the Lee Valley, built around a fully connected Aquaglide floating obstacle course — with Ireland's first High Nets, a lakeside sauna and guided kayaking as the supporting acts.

Highlights

• Full connected Aquaglide Aquapark on a quarry lake
• Ireland's first High Nets course, 11 m in the air
• Guided Lee Valley kayak tour past Carrigadrohid Castle

Facilities

Wheelchair access

8.Ballyhass Mallow

New 2026 aquapark and a cable wakepark

A lakeside adventure centre built on an old quarry lake outside Mallow, where you can take on a brand-new inflatable Aquapark, ride Ireland's biggest cable wakepark, zip, climb and swim – then warm up in a wood-fired sauna.

Highlights

• Brand-new Wibit Peakz Aquapark layout for 2026
• Cable wakepark with two parks (East and West)
• Zipline, high ropes and cliff climbing

Facilities

Wheelchair access

9.Baltimore Beacon

a 50ft white tower on a 160ft clifftop

A 50ft white cone of a beacon, built in 1849 and known locally as "Lot's Wife", stands on a 160ft cliff at the mouth of Baltimore harbour — free to visit and reached by a short walk or a steep clifftop scramble.

Highlights

• 50ft white conical beacon above Baltimore harbour
• Locally nicknamed Lot's Wife
• Built 1849 as a coastal warning beacon

10.Capel Way Coastal Trail

Two coastal cliff loops past a Napoleonic signal tower

Two waymarked cliff loops around the tip of a quiet East Cork peninsula, where seabird cliffs, a Napoleonic signal tower and views to Capel Island pack into a couple of hours' walking.

Highlights

• Two waymarked loops (2.5 km and 6 km) from one trailhead
• Napoleonic-era signal tower and a WWII lookout post on the route
• Seabird cliffs; national nature reserve around Knockadoon Head and Capel Island

11.Doneraile Wildlife Park

160 hectares of parkland with three deer species

A 160-hectare Capability Brown landscape on the River Awbeg, where Georgian Doneraile Court looks out over old groves, cascades and free-roaming deer. The parklands are free to enter all year.

Highlights

• 160 hectares of Capability Brown parkland, free to enter
• Georgian Doneraile Court, home of the St Leger family for 300 years
• Red, fallow and sika deer plus Kerry cattle

Facilities

Wheelchair access

12.Glensheskin Woods

Woodland trails and a hidden stone spring

A Coillte-managed broadleaf wood just outside Kilworth, threaded by the little Douglas River and by a cold stone spring well hidden a few steps off the walking path.

Highlights

• Coillte forest walk 1.5 km north-east of Kilworth
• Cold stone spring well beside the path
• The little Douglas River runs through the wood

Facilities

Wheelchair access

13.Leahy's Open Farm

pet farm with real mini diggers and a barrel train

A working farm turned family day out: pet and feed the animals, ride the barrel train through the forest and drive real mini diggers, with ice cream and chocolate made on site.

Highlights

• Complimentary barrel train ride for each family on entry
• Real JCB and Kubota mini diggers to operate
• Petting times in the Jolly Barn throughout the day

Facilities

Wheelchair access

14.Mizen Head Bridge(Droichead Cheann Mizen)

A footbridge 150ft above the Atlantic swell

Mizen Head is Ireland's most south-westerly point, where an award-winning footbridge arcs 150 feet above the Atlantic to reach a historic signal station on Cloghane Island.

Highlights

• Ireland's most south-westerly point on the Wild Atlantic Way
• Award-winning 2011 footbridge over the Atlantic
• 45.7m (150ft) high crossing to Cloghane Island

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

15.Mullinhassig Wood & Waterfalls, Aghavrin

A hidden waterfall glen with a sub-2km loop

A small Coillte woodland near Coachford where the Glashagarriff River tumbles through a steep, mossy glen into the Poulanassig waterfall and its plunge pool. Two linked trails, under 2 km in all, let you see it from above and from the water's edge.

Highlights

• Poulanassig Waterfall and its plunge pool
• Upper and lower loop trails (less than 2 km)
• Mermaid folklore in the pool

16.Rocky Bay

A sheltered 300m sandy cove near Minane Bridge

A sheltered, south-south-east facing sandy strand of about 300 m tucked below low cliffs at the end of a narrow lane near Nohoval. It holds a Green Coast Award and is a long-standing local favourite for swimming, sandcastles and rockpooling.

