14 Best Sights in Northern Ireland

Established under a charter by James I in 1613, Derry is among a small but distinctive coterie of places throughout Europe that have preserved their ancient ramparts, which are Northern Ireland's largest state monument and an enduring backdrop to daily lives. Built between 1614 and 1618, the walls today allow you to get a feel for Derry's deep history by strolling along the parapet walkway and pausing on a platform at Grand Parade where the cannons date from 1642 and are inscribed with the name of the London company which commissioned them. Pierced by eight gates (originally four) and as much as 30 feet thick, the gray-stone ramparts are only 1½ km (1 mile) all around. In 2019 the Royal Bastion (a projecting section) and Plinth were redesigned and adapted for educational purposes. This area is accessible to visitors but may be entered only by using the key available from the Siege Museum, just a few meters away in Society Street. On your walk, take a break at a strategically placed café or simply drink in the local atmosphere. In summer when the walls are awash with tourists, "ambassadors" are on hand to point you the right way.

The rejuvenated Victorian Guildhall is an outstanding example of the city's ornate architecture. It has been refashioned as a visitor center with interactive exhibits telling the story of the Plantation of Ulster and the construction of the walled city, and how these events shaped present-day Derry. Touch-screen displays explain the building's special features, like the elaborate ceilings, baronial wood paneling, and a magnificent organ. For children, hands-on displays include a puzzle of a 1598 map of Ulster, and a wheel they can spin to find out about the different London companies and how land was divided. Kids can also build a bawn, stone house, or castle using wooden blocks, or dress up in the clothes of Planters or Irish people of the period. Look out, too, for the delightful scale model of the city in 1738 showing just a few thatched cabins outside the perimeter wall. A conserved page (a folio) from the Great Parchment Book of 1639 detailing the account of the Plantation is also on display. Other highlights include the 23 superb stained-glass windows in the reception area, up the stairs, and in the first floor main hall reflecting the siege of 1689 and other aspects of the city's history. With the gleaming restoration, one of the most famous of all Derry's local sayings, "You've more faces than the Guildhall clock"—not a compliment—has renewed resonance.

Enjoy an alfresco coffee in the Guild Café at the harbor square entrance overlooking the Foyle, an ideal spot to catch the riverine light and reflect on 400 turbulent years of history.

At Free Derry Corner stands the white gable wall where in 1969 Catholics defiantly painted the slogan "You are now entering Free Derry" as a declaration of a zone from which police and the British Army were banned until 1972, when the army broke down the barricades. The black lettering became instantly recognizable as a symbol of resistance, and more than 50 years later the words are still there but have taken on much wider significance. They also now represent social and international themes, including marriage equality, gay pride, or medical issues such as cancer, when for several weeks the wall is painted a different color. On January 30, 1972, 13 civil rights marchers were shot and killed by British soldiers and a 14th man died later from his wounds. Thirty-eight years later, the British government released its official report on the shootings, which resulted in a hugely significant official apology from Prime Minister David Cameron, saying that he was "deeply sorry" for what happened on Bloody Sunday and that it "had been unjustified and unjustifiable." His speech to the House of Commons is played in its entirety on a loop in one room. The £2.2 million, two-story museum built on the same site and opened by the civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson in 2017 tells the complete story of that day and the many years of campaigning for an apology. Saved sections of the front face of the old building retain the bullet scars from that fateful day and glass cabinets display clothes worn by some of the victims. Eyewitness talks are also held in the museum and take place every Wednesday and Friday at noon.

One-hour Free Derry Walking Tours (£5) leave from the museum at 10, noon, and 2 each day.

The first Protestant cathedral built in the United Kingdom after the Reformation, this houses the oldest and largest bells in Ireland (dating from the 1620s). It's a treasure house of Derry Protestant emblems, memorials, and relics from the siege of 1688–89; most visitors come to see the keys that locked the four main gates of the city during the siege. The church was built in 1633 in simple Planter's Gothic style, with an intricate corbelled roof and austere spire. In the vestibule is the 270-pound mortar ball that was fired over the wall during the Siege of Derry, with an invitation to surrender sent by King James. Legend has it that when it was read, every man, woman, and child in the city rushed to the walls and shouted, "No surrender!"—a Protestant battle cry to this day. The attached Chapter House Museum has the oldest surviving copy of a map of Derry (from 1600) and the Bible owned by Governor George Walker during the siege. View the information panels and artifacts in display cases that include the original keys to the city and other relics. In recent years the tower and spire have been restored and the stonework and stained-glass windows repaired. A new LED lighting system reveals the beauty of the elegant Canadian pine ceiling. Knowledgeable tour guides are on hand.

Contemporary Irish and international artistic collaborations are part of the credo of this cutting-edge gallery. It has featured shows by emerging Irish artists and enjoys connections with galleries in India and France, as well as London and Dublin. There's a free public library where you can browse books on art.

Since it was erected in 2019, the Derry Girls mural has become the talk of the town and a must-see sight for tourists. The extensive 3-meter-high artwork, based on the cast of a hit British comedy TV series, Derry Girls, has been spray-painted on to the gable wall of Badgers bar in Orchard Street. The eye-catching wall of fame in the city center can be clearly seen from a walk on the walls and is a contrast to some politicized murals elsewhere. The sitcom, which has earned critical acclaim—the Hollywood Reporter's reviewer declared it her favorite comedy of the year—features the adventures of five Derry teenagers navigating their way around the late-Troubles era of the early 1990s. It has been picked up by Netflix and turned into a second series, which ends with the re-creation of Bill Clinton's visit to Derry in 1995. You can also sample drinks made in the name of several of the characters from the series, including "Sister Michael" coconut stout and the "Wee English Fella," a strawberry pale ale, available from the Walled City Brewery on the city's Waterside.

