Cobh is a beautiful coastal town in Ireland, postcard perfect, yet nice to laze around and explore on foot. Delved deep in history about Titanic, Cobh has a lot more to offer than anything Titanic. Here’s our top recommendations on things to do in Cobh.
Where is Cobh?
Formerly known as Queenstown (1849 – 1921), Cobh is located in Southern Ireland, just about 20 minutes drive from the city Cork. Once a fishing village, Cobh began to develop as an important port base when British established their naval fortifications.
Cobh (pronounced as Cove) in Ireland, later became Ireland’s largest port of emigration moving out in search of new life, mostly to North America.
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Cobh and it’s association with Titanic Ship
This pretty storybook town is soaked in history, and has sunk in the hearts of millions of people. Out of 6 million Irish population, about 2.5 million people emigrated between 1848 and 1950, departing from then Queenstown, now Cobh harbour. And two famous ships that carried these people had sunk in the North Atlantic Ocean, and claimed millions of life – RMS Titanic and RMS Lusitania.
Top things to do in Cobh
1. Take a stroll along Cobh Promenade
We parked the car at the Cobh centre, close to the Promenade and took a long stroll getting chill breeze on a sunny, yet windy winter afternoon. This is the promenade that leads to the Cobh harbour. While walking, we noticed little colorful houses, busy coffee shops and the happy residents giving a warm smile. In summer, there would be boat trips, fishing, and lots of festival.
2. Visit St.Colman’s Cathedral
After savoring the walk along promenade, we crossed the road, walking past the coffee shops. The road began to elevate and as we walked towards the small hilly place that led to a Cathedral. A couple of steps to climb and we were already in the gardens of St.Colman’s Cathedral.
St.Colman’s Cathedral dominates the skyline of this beautiful town. With the grand Roman Catholic architecture that sits on the hill, the cathedral overlooks Cobh harbour. I stood there admiring the soaring grey stones and as I raised my head up, the cathedral was almost as if hugging the clouds. The Sunday mass had just got over, and the caretaker standing outside had amiably allowed me to visit inside and take photos.
3. Deck of Cards
After enjoying the view of the harbour and the town from the cathedral, we continued to walk again towards the town centre. After crossing various local shops and houses, the road turned and voila! We saw this striking street – a colorful row of houses in it’s West View Street famously known as “Deck of Cards”. How beautifully they’ve built these houses, and how tastefully colored! Certainly a photographer’s delight. There’s a green space opposite to the houses which are perfect to capture them.
4. Titanic Experience Cobh
As I have said before, the association between Titanic and Cobh is very strong, yet depressing. Located in Casement Square in the heart of Cobh town, the Titanic Experience Cobh stands on the original White Star Line Ticket Office that dates back to 19th century. In this experience, you will learn about the story of 123 passengers who were the final set of passengers to board the Titanic Ship in 1912. This 30 minute tour is tightly packed with information about Titanic followed by a cinematic experience.
5. Visit Spike Island or Hire a boat
Spike Islands holds 1300 years worth of history. Formerly it has been a remote monastery, a fortress, an island prison, and today you can explore the museums and exhibitions that talk about the history of this island. The island can be reached by a short ferry ride from Cobh. Don’t miss the 200 year old Fort Michael, 23 acre star shaped fortress. Alternatively, you can hire a boat through Cork Harbour Boat Hire and enjoy the views of Cobh from the water.
How to Reach Cobh
The nearest airport is Cork, and there are hourly rail and bus connections from Cork to Cobh. It takes roughly about 30 minutes in rail and 45/50 minutes in bus. If you choose to drive from Dublin (which is what we did), it takes roughly 3 hours to reach Cobh. There are a couple of free car parks in Cobh – one near the waterfront, and another behind St.Colman’s Cathedral.
Where to stay
Although Cobh is a small sized seaside town, there are a few good accommodations and hotels in and around Cobh. For a pocket friendly stays in Cobh, we recommend Commodore Hotel, which is located overlooking Cobh Harbour. Robin Hill House B & B is our next choice, which offers a cosy stay with great views and Cobh historic town is only 5 minutes walk away. 2 minutes away from Cobh train station is WatersEdge Hotel, sitting literary near harbour, offering spacious rooms, free parking and bistro-style restaurant. Also worth to check out Bella Vista Hotel & Self Catering Suites, family-run stays with free parking and other amenities. You can also search here for alternate hotels in Cobh.