Highlights

• Green Coast Award bathing water
• About 300 m of sand
• Sheltered, south-south-east facing bay

Facilities

Wheelchair access

17.Sheep's Head Walk - Tooreen Turning Point

Lighthouse walk from the road's western end

The end of the road on the Sheep's Head peninsula, where the tarmac stops, the Wild Atlantic Way run out, and a small car park, toilets and a seasonal cafe mark the start of the walk to the lighthouse at the very tip of the headland.

Highlights

• Car park, toilets and a seasonal cafe at the road's end
• 3.8 km Lighthouse Loop, strenuous, about 2 hrs
• Steps down to the lighthouse at the peninsula's tip

18.The Treehouse

soft play and an award-winning café under one roof

The Treehouse is Skibbereen's indoor soft play centre and award-winning café — a warm, all-weather spot where children play while grown-ups relax over coffee and cake.

Highlights

• Indoor soft play from babies to around age 12
• Award-winning café on site
• Free WiFi

Facilities

Wheelchair access

19.Youghal Eco Boardwalk

the longest seafront boardwalk in the country

A level timber path on the seaward side of Ballyvergan Marsh, the Youghal Eco-Boardwalk is billed as Ireland's longest seafront boardwalk, linking the town's Blue Flag beaches with open sea views.

Highlights

• Ireland's longest seafront boardwalk
• 1.48 km from Claycastle to Redbarn (1.9 km route from Front Strand)
• Timber deck of Ekki hardwood, 2 m wide

Facilities

Wheelchair access

20."Deck of Cards" Houses

23 gable-fronted houses stacked up a steep hill

A steep row of 23 candy-coloured houses on West View that locals say would topple like a deck of cards, framed by St Colman's Cathedral and Cork Harbour. Cobh's most photographed scene — and it costs nothing to see.

Highlights

• 23 gable-fronted houses, each painted a different bright shade
• Built in the 1850s for dockworkers
• Front-on shot from West View Park with St Colman's Cathedral behind

Facilities

Good for kids

21.Allihies Mountain Copper Mine Shaft

a copper empire that once employed 1,600 people

At the tip of the Beara Peninsula, the fenced collars of Allihies' 19th-century copper mine shafts still dot a wild Atlantic hillside above Ballydonegan beach. The village museum and its café are the natural base for exploring them.

Highlights

• Fenced shaft collars scattered across the hillside
• Cornish engine houses, including the Man Engine building
• 11 km waymarked Copper Mine Trail

22.Awesome Walls Cork

Bouldering, roped climbing and a café under one roof

Awesome Walls Cork is the city's biggest indoor climbing centre, with bouldering, roped lines, a training gym, café and hangout zones all under one roof at the Model Arena on Model Farm Road.

Highlights

• Cork's largest indoor climbing wall
• Bouldering plus roped climbing, including an arch
• Monthly MINT bouldering league

Facilities

Wheelchair access

23.Ballinaboola Trailhead

Two waymarked loop walks in the Ballyhouras

Ballinaboola Trailhead is the gravel car park gateway to two waymarked loop walks on the north-western shoulder of the Ballyhoura Mountains, where forestry roads open onto wide views across the Golden Vale.

Highlights

• 10 km Ballinaboola Loop (purple, moderate)
• 5 km Knockduv Loop (green, moderate)
• 80 km Ballyhoura Way passes through the wood

24.Ballycotton Cliff Walk

a 7km cliff trail to hidden beaches

A foot-worn cliff track runs from the fishing village of Ballycotton west along the Atlantic, with meadows on one side and the sea, hidden coves and a black lighthouse on the other.

Highlights

• Cliff-top views to Ballycotton's black lighthouse
• Rocky coves reached by side paths
• Peregrine falcons and oystercatchers overhead

25.Bell's Field

the 300-year-old view painted from this hill

A steep scramble up Cork's northside ends at a grassy hilltop with the city's most famous panorama — the same view painters and The Young Offenders film crew came for.

Highlights

• Cork's signature hilltop panorama
• Shandon Bells and St Fin Barre's on the skyline
• Filming location for The Young Offenders

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly

26.Bishopstown Playground

A €600k all-inclusive playground with CCTV

A €600k, all-inclusive playground at Murphy's Farm in Bishopstown, packed with climbing towers, slides and sand play for toddlers and older kids alike.

