Cobh, on a hilly headland in Cork harbour, was the last port of call for the Titanic in April 1912. Half the visitors who come to Cork city tag on a half-day in Cobh for that reason alone. The town is also one of the prettiest small ports in Ireland, with a row of pastel-coloured Georgian houses called the Deck of Cards and a Gothic cathedral that rises above everything.
Getting there
The train from Cork Kent Station to Cobh takes twenty-five minutes and runs every hour or so. It is one of the most scenic short rail journeys in the country, with the train line hugging the harbour shoreline for most of the way. Twelve euros return.
The Titanic Experience
The Titanic Experience Cobh is in the original White Star Line ticket office on Casement Square, fifty metres from the pier where the Titanic's tenders ferried passengers out to the ship. Each ticket gives you the boarding card of one of the 123 passengers who joined at Queenstown (Cobh's old name); at the end of the tour you find out whether your assigned passenger survived. Around eleven euros, lasts about an hour, properly informative.
The Queenstown Story
The other museum, the Cobh Heritage Centre at the train station, covers Cobh's emigration history more broadly. Two and a half million Irish people sailed to America from Cobh between 1848 and 1950. The exhibition tells their stories through individual records, photos and recreations. Fifteen euros, allow ninety minutes.
Should I do both museums?
If you have a full day, yes. If you have only the half day, choose the Titanic Experience. The Heritage Centre is broader but the Titanic Experience is more focused and personal. Combined tickets are available and shave a few euros off if you do both.
St Colman's Cathedral
The neo-Gothic cathedral above the town, finished in 1919, has the largest carillon (a set of tuned bells) in Ireland with forty-nine bells. Free to enter. The bells ring on the hour and there are full carillon concerts on Sunday afternoons in summer.
Where do I eat in Cobh?
Sage on Westbourne Place is the best restaurant in town and has won national awards. The Quays Bar on the seafront does decent pub food with harbour views. For a quick coffee and a sandwich, Cassidys on Pearse Square is the long-standing local favourite. Avoid the cafes on the cruise pier, they are aimed at the cruise ship crowd and priced accordingly.
How does cruise ship traffic affect a visit?
Cobh is one of Ireland's main cruise ship ports and on busy summer days a single ship can disembark three thousand passengers. The town fills up between ten and three on those days. Check the cruise schedule (cobhcruise.ie) before booking your day; if a 3000-passenger ship is in port, push your visit a day earlier or later.
Is Cobh worth more than half a day?
Yes, if you take the ferry to Spike Island. Spike Island is in the harbour, a fifteen minute ferry from the Kennedy Pier, and contains a star-shaped Napoleonic-era fortress that was used as a prison until 1985. The fortress tour is excellent, the views back across the harbour are some of the best in Ireland, and a Spike Island half-day plus a Cobh half-day fills a proper full day from Cork city.
The smaller things
The Lusitania memorial in the Old Church Cemetery is worth a quiet stop. Many of the bodies recovered after the 1915 sinking are buried there. The memorial garden is small and underfussed.