The English Market

Cork's covered market has been trading on this site since 1788, and the building it trades in now is a Victorian one with cast-iron columns, a vaulted roof and a fountain in the middle of the hall. It is a real food market rather than a heritage exercise: butchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, vegetable stalls and bakers, used by people doing the week's shopping. The Cork specialities are here and largely nowhere else, including tripe and drisheen, spiced beef and buttered eggs, alongside a fish counter that reflects a working port. A gallery above the hall looks down over the stalls. It closes on Sundays and winds down early some evenings, which surprises visitors.

What you actually see

• Tripe and drisheen - the Cork offal tradition, still sold fresh at one counter.
• Spiced beef - salted and spiced brisket, a Cork staple sold all year.
• The fish counters - the catch landed at the south coast ports.
• The gallery - the upper level looking down the length of the hall.

When to go

Monday to Saturday; it is shut on Sundays and bank holidays, and stalls start packing up through the late afternoon. Mid-morning is the best time to see it working and to get a word out of the traders. Lunchtime is the busiest hour by a distance, and Saturday has the fullest range of stalls and the worst crowds.

Honest expectations

It is a shopping market, so a good deal of what is on sale needs a kitchen you do not have. Prices sit above the supermarket and the traders know they have a tourist audience. Seating upstairs is limited and taken from noon. Photographing stalls is not always welcome while somebody is trying to serve a queue.

Nearby

St Patrick's Street and the Grand Parade run past both entrances.