Highlights

• €600k all-inclusive playground
• Gated and CCTV-monitored
• Separate toddler and junior zones

Facilities

Wheelchair access

27.Blackwater Castle, Castletownroche, Cork, Ireland

A 12th-century castle you can hire for the weekend

A 12th-century Norman castle on a rocky promontory above the River Awbeg, still a lived-in family home and hireable for weddings, parties and group stays. Its 50-acre estate is a protected nature reserve with a Sheela na Gig, a holy well and 2,500-year-old defences.

Highlights

• Norman round tower of the late 12th century
• Sheela na Gig carved stone
• St Patrick's Holy Well and 200 rock-cut steps

Facilities

Wheelchair access

28.Blarney Castle & Gardens

Kiss the Stone of Eloquence at a tower's top

A 600-year-old MacCarthy tower house wrapped in 100 acres of gardens, where visitors queue to kiss the Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, at the top of the battlements.

Highlights

• Kiss the Blarney Stone, the Stone of Eloquence, at the top of the tower
• 128 steep steps up to the battlements
• The mystical Rock Close with its druid's altar and witch's kitchen

Facilities

Wheelchair access

29.Castledonovan

a 1560 tower house with a corner blown off

A four-storey O'Donovan tower house of 1560 on a rocky crag above the River Ilen, its south-west corner blasted away by Cromwellian gunpowder and left as a free, unguided ruin.

Highlights

• Free, unguided O'Donovan tower house
• South-west corner blown out by Cromwellian explosives
• Surviving machicolated doorway and corner bartizans

30.Charles Fort

A 17th-century star fort guarding a harbour

One of Ireland's largest military installations, Charles Fort is a massive 17th-century star-shaped fortress whose ramparts overlook Kinsale Harbour. It withstood a 13-day siege in the Williamite Wars before falling.

Highlights

• Star-shaped 17th-century fortress
• Outer defences up to 16 metres high
• Rampart views over Kinsale Harbour

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

31.Collins Barracks Military Museum

Revolvers, rosary beads and a general's 1922 diary

A small museum inside a working army barracks, telling the story of Collins Barracks, the Defence Forces and one of Ireland's most personal Michael Collins collections. His greatcoat, two revolvers, rosary beads and the diary he was carrying when he was killed are all on display.

Highlights

• Michael Collins's greatcoat, two revolvers and 1922 diary
• The 1806 Old Guard Room just inside the old Main Gate
• An enclosed glass section overlooking the parade ground

Facilities

Wheelchair access

32.Curraghbinny Woods (Coillte Corra Binne)

harbour views from a Bronze Age hilltop cairn

A compact 35-hectare Coillte wood on a hill above Cork Harbour, laced with old carriage paths that climb to a hilltop gazebo, a Bronze Age cairn and wide harbour views.

Highlights

• Two waymarked loops: Gazebo Loop (1.5 km) and Terrace Loop (2.2 km)
• Hilltop gazebo with Cork Harbour views
• Bronze Age grave cairn, the Giant's Grave

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly

33.Doneraile Court

a Georgian mansion in a free 160-hectare deer park

A Georgian mansion of the St Leger family towering over 160 hectares of Capability Brown-style parkland, with rivers, deer and free-to-roam walks around it. Only the guided tour of the house is ticketed.

Facilities

Wheelchair access

34.Fitzgerald Park

free riverside park with its own museum

A free riverside park on the Mardyke, with formal gardens, a large fountain and Cork Public Museum at its heart — an easy 15-minute walk from the city centre.

Highlights

• Free entry to park and museum
• Sky Garden that won Chelsea gold in 2011
• Rory Gallagher display in the museum

Facilities

Wheelchair access

35.Fota House

Regency mansion on an island with its own railway station

The ancestral home of the Smith-Barry family, Fota House is described as the finest example of Regency architecture in Ireland, set among a world-renowned arboretum and restored Victorian working gardens on Fota Island — the only Irish island with its own railway station.

Highlights

• Over 70 rooms in one of Ireland's finest Regency mansions
• Landscape painting collection among the best outside the National Gallery of Ireland
• 11-acre arboretum of rare tender and exotic trees

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

36.Fota Wildlife Park

Walk among free-roaming kangaroos and wallabies

A 100-acre wildlife park on Fota Island near Cork where kangaroos, wallabies, giraffes and cheetahs live in open, natural-style habitats — one of Ireland's best-known family days out.

