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City walls
Derry~Londonderry's city walls
Seventeenth-century walls built between 1613 and 1619 around the old city, which Visit Derry describes as completely intact.
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A mini guide to
Derry~Londonderry
A walled city on the River Foyle with museums, cathedrals and a footbridge across the water
Photos
1 / 8Welcome to the area
A walled city on the River Foyle with museums, cathedrals and a footbridge across the water
Derry~Londonderry is a city on the River Foyle in the north-west of Northern Ireland. Visit Derry, the official tourism site, uses the double name, and so does this guide; you will also see Derry and Londonderry used on its own. Its seventeenth-century walls were built between 1613 and 1619, and Visit Derry describes them as the only completely intact city walls in Ireland. St Columb's Cathedral and the Guildhall sit inside and beside the walls.
Outside the walls, the Bogside has the Museum of Free Derry, the Peacemakers Museum and a series of large murals, while the Siege Museum covers the 1689 siege from the Apprentice Boys' point of view. The Peace Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge opened in 2011, links the centre with Ebrington Square on the east bank, where the former barracks parade ground is now a public space with restaurants.
Highlights
Start here
If you only have a few hours, these are good places to begin.
Cathedral
St Columb's Cathedral
Church of Ireland cathedral inside the walled city, dedicated to Saint Columba.
Directions Website Report a problem with St Columb's Cathedral
Civic building
Guildhall
Grade A listed guildhall on Guildhall Square, where Derry City and Strabane District Council meets.
Museum
Tower Museum
Local history museum in the walled city; Visit Derry lists The Derry Girls Experience and a DNA preview space there.
Museum
Museum of Free Derry
Museum in the Bogside on the civil rights movement of the late 1960s and the Free Derry area of the early 1970s.
Directions Website Report a problem with Museum of Free Derry
Museum
Siege Museum
Display on the 1689 Siege of Londonderry and the clubs of the Apprentice Boys of Derry.
Find your way
On the map
The map shows Derry~Londonderry and the streets around it. The Getting there page lists nearby stops and stations.
Insider tips
Before you go
1
Names
Visit Derry uses Derry~Londonderry, and the council is Derry City and Strabane District Council. Signs, buses and people use Derry or Londonderry. The names are used interchangeably in this guide.
2
Walk the walls
The walls circle the historic centre. Visit Derry lists them among the city's main sights and has details of walking tours.
3
Different museums, different stories
The Museum of Free Derry, the Peacemakers Museum, the Siege Museum and the Tower Museum each tell part of the city's history. Visiting more than one gives a fuller picture.
4
Murals and memorials
Some murals and monuments commemorate events of the Troubles and the 1689 siege, and different communities see them differently. The museums' own sites give the context.
Tips from the Britlens editors
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Open the mini guide →Photo credits
- Derry~Londonderry (area photo): Mario Falcetti, CC BY 4.0, source
- Derry~Londonderry's city walls: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- St Columb's Cathedral: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guildhall: Udit Kapoor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tower Museum: Ian S, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Museum of Free Derry: FDW777, CC BY 4.0, source
- Siege Museum: Cutlass, CC0, source
- Free Derry Corner: August Schwerdfeger, CC BY 4.0, source
- The People's Gallery murals: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Peace Bridge: NorthernCounties, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Craigavon Bridge: Jove, Public domain, source
- Hands Across the Divide: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ebrington Square: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Millennium Forum: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- St Eugene's Cathedral: Simon Burchell, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Mournes & Newcastle: Ardfern, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fermanagh Lakelands: Joli, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Belfast city centre & Cathedral Quarter: Bryn Holmes, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Titanic Quarter & East Belfast: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- The Causeway Coast: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
Keep exploring Northern Ireland