The stone bridge across the Blackwater is the focal point of Fermoy's town centre, and the grid of streets radiating from the bridge square reflects the planned town that Scottish entrepreneur John Anderson laid out in 1791. Anderson's grid survives largely intact — unusually so for an Irish town of this size — and the street frontages along Patrick Street and McCurtain Street preserve much of the original proportions, if not always the original facades.
The town has a pleasant if unshowy working character. The market square sees a regular weekly market, and the cafés and shops along the main streets cater to local life rather than tourist trade. St Patrick's Church, the Catholic parish church, is a substantial 19th-century building worth a look inside for its stained glass. The Fermoy Museum, run by the local historical society, holds documents and photographs relating to the town's history as a British military garrison and later as an Irish Free State town.