Highlights

• Animals roam freely in 100 acres of open habitat
• Cheetah run and free-roaming kangaroos and wallabies
• Asian Sanctuary: lions, tigers and Indian rhino

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

37.Garinish Island (Oileán Garinis)

An Italian garden you reach only by boat

A tiny island garden in Glengarriff harbour, where a mild Gulf-Stream climate grows Italian terraces, a walled garden and a Martello tower — reachable only by a short boat trip past a seal colony.

38.Glenview Gardens

A three-acre garden with a hobbit house

A three-acre, multi-themed West Cork garden where a sunken white garden, a Japanese red bridge and a hobbit house built through a birch mound sit one after another around every corner.

Highlights

• Sunken white, Japanese, Chinese and Mediterranean gardens
• Hobbit House built through the birch mound
• Fairy woods with fairy houses

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

39.Marlogue Woods Forest Recreational Area

Free woodland walks to a hidden harbour shore

A quiet old oak-and-beech wood on the south-east of Great Island, where forest tracks drop through the trees to a stony shore with wide views across Cork Harbour.

Highlights

• Old oak and beech woodland
• Rocky harbour beach with Cork Harbour views
• Waymarked easy loop, about 4.3 km

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access

40.Midleton Distillery Experience

where every drop of Jameson is made

The 15-acre County Cork distillery where every drop of Jameson is made — a working heritage site over 200 years old, with fully guided tours, tastings and cocktail classes.

Highlights

• Home of Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, Midleton Very Rare and more
• Guided tour of a 200-year-old, 15-acre distillery site
• See the largest pot still in the world

Facilities

Wheelchair access

41.Mizen Head Signal Station

A 1907 concrete bridge 45m above the Atlantic

Ireland's most south-westerly point, where an award-winning footbridge slung high over the Atlantic links the mainland to a restored 1900s signal station. Tickets are bought at the desk on arrival — there are no online sales.

Highlights

• Mizen Foot Bridge, rebuilt 2011, 52.4 m span and 45.7 m above sea level
• Mizen Vision signal station: Marconi Room, Engine Room, keepers' quarters
• Fresnel lens and Irish lighthouse displays

Facilities

Wheelchair access

42.Red Strand Beach

A sheltered red-sand bay beneath a lighthouse

A small, sheltered horseshoe bay in West Cork where red-tinged sand, clean water and a view straight to Galley Head Lighthouse make it a favourite with families.

Highlights

• Green Coast Award bathing water
• Sheltered horseshoe bay, calm enough for swimming
• View across to Galley Head Lighthouse

Facilities

Good for kids

43.Skibbereen Heritage Centre (Ionad Oidhreachta an Sciobairín)

Famine history and Ireland's first marine reserve

A small West Cork museum in the old gasworks where Ireland's Great Famine is told through the people of Skibbereen, with a second exhibition on Lough Hyne, Ireland's first marine nature reserve.

Highlights

• Great Irish Famine Exhibition
• Lough Hyne marine nature reserve exhibition
• In-house West Cork genealogy service

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

44.Spike Island

Ferry to a fortress prison with 12 museums

A 104-acre island in Cork Harbour once home to a monastery, a fortress and one of Ireland's most notorious prisons, reached by a 15-minute ferry from Cobh.

Highlights

• Guided tour with an expert storyteller included in the ticket
• More than a dozen museums and exhibitions
• 104-acre island with scenic walking trails

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

45.Waterfall Alpaca Farm (by appointment only.)

The alpaca walk that ends at a riverside waterfall

A working West Cork farm where you lead a friendly alpaca along a riverside trail past pools, cascades and the waterfall that gave the farm its name. Visits are strictly by appointment.

Highlights

• Ireland's first alpaca walks
• Lead an alpaca to a riverside waterfall
• Meet ponies, donkeys, hens and female alpacas

46.Zipit Forest Adventures

Five colour-coded treetop circuits up to 15m high

A treetop adventure park in 45 hectares of lakeside forest at Farran Woods, 20 minutes from Cork City. Five colour-coded circuits climb from one metre to 15 metres above the forest floor, with ziplines crossing the clearings.

