Cork City Gaol

Faint-hearted souls may find this imposing former prison a little grim, but it's certainly worth a visit, if only to get a sense of how crap life was for prisoners a century ago. An audio tour guides you around the restored cells, which feature models of suffering prisoners and sadistic-looking guards. It's very moving, bringing home the harshness of the 19th-century penal system. The most common crime was that of poverty; many of the inmates were sentenced to hard labour for stealing loaves of bread.

The prison closed in 1923, reopening in 1927 as a radio station, so the Governor's House has been converted into the Radio Museum Experience. Alongside collections of beautiful old radios you can hear the story of Guglielmo Marconi's conquest of the airwaves.

To get there, walk from the city centre, or take bus 8 from the bus station to the UCC; walk north across Fitzgerald Park, over Mardyke Bridge, along the Banks of the River Lee Walkway and follow the signs up the hill.