Kinsale is a small harbour town on the southern coast of Ireland, about 25 kilometres south of Cork. It has been called the gourmet capital of Ireland, and while that sounds like tourism board hyperbole, the town genuinely punches above its weight when it comes to food. Fishy Fishy, Bastion, and a cluster of other excellent restaurants line the narrow streets around the harbour, and the annual Gourmet Festival in October draws crowds from across the country.
The town wraps around a sheltered inlet where fishing boats and sailing yachts bob side by side. The streets climb steeply from the waterfront, lined with brightly painted Georgian and Victorian buildings. At the mouth of the harbour, Charles Fort — one of the best-preserved star-shaped military fortifications in Europe — guards the approach from a grassy headland with views across the water. The Scilly Walk, a 6-kilometre path along the waterfront from town to the fort, is the finest coastal walk in the area.
Kinsale's history runs deeper than its restaurant scene. The Battle of Kinsale in 1601, when Spanish troops allied with Irish chieftains were defeated by English forces, effectively ended Gaelic Ireland as an independent political power. Desmond Castle on Cork Street houses the International Museum of Wine, tracing the Irish diaspora's role in the French wine trade. The medieval Church of Saint Multose has stood since the 12th century and contains the graves of some victims of the Lusitania sinking in 1915. Today Kinsale is a popular sailing centre and a base for fishing trips, whale watching, and walks along the coastal cliffs. It is small enough to explore on foot in an afternoon, but the kind of place where you end up staying for dinner.