Highlights

• Five colour-coded circuits, 1 to 15 metres high
• Ziplines, rope bridges, cargo nets and balance beams
• Up to 3 hours per session including safety briefing

Facilities

Good for kids

47.Adventure Park at Kartworld

Go-karting, paintball and laser tag in one park

A purpose-built outdoor activity park beside one of Europe's best go-karting tracks, packing karting, paintball, laser tag, archery and sumo suits into one site about 25 minutes from Cork city. Everything runs on pre-booked sessions and group packages.

Highlights

• International and National go-karting tracks
• Three themed paintball arenas
• Laser tag with free unlimited ammo

Facilities

Wheelchair access

48.Ballard Waterfall Forest Recreational Area

A hidden waterfall at the end of a 5.4km forest loop

A quiet, waymarked forest loop just outside Mitchelstown that ends at a hidden waterfall tumbling through a rocky gorge on the Muchnagh River.

Highlights

• 5.4 km moderate waymarked loop, about 1.5 hours
• Hidden waterfall on the Muchnagh River with a timber viewing deck
• Two timber footbridges in a deep wooded valley

49.Cobh Heritage Centre

Three centuries of Irish emigration under one roof

Housed in Cobh's beautifully restored Victorian railway station, this waterfront museum tells the story of the three million Irish emigrants who sailed from this quay — and of the Titanic and Lusitania, both bound up with the town.

Highlights

• 3 million emigrants sailed from this harbour
• Life-size figures and personal emigration stories
• Titanic and Lusitania exhibitions

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

50.Cork City Gaol

Step inside a castle-like 19th-century prison

Cork City Gaol is a battlemented, castle-like Victorian prison on Sunday's Well where visitors wander the wings among lifelike models and the real stories of 19th-century inmates.

Highlights

• Castle-like 1824 prison building
• Self-guided tour with multilingual guidebook
• Audio guide and audio-visual show

Facilities

Wheelchair access

51.Corrin Wood Forest Recreational Area

a 4.5 km forest loop to 360° summit views

A wooded hill south of Fermoy rising to a Bronze Age summit mound crowned by a 1933 stone cross, with a 4.5 km loop trail and sweeping 360° views over the Golden Vale.

Highlights

• 222 m summit with 360° views
• Bronze Age mound of Carn Thiernagh
• 1933 stone cross, lit at Christmas and Easter

52.Farran Forest Park(Páirc Foraoise an Fhearainn)

deer, ziplines and lakeside forest trails

A small forest park on the southern shore of Inniscarra Lake, with free woodland trails, a red- and fallow-deer enclosure and one of Munster's biggest zipline courses. Created in the 1950s when farmland was flooded for the Inniscarra hydroelectric station, it's 20 km west of Cork city off the N22.

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access

53.Green Park, Youghal

Victorian seaside park with a c.1900 bandstand

A Victorian seaside park on the Blackwater estuary, Green Park — known locally as the '98 Memorial Park — holds a c.1900 bandstand and fountain, a 1798 memorial and a new covered events pavilion, between Youghal's town centre and its beach.

Highlights

• Victorian cast-iron bandstand and fountain (c.1900)
• Rev. Peter O'Neill 1798 memorial statue
• New covered performance pavilion

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access

54.Kanturk Castle

A never-roofed 1600s castle, free all year

Kanturk Castle, known locally as the Old Court, is a great limestone house begun around 1601 for MacDonagh MacCarthy, Lord of Duhallow, and abandoned unfinished — a roofless shell open to the sky on a low rise south of the town, free to visit all year.

Highlights

• Roofless 1601 fortified house, never completed or roofed
• Four-storey block with five-storey corner towers
• Finely carved Renaissance doorway on the north front

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

55.Piccolo Play Village

14 themed role-play zones for under-6s

A miniature make-believe town of 14 themed role-play zones on the top floor of a Ballincollig shopping centre — designed for children to lead the play while grown-ups relax over proper coffee and cake.

Highlights

• 14 themed, immersive role-play areas
• Fire station, garda station and hospital
• Child-sized pizzeria, café and supermarket

Facilities

Wheelchair access

56.Rineen Woods

A hidden coastal wood with a famine wall and lime kiln

A tucked-away coastal wood on the eastern shore of Castlehaven inlet, where a short trail links a famine-era wall, a shoreline lime kiln and long views down the water to the Atlantic.

