Cork - top ten cities in the world!

flo8s967qjh0nd

Well done Cork.

Take a look at the RTE report:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1103/lonelyplanet.html

Anybody know where that picture they are using is of? I really don't think its Cork. Is it??

dogbert27

It's the North Cathedral taking probably from somewhere around Patrick's Hill.

flo8s967qjh0nd

NO, it wasn't the North Cathedral.

Ha, they've just changed it, now its a view of Cork Harbour. Looks like someone beat me to it, with a strongly worded email to RTE.

Seriously though, well done everyone

Do people think it is justified?

moby2101

I get 2 visit Cork 2 - 3 times a year .. I have to agree... Cork is an amazing City... Really love coming back to visit. Congrats....well deserved..

number10a

Haha! I'm famous on the boards. It was I. I am the strongly-worded-email-writer that got them to change the picture! Still a crap picture but anyway, at least it's actually in Leeside.

The first picture really just shows that Raidió Telilfís Átha Cliath really does not know anything about what's outside the M50. Anyone recognise the pic that was there first? Where is it? I'm at work and no one here could place it.

flo8s967qjh0nd

I doff my hat to you number10a. I imagine you weren't the only one who emailed.
The first pic wasn't Bandon was it??

gramlab

Post this in the Dublin forum. I know they just love to talk about the great things Cork has to offer

KnifeWRENCH

Wow, that's....surprising. Cork is on par with Singapore and Vancouver! Quite a compliment.

I suppose for it's size Cork is a pretty nice city. Top 10 in the world seems like a big stretch though. Still, nice to be acknowledged!

richie is200

cork is the real capital lads

DamienH

It's official, the annex has started. Rise up Cork! Up dem schteps!!!!

Chorcai

Oh gettin right ear full up here from the lads !

mudokon

I love the way this article says that the top 10 arent ranked but they ignored that on the RTE news last night & pronounced Cork as the third best city in the world. :pac:

shnaek

Just listened to the Lord Mayor on morning Ireland there. What a tool.

Interviewer: "So Cork is up there with Vancouver, Singapore etc etc......"
LM: "Yeah, we just opened xthousand square foot of shopping here in Cork..."

Interviewer: "Is Cork the real capital?"
LM: "God no! Real capital? Who said that? We'd never say such a thing. The thought horrifies me. I can't sleep at night for fear of it. But we've opened lots of new shops down here."

Seriously. Tool.

flo8s967qjh0nd

To be fair Shnaek, despite you using quotation marks, that wasn't what the Lord mayor said at all. I thought he did a decent job.
The actual interview is available here:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1103/lonelyplanet_av.html?2641065,null,209

lightening

shnaek wrote: »

Interviewer: "Is Cork the real capital?"
LM: "God no! Real capital? Who said that? We'd never say such a thing. The thought horrifies me. I can't sleep at night for fear of it. But we've opened lots of new shops down here."

I heard that interview, are you exaggerating a bit? I don't think he said that at all. He certainly did say that Cork is not the real capital (as Dublin is the real capital). He probably doesn't suffer from the insecurities that compels people to say that Cork is the real capital. He knows that Cork is amazing and truly one of the best places to visit in Ireland. It really has so much to offer for the visitor. Other cities all over the world are amazing, they don't need to be capitals.

Anyway, well done Cork, well deserved, I will continue visiting one of my favorite parts of the country.

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

Wow, that's....surprising. Cork is on par with Singapore and Vancouver! Quite a compliment.

I suppose for it's size Cork is a pretty nice city. Top 10 in the world seems like a big stretch though. Still, nice to be acknowledged!

I reckon its what the city and the surrounding areas have to offer to be honest.

gollem_1975

As Cork is in the Lonely Planets top 10 cities to visit next year , i'm thinking of beating the crowds and visiting for a weekend before the end of 09

from the piece on the RTE news I gather that:
1)fish and chips at Lennoxes
2)the english market

are def worth checking out.

what else would be worth checking out on a weekend in Cork ?

sceptre

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

Wow, that's....surprising. Cork is on par with Singapore and Vancouver! Quite a compliment.

