The most confusing thing about Cork City’s layout is that there is not one River Lee but two—two channels making an island of the city’s center. These divide the city into three sections:
Flat of the City -- The downtown core is bounded by two channels of the River Lee. Its main shopping thoroughfare is bustling St. Patrick Street, which curves up to St. Patrick’s Bridge. Nearby, the South Mall is a wide, tree-lined street with attractive Georgian architecture and a row of banks, insurance companies, and legal offices; linking them at their western end is the Grand Parade, a spacious thoroughfare that blends 18th-century bow-fronted houses with the remains of the old city walls. It has lots of offices and shops as well as Bishop Lucey Park.
North Bank -- St. Patrick’s Bridge leads over the river’s north channel to the hilly north side of the city, where St. Patrick Street becomes St. Patrick’s Hill. And is it ever a hill, with an incline so steep that it’s virtually San Franciscan. East of St. Patrick’s Hill, commercial MacCurtain Street runs past the train station and out to the M8 motorway. West of St. Patrick's Hill is Shandon, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, with the tall spire of St. Anne’s Church its chief landmark.
South Bank -- Across the river’s south channel, the largely residential South Bank is where you’ll find St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, the site of St. Fin Barre’s 6th-century monastery, and, farther west, the sprawling campus of University College Cork.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
