Cork is not just cool; we’re undeniably cool.

We’ve always known it and now the world does too; Cork has officially made it onto the prestigious National Geographic Cool List 2024.

National Geographic Traveller (UK) has unrolled the red carpet to reveal its much-anticipated The Cool List 2024: the 30 most exciting destinations to visit in 2024 with only two Irish attractions making the list — Belfast and the legendary Wild Atlantic Way, a 2,600-kilometre coastal driving route that has been redefining west coast adventures for a whole decade.

In a line-up stacked with heavy hitters like the awe-inspiring landscapes of Norway, the towering Himalayan peaks in Sikkim, and the culinary Michelin stars of Lima, Cork, as the starting (or ending) point of the Wild Atlantic Way, earns some well-deserved recognition.

Kinsale, the “paintbox-palette” town, adds a splash of vibrant colour to the list, while Dursey Island beckons with its windswept silence.

“Down in County Cork, the final county on the trail, Ireland’s only cable car has recently reopened after a major upgrade,” it reads, “…whisking passengers across the sea from the Beara Peninsula to the windswept silence of Dursey Island in just 10 minutes, a favourite spot for birdwatchers with its guillemots and razorbills.”

Cork is Cool List 2024-approved. Tell your friends.