Don't forget Sarajevo:)

star.chaser

number10a wrote: »

Raidió Telilfís Átha Cliath

Yes, Also known as RTD

i55ed5

All Im going to say is, "We don't call ourselves the REAL capital" for nothing.!




x

grenache

Well deserved in my opinion. It is a class city. It may not be the capital city but it certainly is the country's best city, superior to Dublin in several ways. I like that Cork is relatively small, easy to navigate, yet it has such a diversity of restaurants, pubs, theatres, and shops. I think the people make the city too, Corkonians by their nature are a very upbeat and positive group of people.

jank

The only place in Ireland I would live in.....

I think Cork has the best of both worlds. Its a big enough (ish) city where you can get anything you want. Pubs, Restaurants, Events all the usual things you get in a city of that size.

But also what makes Cork is what surrounds it. In one hours drive you can be in West Cork where you can go to cape clear, schull,Baltimore, clon, Youghal (OK maybe not that good! ), Ardmore, Kinsale (food capital of Ireland), Killarney lakes, Crosshaven, Cobh and so on. If you want to go for a quick spin somewhere really different you can end up in loads of different places all very different to each other. These places have their own character that many other places lack.

The city itself is also very different to others in that it is not your typical anglo saxon city, it is much more Continental in old laneways, old narrow streets, the wider modern shopping streets etc. It aint perfect by any messure but its not a bad ol place.

Cork has massive potential if the corpo gets its act together.

shnaek

jank wrote: »

The only place in Ireland I would live in.....

I think Cork has the best of both worlds. Its a big enough (ish) city where you can get anything you want. Pubs, Restaurants, Events all the usual things you get in a city of that size.

But also what makes Cork is what surrounds it. In one hours drive you can be in West Cork where you can go to cape clear, schull,Baltimore, clon, Youghal (OK maybe not that good! ), Ardmore, Kinsale (food capital of Ireland), Killarney lakes, Crosshaven, Cobh and so on. If you want to go for a quick spin somewhere really different you can end up in loads of different places all very different to each other. These places have their own character that many other places lack.

The city itself is also very different to others in that it is not your typical anglo saxon city, it is much more Continental in old laneways, old narrow streets, the wider modern shopping streets etc. It aint perfect by any messure but its not a bad ol place.

Cork has massive potential if the corpo gets its act together.

I agree with all that.

star.chaser

sceptre wrote: »

Don't forget Sarajevo:)

Yes, Sarajevo has it's problems but it actually seems like a very nice city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo

In saying that theres about as much of a chance that you'll find me in Sarajevo as much as you'd find me in limerick. :pac:

dahamsta

I've been in Sarajevo, it's a cool city to visit but it's utterly destroyed, you wouldn't want to live there. Seeing the empty carcass of their library makes you grind your teeth every time you see this prick on the telly.

grenache

star.chaser wrote: »

Yes, Sarajevo has it's problems but it actually seems like a very nice city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo

In saying that theres about as much of a chance that you'll find me in Sarajevo as much as you'd find me in limerick. :pac:

Thats being very hard on Sarajevo, comparing it with Ghetto City. The locals wont like you for that

Amtmann

Cork is indeed a wonderful city. I'm very happy to live here. However, some parts of it disappoint me.

1) Grand Parade: too many empty, dilapidated buildings.
2) Grotty, unattractive appearance on the outskirts, from Dennehy's Cross and Wilton to Victoria Cross, and I'm sure several other places.
3) The South Ring and the monstrosity that is Mahon Point. The SR needs to be upgraded (remove the roundabouts). Mahon Point is the source of untold congestion and should never have been built there. Best have these things in the centre.
4) Public transport in Cork is terrible. A lonely red pole bereft of a timetable and shelter is NOT a bus stop. In addition, the timetables aren't worth the paper they are written on.
5) There is an over-emphasis on retail development. By all means, this is vital, and Cork has some great shops. But! When was the last time an actual opera or classical music concert was played in Cork? We need this, not an infinitely greater number of shops.

Azelfafage

"Cork is amazing and truly one of the best places to visit in Ireland."

Can't think why?

Tourists speed through the place going west.

(A bit like like that other boring place, Limerick city.)

The Western Road has the best hotels and B&Bs only because tourists rest there before going on to REALLY interesting places in West Cork and Kerry.

Not many B&Bs on the EAST side of the city.

Most tourists in Cork City are usually resting there for the night....going West.

"Bland" defines Cork City and Limerick City.

Lots of foreign tour guides agree.
.

