Cork

Cork will tell you - cheerfully - that it's the real capital of Ireland. Corkonians call their patch the People's Republic of Cork, half joke and wholly boast, because Dublin is just the big smoke up the road.

This self-styled Rebel City was built on a marsh, its streets once canals threading between channels of the River Lee, earning it a wry nickname: the Venice of the North. Visitors do the quick loop - English Market, Shandon Bells, back to the car park – and miss why locals still call those bells the four-faced liar.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours push further into Cork's contrarian streak. Wander the medieval quarter where Vikings once moored and prisoners drowned in South Gate Bridge's tide-fed dungeon, or trace the River Lee from the port to the butter exchange that once ran the world's biggest dairy trade. Step inside the two-century-old English Market, where a queen once shared a joke with a fishmonger, and hear why Cork's patron saint chased a giant serpent down this very river.

So - what's the story? Plug in your earbuds and let Cork's rebel history walk you home.