- Massive fort guiding the entrance to Kinsale Harbor.
- Historic and quaint harbor town.
- Lots of restaurants and cafes.
- Prices in restaurants tend to reflect popularity.
- Can be overcrowded during the main tourist season.
- Quite little harbor town on the the South Cork coast.
- Kinsale was an important navy base in the 17th and 18th century.
- Charles Fort was constructed in the 1670s to protect the harbor against attacks from the sea.
Most guidebooks include Kinsale, if only for the gourmet food to be had there. The quaint little harbor town has a reputation for good restaurants and cafes. "The Blue Haven" in Pearse Street, famed for its clock and tide indicator as well as its seafood, or "Mother Hubbard's Café" just across the road certainly draw the crowds. So much that in summer a peaceful stroll through Kinsale can become an impossibility. On Main Street crowds lumber from restaurant to restaurant, rubbernecking at the menus. The picturesque Market Square and the Norman St. Mulrose Church seem to command less attention.
All in all one of the top ten places to visit in Munster.
Kinsale's best sight is, however, two miles to the south-east - on a headland the distinctive star-shaped bastion of Charles Fort still seems to guard the harbor. Kinsale used to be an important naval base and the fort was occupied by British troops until 1922, then it was handed over to the Irish Free State and promptly burnt down by the Irish Republican Army. At least an attempt was made - the strong walls of the fort proper were indestructible. Today parts of the fort have been restored and the historical exhibition illustrates the past. The long and strong walls are good for refreshing walks in the wind, with great views as a bonus. Do not miss the hidden "sally port" and the small lighthouse!