Dramatic wall murals throughout Derry testify to the power of art as historical document, while also serving as a reminder of painful pasts. Symbolic of the different communities, the murals attract considerable curiosity from tourists. The Bogside Gallery of Murals, painted by William Kelly, Kevin Hasson, and Tom Kelly, are made up of 12 wall paintings known collectively as "The People's Gallery." They include the Bloody Sunday Commemoration, The Death of Innocence, Civil Rights, The Hunger Strikes, and a poignant one featuring the Nobel peace prize–winning Derry politician John Hume along with Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa—all beside the Brooklyn Bridge. In 2015, a mural featuring John Hume and Ivan Cooper, founding members of the civil rights movement, was restored. The paintings span the length of Rossville Street in the heart of the Bogside. Some of the guided walking tours that leave from the tourist information center include the story of the murals. On the other side of the political divide, close to the city walls, the Protestant Fountain estate is home to one of the oldest King Billy murals along with other colorful ones linked to the siege of Derry.

Since its reincarnation as a venue for open-air concerts and other outdoor events, Ebrington Square, a former military barracks on the River Foyle's east bank, has become an established cultural hub. It was named for Lord Ebrington, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland during the years 1839–41 when many of the military buildings here were erected, including the Star Fort, one of the architectural highlights. During World War II, the barracks became part of a naval base that later functioned as an antisubmarine training school for the Allied navies operating from the city. Derry's contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic was acknowledged with the unveiling in 2013 of the International Sailor, a bronze statue in the square, which pays tribute to seamen from the 12 Allied nations who protected shipping convoys. It is a replica of the Mariner statue in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There are two restaurants, the Walled City Brewery (WCB) and Ollie's Cafe. The WCB, on the former parade ground next to the landmark clock tower building, does not hold official tours but instead offers a masterclass (one hour, 30 minutes) during which you can hear the brewers' stories and sample up to 10 craft beers with artisanal local snacks. It costs £20 and must be prebooked via the website. The restaurant has a tapas menu and offers delights such as a WCB burger or Malaysian laksa coconut lemongrass curry with rice noodles and bok choi chargrilled chicken.

For a funky afternoon pit stop, try Sandinos, a haunt of radicals and writers (posters of Che Guevara and Nicaraguan writers decorate the walls) as well as artists, musicians and chess players. Sample the dozen or so world beers, or try the Dubliner Irish whiskey, a blend of honeycomb and caramel flavors, or The Pogues Irish Whiskey, named after the famed band. There's traditional Irish music on Sunday from 3 to 9.

This small jewel of a church is wedged just inside the ramparts of the walls. In the ancient graveyard a large board map registers the location of 163 gravestones in alphabetical order. The site was known as "God’s Little Acre," indicating a much larger graveyard, but now sits in an area of a quarter of an acre. It has been a sacred spot since St. Columba founded his first abbey here in AD 546. The oldest gravestone—in the church porch—is that of Richard Carrec, an Elizabethan soldier, dating from circa 1609. Immerse yourself in the serenity of the graveyard under the shadow of the cherry trees, tune into the birdsong, a world away from the tour groups being corralled around the walls. Visitors can tour the church and adjoining graveyard from May to October and are welcome at worship on Sunday or at morning communion on Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Imposing in its Scottish Baronial fortified grandeur, this is a meeting place for the exclusively Protestant organization set up in 1714 to honor 13 Apprentice Boys who slammed the city gate in the face of the Catholic King James in 1688, sparking the Siege of Derry. The Memorial Hall has been renovated, and next door to it stands a £2 million center that tells the fascinating story of the 105-day siege and chronicles the history of the Apprentice Boys. A look-alike sandstone scale model of Walker's Pillar—blown up by the IRA in 1973—has been re-created. During excavation work in 2014, before the new museum was built, archaeologists unearthed Derry's oldest building, believed to date to at least 1602. The brick-and-wood structure perished during the O'Doherty Rebellion of 1608—predating the historic city walls by several years. Excited archaeologists also uncovered musket balls, a cannonball, pottery shards, clay pipes, and even some intact centuries-old wine bottles—although their drinking maturity has yet to be established. Combined guided tours of the museum, Memorial Hall, and city walls with access to the Royal Bastion and Plinth of Walker's Pillar cost £7 and last two hours.

The history of Derry is chronicled in this tall, medieval, and magical granite tower that houses the Tower Museum. The original building was constructed in 1615 by the O'Dohertys for their overlords, the O'Donnells, in lieu of tax payments. The museum has excellent information celebrating the life and legacy of St. Columba, with a Discovery Zone on the first floor. The vivid Story of Derry, which includes a 15-minute film, covers the city's history, from its origins as a monastic settlement in an oak grove up to the Troubles, which began in 1969 after years of institutionalized discrimination in jobs and public housing. There's also an exhibition—spread over four floors—on the Spanish Armada, thanks to the fact that its fourth-largest ship, La Trinidad Valencera, foundered in Kinnagoe Bay, in County Donegal, in 1588.

If you have already been on an official guided walking tour of the city walls, then you are eligible for a reduced admission fee of £1 to visit museum.

You might expect to see it in Dublin, but the complete manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses has been handwritten on to the walls of the Verbal Arts Centre by Colin Dark. You don't, of course, have time to read all of it, but while you're here, admire the marble floor designed by celebrated Irish artist Louis le Brocquy. The center is a hotbed of literary activity promoting the spoken and written word, and presents storytelling re-created in the old Irish tradition of fireside tales.