Dudess

The Rough Guide always picks some random, unremarkable place - probably just to be a bit "quirky" etc. Cork's nice and can be buzzing - and parts of it do look beautiful (the view from where I live of a misty morn - unreal)... but it ain't really "all that".

deRanged

it's the "top 10 cities to visit" - not the 10 best in terms of public transport or anything like that. There's no doubt that Cork is an excellent little city to visit.
Plus, lonely planet would have a hard time selling new books if they only ever had the same top 10 cities.

MAB83

Been down to Cork a few times in the last 2 years, my girlfriend is from there. Nice city alright. Some great pubs and friendly people. Easy to get around too, it's small and compact but in a good way.

Max001

deRanged wrote: »

it's the "top 10 cities to visit" - not the 10 best in terms of public transport or anything like that. There's no doubt that Cork is an excellent little city to visit.
Plus, lonely planet would have a hard time selling new books if they only ever had the same top 10 cities.

Thanks for puttin some accuracy back into this thread deRanged. Top ten cities to visit isn't the same as top ten cities in the world. Before I say anything else, I do enjoy living here and the people give this place as well as West Cork, what character it has.
However, is it a city....in name maybe....but does it compare in any way to London, Berlin, Paris, Rome or any EU country's second ranking cities in Europe, never mind the rest of the world - hardly.
Is it pretty - pl-ease. Patrick St has been ruined by chain stores and the rest of the city centre is barely hanging onto any character. Certainly there are pretty parts to the city and places worth visiting, but beautiful it ain't.
Looking at this place through rose tinted glasses does the town a huge disservice IMHO. God forbid the council would take developers to heel and make them reinstate or preserve the original features of the city. By all means modernise, but retain what you can and blend in new building. If you go to the city museum you can view old silent movies taken around the turn of the century and showing what Patrick St looked like. All the old facades could have been kept and the place modernised without losing so much heritage. Maybe its too late to put it back. I'd think its worth doing though, if the city came up with an integrated long term plan to build back Cork's unique identity while modernising into a 21st century city to be proud of. Will it happen though? Not a chance. All thats been lost is likely lost forever and wouldn't you say we're all the poorer for it?

star.chaser

Azelfafage wrote: »

"Cork is amazing and truly one of the best places to visit in Ireland."

Can't think why?

Tourists speed through the place going west.

(A bit like like that other boring place, Limerick city.)

The Western Road has the best hotels and B&Bs only because tourists rest there before going on to REALLY interesting places in West Cork and Kerry.

Not many B&Bs on the EAST side of the city.

Most tourists in Cork City are usually resting there for the night....going West.

"Bland" defines Cork City and Limerick City.

Lots of foreign tour guides agree.
.

If you were describing Cork 30 years ago, I'd probably agree.

You say the REALLY interesting places are in west Cork and Kerry.

Unless your a pensioner, west Cork and kerry are the boring places.

You say not many B+Bs on the east side of the city. Not much of anything really on the east side except factories and warehouses.

Lots of foreign guides may have given a bad review of Cork in the past but the current independent leading travel guide in the world puts it as one of the top places to visit.

I believe their review over yours.

dahamsta

Oh ofr f*ck's sake, it should be obvious to anyone with a brain in their head that that was a troll. Replying to them is exactly what they want.

star.chaser

What, one of these? little bastard. If that was a troll, it wasn't a very good one. Got the impression it was one of those types that slags a place off based on what they've heard and have never actually been to the place they're slagging or has been but had a bad experience. you know the type. lots of um around.
shucks, don't I feel silly now

diego ribas

Cork is a fantastic little city and its not just the Glucksman or the Butter museam why Lonely Planet voted it in the top 5, but the charm of its people too. Our quick wit and charm was noted and you certainly cant argue about that.

If you read the Irish times they'll have you believed the whole thing was a fix though. They allude to their dissapointment of Patrick street being filled with shopping centres. Whodathunkit?!! a city centre full with shops:rolleyes:

star.chaser

Yeah, a few years ago the Dublin Times were giving out that Cork was lacking in shops and slagging off MQ as the best the city had to offer and on par with the (then rundown) ilac center in Dublin?

lightening

star.chaser wrote: »

Yeah, a few years ago the Dublin Times were giving out that Cork was lacking in shops and slagging off MQ as the best the city had to offer and on par with the (then rundown) ilac center in Dublin?

The Dublin Times? What publication is that? And if it does exist, why would it have an article about Cork?