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Destination Infinity
That 'deck of cards' is a wonderful shot! I wonder how all the residents agreed to have similar-styled houses? Except the red, all other colours look good! Titanic started its journey from here? What language do they speak in Ireland? English?
Destination Infinity
countryhoppingcouple
Yeah, I liked the idea of descending row houses. Actually there were more red, blue color houses at the end of the row, which is not clearly seen. Titanic started from Belfast, then collected people from France, UK and then came to Cobh, before leaving to New York. They speak Irish, and English.
rama
Saw these beautiful pictures in Flickr. Somehow although these houses look good styled in the same way, i am sure internally also the layout must be the same, but I would get bored living like this. In London too, I have seen whole streets with houses that all look so similar and boring, though inside they have been altered to suit each families needs/ style. In India too such row houses and villas are very popular, but having lived independently, for so many years, I don't think I can easily fit into a community living.
But if I were to live in a place like Cobh, maybe i would have to adjust and like it too eventually. I love living by the sea side.
Very pretty, like the colorful houses in San Francisco. You are lucky you have travelled a lot.
countryhoppingcouple
Yeah..that may require a lot of co-operation with neighbours if something happened on the common wall, I guess. But, as you said, if we have to live in such a cute town beside a sea, ofcourse, we can adjust a lot.
D.Nambiar
Beautiful it is. I'm sure the fact that it lies close to the sea, lends it a lot of charm.
Deck of cards? Aptly named and very, very attractive. I'm happy for you; happy that you got to capture that. I'm glad I got to see it. I thought the colours make it a very 'happy picture.'
It does remind me of The Seven Sisters in SF.
countryhoppingcouple
Oooh. Thanks Divya. Even I was captivated by their name "Deck of Cards". Wonder who came up with such a name. I've seen Seven Sisters only in pictures, and they were adorable.
D.Nambiar
I know. Seriously love that name.
Here's a sneak peek. (the pics are not great, though :)) http://www.dnambiartravelblog.com/2010/09/postcard-perfect-seven-sisters.html
I hope you get to see these beauties in person, sometime soon.
Arti
This is a very beautiful town and looks quite quaint too. All your pictures gave me a feel as if I was there all along! The deck of cards is a wonderful idea in itself, it looks as if it will collapse any moment!
countryhoppingcouple
Glad you could feel and enjoy them as I did, Arti. Imagine na. Even if one collapses, everything will fall apart, just like cycles in cycle stand!
R Niranjan Das
Definitely a beautiful and serene place. Lovely post on it.
http://www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
countryhoppingcouple
Thank you Niranjan Das.
magiceye
Wow! Absolutely brilliant!!
countryhoppingcouple
Thank you Magic Eye!
Indrani Ghose
What a great place to visit!
countryhoppingcouple
They are Indrani. If you plan across Ireland, undoubtedly, this can also go into your itinerary.
Saru Singhal
Sure, it is a beautiful town with breath taking views. I will use your posts while planning a trip to Ireland.
countryhoppingcouple
Sure Saru. I would be glad to help you to plan the trip.
Kusum Sanu
Very serene place! That walk on the seas-side must be awesome!
countryhoppingcouple
Yes they were Kusum. It was a bit windy though. May be in summer,this would really be a great place!
Ashwini C N
Beautiful Indeed 🙂 And I promise, after reading all your blogs, that I would settle down somewhere in the countryside 😀
countryhoppingcouple
Ah..that's nice Ashwini. I would love to live in a countryside too – such a laidback life!
kala
Anu lovely clicks sply the house in row stole my heart
countryhoppingcouple
They were my favourite too Kala..
Ramakant Pradhan
Thanks for the virtual tour of Cobh. Seems like quite a picturesque seaside town. You take lovely pictures. But do consider spending some time of post processing. You will get amazing results. The inside view of the Cathedral and the shot with the row of colourful houses are perfect candidates for HDRs.
countryhoppingcouple
Thanks for the feedback Ramakant. I do very minimal pp work, but never laid my hands on HDR so far. I will keep it in mind for the next pictures and try them for sure. Thanks again.
John Spear
This looks beautiful… I am putting into my list 🙂