Highlights

• Views 4 km down Castlehaven inlet to the Atlantic
• The Narrows, where the two shores are just 50 m apart
• A famine-era estate wall

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly

57.The Ewe Experience

Award-winning sculpture garden, now closed to visitors

The Ewe Experience was a gloriously eccentric sculpture garden and nature trail in a wooded glen near Glengarriff, once named Ireland's number one garden by The Irish Times. It is now closed to the public — the owners still sell art and take sculpture commissions, and Falling Water Lodge and the garden are for sale.

Highlights

• Named Ireland's #1 Garden by The Irish Times
• 32 years of sculpture, poetry and nature trails
• Described as 'a phantasmagorical landscape of weirdness and brilliance'

58.Toy Soldier Factory - Prince August

cast and paint your own metal toy soldier

A working toy soldier factory in the village of Kilnamartyra, where you watch molten metal cast into miniatures in front of you and then paint your own figure to take home.

Highlights

• Ireland's only toy soldier factory, running since 1981
• Live tin-soldier casting in a real working factory
• Make-and-paint workshops from €12 per person

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

59.West Cork Model Railway Village

The only model village on the island, at 1:24 scale

Ireland's only model village, a hand-built 1:24 scale recreation of the 1940s West Cork Railway and the towns it served, set beside the water in Clonakilty. Miniature trains, boating, diggers and a road-train tour make it a hit with families.

Highlights

• Ireland's only model village, built entirely on site at 1:24 scale
• Eight G-scale model trains on 500 m of live track
• Choo Choo road train tour of Clonakilty town

Facilities

Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access

60.Youghal Clock Gate Tower

A 1777 gaol tower with 360° rooftop views

A 1777 clock tower straddling Youghal's main street, where costumed storytellers lead you through 700 years of history and up to a 360° view over the bay.

Highlights

• 700 years of history in a tower built in 1777
• Immersive costumed storyteller tours
• 360° views from the fifth-floor platform

61.Alpine Skate Trail Cork

Real-ice skating at a covered winter food market

Cork's winter skating tradition — long run as the Alpine Skate Trail — is back under the Cork On Ice name, with real, machine-smoothed ice inside the city's favourite street-food market, Marina Market.

Highlights

• 45-minute sessions on real, Zamboni-smoothed ice
• Fully covered rink at Marina Market
• Skate hire included, kids' size 8 to adult 14

Facilities

Wheelchair access

62.Annes Grove House & Gardens

30 acres of rare rhododendrons by a wooded glen

A 30-acre Robinsonian garden above the River Awbeg, planted with exotic shrubs from the Himalayas and only fully opened to the public in 2022. The 190-acre Annesley estate holds some of the earliest rhododendrons introduced to Ireland.

Highlights

• Rhododendrons among the earliest introduced to Ireland
• 18th-century Walled Garden
• River garden and glen on the River Awbeg

63.Bailick Park

Nine eagle feathers honouring Choctaw famine aid

Bailick Park is a small riverside public park in Midleton best known for "Kindred Spirits", a towering memorial of nine stainless-steel eagle feathers shaped into an empty bowl, honouring the Choctaw Nation's famine-relief gift to Ireland.

Highlights

• Nine 20-foot stainless-steel eagle feathers arranged as a bowl
• Honours the Choctaw Nation's $170 gift to Irish famine relief in 1847
• Quiet riverside park with footpaths, benches and trees

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access

64.Ballybeg Priory

1229 Augustinian ruin with a 352-box dovecote

A quiet, open-field ruin 2km south of Buttevant, where a 13th-century Augustinian priory and one of Ireland's best-preserved medieval dovecotes stand in the grass.

Highlights

• 13th-century Augustinian priory founded 1229 by Philip de Barry
• Perfectly preserved circular columbarium (dovecot) with 352 nesting boxes
• Ruins of the church, claustral ranges and three-storey tower

65.Carrigaline Playground

a free playground nicknamed Pringle Park

Rebuilt in 2026 after a €300,000 community fundraising drive, this free playground in Carrigaline Regional Park pairs a shiny new "Pringle Park" adventure zone with a skate park, games area and duck pond beside the Owenabue.

Highlights

• €300,000 community-funded rebuild, reopened July 2026
• Zipline, jungle gym, climbing frames, seesaws and slides
• Adjacent skate park and multi-use games area

66.Little Rascals Funworld

90-minute indoor play sessions from €9

A large indoor adventure play centre in Mallow where children race between astra slides, rope mazes and a ball pond, with a dedicated under-5s zone, a sensory room and a coffee dock for the grown-ups. Everything runs on timed, pre-booked sessions — there are no walk-ins.

