North Coast Attractions

UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Antrim coast — 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns formed by ancient volcanoes, freely accessible at any time. The cliff-top walk to Dunseverick is outstanding.

A ruined medieval castle perched on a basalt sea stack on the Antrim coast — one of Ireland's most dramatically sited buildings.

A rope bridge 30 metres above the Atlantic — spectacular, a little nerve-wracking, and one of Northern Ireland's most photographed experiences. Book online in advance; it sells out in summer.

The world's largest Titanic visitor experience, built on the exact Belfast slipway where the ship was constructed. Nine immersive galleries — allow a full half-day.

The official Game of Thrones studio in Banbridge, 30 minutes from Belfast — walk the original Winterfell Great Hall set, handle real props and see 87 original costumes. Allow three to four hours.

The world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery, in operation on the Causeway Coast since 1608 — tours include the production floor and a tasting.

The only completely walled city in Ireland — a 1.5 km circuit of 17th-century walls enclosing the historic core of Derry/Londonderry, with the Bogside murals visible below.

Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island — a 25-minute ferry from Ballycastle with one of Ireland's largest seabird colonies at its western cliffs.

An 18th-century avenue of intertwined beech trees on Bregagh Road, Armoy — one of the most photographed landscapes in Ireland since its use as the King's Road in Game of Thrones.

A UNESCO Global Geopark in County Fermanagh with guided underground cave tours through stalactites, flowstones and subterranean rivers — one of the most accessible showcave systems in the British Isles.

An 18th-century domed library perched on a 120-metre cliff above the North Antrim coast — built by Frederick Harvey, Bishop of Derry, who reportedly allowed local Catholics to use the library for Mass. One of Ireland's most dramatically sited structures.

A Victorian cliff path of bridges, tunnels and caves cut into the basalt sea cliffs at Islandmagee — originally built in 1902 by Berkeley Deane Wise of the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway to attract visitors to the Antrim coast. Restored and reopened in 2015.

The highest mountain range in Northern Ireland — 12 peaks over 600 metres, dominated by Slieve Donard at 850m. C.S. Lewis grew up looking at the Mournes from Belfast and said they 'swept down to the sea'; the walk from Newcastle beach to the summit is one of the finest in Ulster.

The 'Stairway to Heaven' — a 7.5 km boardwalk trail up Cuilcagh Mountain through blanket bog and cloud, with a raised walkway on the upper section that gives access to the summit plateau in all weathers. One of the most distinctive walking experiences in Ireland.

An outdoor museum tracing 250 years of Ulster emigration to America — reconstructed Irish thatched cottages, a dockside quay, and a recreated 19th-century Pennsylvania street. Built on the site where the Mellon banking family originated; their restored cottage is the centrepiece.