Sometimes it’s fun to see your own city as a tourist.

And if you’re planning a little staycation on Leeside this autumn, New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and screenwriter Caroline O’Donoghue has been sharing some of the haunts she makes a beeline for whenever she’s home from London.

The River Lee Hotel has enlisted O’Donoghue to curate the second in their Curated Weekends in Cork series, an inspired venture that aims to showcase Cork through the eyes of some of the county’s most creative minds.

This time around, Caroline invites guests to follow her on a literary exploration of her hometown, and the sights and sounds that have significantly inspired her work to date.

“The fact that I was from Cork was always quite unimportant to me until I moved to London,” says Caroline.

“As I began writing, I discovered that everything I wrote – from my young adult fantasy series All Our Hidden Gifts, to my adult novel The Rachel Incident – were all inspired by growing up in Cork city.”

Caroline’s guide encapsulates a dreamy weekend of strolling through the city – taking in a history tour at UCC (where Caroline’s latest novel, The Rachel Incident, is largely based), visiting the incredible Shandon Bells and some light perusing of some of the Cork’s most unique boutiques and shops.

Of course, some literary glamour and indulgence is thrown in, with the recommendation of a glass of breakfast Riesling in the newly-opened Léa’s at The Glucksman and finishing Saturday night with Champagne and oysters back at The Grill Room at The River Lee.

As part of her guide, Caroline has created the Weekend Curators: Caroline O’Donoghue’s Literary Cork two-night offer – check it out here.

It includes a two-night stay with breakfast each morning, dinner on one evening at The Grill Room, a guided walking tour of the University College Cork campus, and two tickets to Shandon Bells & Tower at St. Annes – not forgetting a Honeycomb Old Fashioned in the bar.