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View allCork’s Spike Island was crowned Europe’s number one tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards recently in an event known as the ‘Oscars’ of the travel industry.
Cork’s Spike Island was crowned Europe’s number one tourist attraction at the World Travel Awards recently. The former fortress and prison beat off stiff competition from the likes of The Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Colosseum in Rome and the Acropolis of Athens in an event known as the ‘Oscars’ of the travel industry.
The prize was all the more satisfying for those behind the new attractions inception as the premier tourist attraction is chosen by public vote - with those working in the travel industry having their vote counted twice.
Located on a small island in the middle of Cork Harbour visitors travel by ferry from Cobh to the attraction and discover Spike’s long and often dark history as a fortress and prison.
In the last 1300 years, Spike Island has been host to a 6th-century Monastery, a 24-acre fortress, the largest convict depot in the world in Victorian times and centuries of island homes. The island's rich history has included monks and monasteries, rioters and redcoats, captains and convicts, sinners and saints.