Highlights

• Timed 90-minute play sessions, up to 250 children
• Slides, astra slides, rope maze, assault course, ball pond
• Under-5s area and racing cars

Facilities

Wheelchair access

67.Mallow Castle

White deer herd gifted by Queen Elizabeth I

Mallow Castle pairs the ruins of a 13th-century castle and a Jacobean fortified house with 33 acres of riverside parkland, grazed by a herd of white fallow deer descended from animals gifted by Queen Elizabeth I. Entry to the grounds is free.

Highlights

• Ruins of a 13th-century castle
• 16th-century Jacobean fortified house
• White fallow deer herd dating to 1600

Facilities

Wheelchair access

68.The Haystack Restaurant is Open daily. The Farm Park is closed for the Winter

Milking cows, barrel rides and a 1950s village

The Farm, Grenagh is a 40-acre working farm experience in north Cork, 20 minutes from the city, where you milk cows, ride a barrel train, wander a 1950s village and let the kids loose in three play areas.

Facilities

Wheelchair access

69.Timoleague Friary

West Cork's largest medieval friary ruin

A sprawling Franciscan friary founded before 1316 on the banks of the Argideen River — the largest medieval religious ruin in West Cork. A state-owned National Monument in the care of the OPW, it is an unguided site with external viewing only; internal access is not permitted.

Highlights

• One of Ireland's few early Franciscan foundations with extensive remains
• 15th-century bell tower, cloister arcade, sacristy and domestic ranges
• The unusual 'wart well' stone and unexplained wall passages

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

70.Blackrock Castle Observatory

A 16th-century castle with a planetarium dome

A 16th-century harbour castle that doubles as a working observatory and space science centre, run by Munster Technological University and Cork City Council. Admission covers the award-winning exhibition, a planetarium star show and a self-guided climb to the tower-top views.

Facilities

Wheelchair access

71.Curraheen Park Greyhound Stadium

€10 race nights with a glass-fronted restaurant

Cork's home of greyhound racing, where Friday and Saturday nights pack in fast dogs, glass-fronted dining, bars and a lively family crowd just off the N40 near Bishopstown.

Highlights

• Racing every Friday and Saturday night
• Free on-site car parking
• Adult admission just €10; under-14s free

Facilities

Wheelchair access

72.Dunboy Castle

the 1602 siege ruin at the mouth of Berehaven Bay

A dramatic ruined castle on the shore of Berehaven Bay, once the stronghold of the O'Sullivan Bere clan and the scene of a famous 1602 siege. It is a free, open-access ruin reached by a short walk from a roadside parking bay.

Highlights

• Ruined stronghold of the O'Sullivan Bere clan
• Site of the 1602 Siege of Dunboy
• Free, open-access ruins

73.Mallow Town Park

84 acres of riverside park with white deer

Mallow Town Park is the green heart of north Cork: a free riverside park on the Blackwater that links into Mallow Castle's grounds as one 84-acre amenity, home to a herd of white fallow deer.

Highlights

• White (leucistic) fallow deer in the castle grounds
• Over 5 km of flat riverside pathways
• Free, open 24 hours

Facilities

Wheelchair access

74.Airtastic Entertainment Centre Cork – Bowling, Mini Golf, Arcade, NY Kitchen

12 bowling lanes, inflata park and space golf

Cork's biggest indoor leisure centre packs ten-pin bowling, an inflata and ninja park, space-themed mini golf, an arcade and an American diner under one roof in Little Island.

Highlights

• Twelve-lane ten-pin bowling alley
• Large inflata and ninja park with toddler zone
• Indoor 18-hole space-themed mini golf

Facilities

Good for kids · Wheelchair access

75.Aura Youghal Leisure Centre

25m pool, kids' pools and a €10 adult swim

A modern community leisure centre on Youghal's Claycastle seafront, combining a 25-metre pool, kids' pools and a full health suite with a well-equipped gym and fitness studio. It is the town's main indoor swimming and workout spot, open to pay-as-you-go visitors as well as members.

Highlights

• 25-metre swimming pool
• Learner pool and kiddies pool
• Sauna, steam room and jacuzzi

Facilities

Wheelchair access

76.Bamboo Park

30 bamboo species in a Gulf Stream seaside garden

An exotic seaside garden on the Glengarriff coast, where thirty species of bamboo, palms and tree ferns thrive in Ireland's mild Gulf Stream air.

