Cork: Ireland's real capital, according to its people

Cork residents jokingly refer to their city as the 'true capital' of Ireland, a local pride that permeates every corner of the center.

The center, which its inhabitants consider the true capital of Ireland, is comfortably explored on foot along the River Lee.

The English Market, a covered market active since 1788, still sells fresh fish, Irish cheeses and local specialties like tripe and drisheen, a traditional black pudding.

A short walk away, the Cathedral of Saint Fin Barre, a neogothic nineteenth-century cathedral, dominates the city skyline with its three spires.

Continuing on, you visit Blarney Castle, just outside the city, where kissing the celebrated stone suspended upside down would supposedly gift the power of eloquence according to legend.

Toward evening, the Shandon district, with its bell tower with four clocks that mark slightly different times, closes the day in the historic heart of the city.

Kissing the Blarney Stone requires leaning backward through an opening in the castle walls, held by the ankles by an attendant—a rite millions of visitors have undergone over the centuries.

The four clocks of Shandon Tower traditionally display slightly different times, a historical mechanical flaw that over the years has become almost an affectionate characteristic of the city.