Derry City WallsThe Honourable The Irish Society built the walls between 1613 and 1618 and they are still complete. You can walk the whole circuit on top, past seven gates and 24 restored cannon.
Doire
Derry
The walled city of Derry and a north coast of long beaches.
- Ulster
- 20 places
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The list
Top 10 things to do in Derry
County Derry takes in the walled city of Derry on the Foyle and a north coast of long strands under the cliffs of Binevenagh. Five of these twenty are in the city, and the rest run from Mussenden Temple on its cliff down through Dungiven to Bellaghy and Moneymore in the south.
Derry City WallsThe Honourable The Irish Society built the walls between 1613 and 1618 and they are still complete. You can walk the whole circuit on top, past seven gates and 24 restored cannon.
Mussenden Temple and Downhill DemesneThe Earl Bishop built the domed temple on the cliff edge around 1783 as a library, modelled on the Temple of Vesta. The shell of his house at Downhill stands behind it.
GuildhallThe council chamber has been in the Guildhall since 1890. Local guides take you round, past the stained glass windows and into the main hall with its organ.
Peace BridgeBridge · DerryA curving foot and cycle bridge over the Foyle, opened in 2011, that joins the old army barracks at Ebrington to the city centre across the river.
BinevenaghMountain · LimavadyThe cliffs of Binevenagh, formed from lava 60 million years ago, run above Benone Strand with Lough Foyle and Donegal in view. There is a small lake on the top.
Portstewart StrandBeach · PortstewartThe National Trust looks after this long strand west of Portstewart, backed by dunes that are 6,000 years old. The Causeway Coast Way to Ballycastle starts here.
St Columb's CathedralCathedral · DerryBuilt inside the walls between 1628 and 1633, it was the first Protestant cathedral put up in Britain and Ireland after the Reformation. It keeps relics of the 1688 to 1689 siege.
Benone StrandBeach · LimavadyFirm sand with no rocks or seaweed on it, running along under the Binevenagh cliffs with Donegal across the water. It has won the Blue Flag many times.
Roe Valley Country ParkPark · LimavadyWoodland walks follow the River Roe on the edge of Limavady, past the remains of the old industry that once used the river for power.
Tower MuseumMuseum · DerryThe council's museum is in a stone tower just inside the city walls, and its open air viewing platform looks out over the city and the Foyle.
Show 10 more
Seamus Heaney HomePlaceMuseum · BellaghyOpened in 2016 between the poet's two childhood homes at Mossbawn and The Wood, with an exhibition on his life and hundreds of books from his own shelves.
SpringhillHouse and gardens · MoneymoreA plantation era house built in the late 1600s outside Moneymore, home to ten generations of the Conyngham family. The National Trust keeps a costume collection in it.
Magilligan PointFort · LimavadyThe Martello tower here was built between 1812 and 1817 to guard the mouth of Lough Foyle against a French invasion, out at the tip of the dunes. Keep off the army ranges next to it.
Banagher Old ChurchRuin · DungivenSt Muiredach O'Heney is said to have founded the church on this hill of sand and gravel, and the sand from his little mortuary house is held to bring luck to anyone of his name.- Dungiven PrioryPriory · DungivenA 12th century Augustinian priory on Priory Lane. The chancel holds the tomb of the O'Cahan chief Cooey na Gall, who died in 1385, carved with gallowglass fighters.
Mountsandel FortPrehistoric site · ColerainePeople lived in Mountsandel Wood beside the Bann between 7900 and 7600 BC, one of the earliest known settlements in Ireland. The big ditched mound came much later.
Ness Country ParkPark · ClaudyMixed woodland and open parkland on both banks of the Burntollet River, with riverside walks that take you to a waterfall.
Banagher GlenNature reserve · DungivenOak and ash grow on the steep sides of the glen south of Dungiven, and a surfaced road runs up from the car park to the dam at Altnaheglish Reservoir.
Ballygroll Prehistoric LandscapePrehistoric site · ClaudyTwo stone circles and several wedge tombs lie partly under the peat on a high sandy ridge off the Ervey Road, left from the Neolithic into the Bronze Age.
Tirnony DolmenPrehistoric site · MagheraA portal tomb on Tirnony Road outside Maghera, its huge sloping capstone held up on two tall portal stones.
Where they are
Tap a pin to open the place.
All 20 places are on the map.
in Derry today
- Derry City Walls
- Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne
- Guildhall
- Peace Bridge
- Binevenagh
- Portstewart Strand
- St Columb's Cathedral
- Benone Strand
- Roe Valley Country Park
- Tower Museum
- Seamus Heaney HomePlace
- Springhill
- Magilligan Point
- Banagher Old Church
- Dungiven Priory
- Mountsandel Fort
- Ness Country Park
- Banagher Glen
- Ballygroll Prehistoric Landscape
- Tirnony Dolmen
Towns
Towns with enough in and around them for a page of their own.
More to see in Derry
15 more places from Northern Ireland’s heritage records and other public sources, linked to an official page where there is one.
Castles and houses2
- Hezlett HouseCastlerock
- Brackfield BawnClaudy
Abbeys and churches4
- St Eugene's CathedralDerry
- Boveagh ChurchDungiven
- Errigal Old ChurchGarvagh
- Ballynascreen Old ChurchDraperstown
Ancient sites6
- Ervey Portal TombClaudy
- Drum FortDungiven
- Tamnybrack Court TombSwatragh
- Tirkane Sweat HouseMaghera
- Tullyheran FortMaghera
- Carnanbane Court TombDraperstown
Islands and coast1
- Church IslandBellaghy
Music in Derry
Trad sessions, venues and festivals.
Where to hear it
Sessions come and go: check with the pub before you travel.
Getting to Derry
- By air
- Derry (City of Derry) Airport, Belfast International Airport
- By rail
- Stations at Derry, Coleraine, Castlerock and Bellarena, on the Belfast to Derry line.
- By road
- The A6, A2, A5 and A29.
Questions
What are the best things to do in Derry?
Our top three are Derry City Walls, Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne and Guildhall. The full list of twenty is at the top of this page, and every place on it has a page of its own.
What can you do in Derry for free?
Walks, beaches and open ground cost nothing to visit. On our list that includes Binevenagh, Portstewart Strand, Benone Strand and Roe Valley Country Park. Some forest parks charge for the car park, so check parking and access with the place before you go.
What is on in Derry?
Our event listings come from Fáilte Ireland and cover the Republic, so events in Derry do not show here. For music, the venues and festivals are on the music page.
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