Highlights

• Thirty species of bamboo, mostly giant
• Hardy palms and self-seeding tree ferns
• Private beach with views to Garnish Island

Facilities

Good for kids · Dog-friendly · Wheelchair access

77.Fermoy Leisure Centre

25m five-lane pool with sauna and splash pool

A Cork County Council community pool in Fermoy's Town Park, with a 25-metre five-lane pool, a kiddies splash pool and a sauna and steam room, running public swim sessions from 6.45am to 9.45pm on weekdays.

Highlights

• 25-metre, five-lane indoor pool
• Kiddies splash pool
• Sauna and steam room in public sessions

Facilities

Wheelchair access

78.Monkey Maze

Europe's largest indoor kids' activity centre

Monkey Maze bills itself as Europe's largest indoor activity centre, a giant four-level play maze in Glanmire, Cork, built for under-10s and their grown-ups.

Highlights

• Europe's largest indoor activity centre
• Giant four-level play maze
• Slides, ball pools and shooting cannons

Facilities

Wheelchair access

79.Tír na Sí Farm

rescue animals, mini golf and a nature trail

A working farm above Watergrasshill that rehomes rescued pigs, donkeys, goats and alpacas, then wraps them in Celtic mini golf, a wildlife-pond nature trail and a farmhouse restaurant with views to the Galtee and Knockmealdown mountains.

Highlights

• Almost all animals are rescues given a home
• Over 3,000 native trees planted along the farm walk
• Celtic-themed crazy golf

Facilities

Wheelchair access

80.LeisureWorld Bishopstown

Three pools, a gym and €11 drop-in entry

One of Cork's largest health, fitness and leisure centres, built around three swimming pools plus a big split-level gym, floodlit astro pitches and a health spa. Entry is open to everyone on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Highlights

• Three pools under one roof: 6-lane 25m, 4-lane 18m and a learner/toddler pool
• Split-level gym with 40+ cardio machines and a dedicated fitness studio
• Saunas and steam room in the poolside health spa (over 18s)

Facilities

Wheelchair access

81.Little Rebels

100 cubic metres of indoor soft play for under-11s

Little Rebels is an indoor soft-play zone in Cork's Sports Village, with over 100 cubic metres of 3D play space for babies, toddlers and children up to eleven — plus a café where grown-ups can relax while the kids burn off energy.

Highlights

• Soft play for babies, toddlers and kids up to eleven
• Over 100 cubic metres of 3D play space
• Dedicated baby sensory area and toddler climbing frame

Facilities

Wheelchair access

82.Perks Family Entertainment & Indoor Funfair

Free-entry indoor funfair with bowling and laser tag

A big indoor entertainment centre and funfair on the seafront at Youghal, where entry is free and you only pay for the bowling, laser tag, soft play, rides and mini golf you actually use.

Highlights

• No admission fee — pay per activity
• Free parking on site
• AMF bowling, laser tag, arcade and rides under one roof

Facilities

Wheelchair access

83.Planet Entertainment Centre Cork

14-lane bowling, laser tag, soft play and a 9D cinema

Cork's big indoor entertainment centre on the Old Mallow Road, packing ten-pin bowling, laser tag, soft play, a 9D cinema and an arcade under one roof — a reliable rainy-day fix for families and groups.

Highlights

• 14-lane ten-pin bowling alley
• Laser tag arena
• 9D cinema ride

Facilities

Wheelchair access

84.The Butter Museum

once the world's largest butter market

A small, quirky museum in Cork's historic Shandon quarter that tells the story of Irish butter, from ancient dairy culture and the 19th-century Cork Butter Exchange to the craft of home churning. Built around a working butter-making demonstration and a huge collection of vintage butter wrappers.

Highlights

• Home of the Cork Butter Exchange, once the largest butter market in the world
• Live butter-making demonstrations on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12.00
• Over 150 Irish butter brands in the vintage wrapper collection

Facilities

Wheelchair access

85.Rumley's Open Farm

Petting zoo, go-karts and a milking robot

A working dairy farm turned family attraction outside Cork, where kids pet the animals, race pedal go-karts and watch a robot milk the cows. Note: the farm was put up for sale in December 2024, so check it is open before travelling.

Highlights

• Nearly 2km of walkways with panoramic views of Cork city
• Robotic (voluntary) milking system
• Two pedal go-kart tracks