The award-winning Museum of Free Derry tells the story of what happened in the city during the period of 1968-1972, popularly known as ‘Free Derry’, as well as the civil rights era, Battle of the Bogside Internment, Bloody Sunday and Operation Motorman.

The Tower Museum is located within the City’s historic walls and has won four major awards since its opening in October 1992. The Tower Museum houses two permanent exhibitions. 1. “The Story of Derry” tells the colourful and dramatic history of the city from earliest prehistory to the present. 2. “An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera” tells the story of one of the largest ships in the Spanish Armada, La Trinidad Valencera, which sank off the Donegal Coast in 1588 and was rediscovered by divers from the City of Derry Sub-Aqua Club in 1971. Both exhibitions use a range of display and interactive techniques to present their stories. The top of the Tower Museum (level 5) provides the only open air viewing facility in the heart of the city centre with stunning panoramic views of the inner city and river Foyle. Tour includes Story of Derry and Spanish Armada exhibition.

The new Siege Museum and Exhibition is a permanent display of the history of the Siege of Londonderry and of the Associated Clubs of the Apprentice Boys of Derry, including artefacts, video and interactive media. A treasure house of artefacts from past to present. Based over three floors, the exhibition features an array of artefacts from the siege to modern day Apprentice Boys memorabilia. The museum offers an educational and interactive visitor experience, telling the story of the great siege of Londonderry and 400 years of the city walls. Visitors will also have the added attraction of being able to view one of the finest collections of meeting rooms used by the ‘Loyal Orders’. There are separate rooms for each of the orders: Apprentice Boys of Derry Orange Order Women’s Orange and The Royal Black Institution

Learn about Bloody Sunday from those who were directly affected by it. We offer a walking tour of Derry Bogside that gives students and tourists a first hand and on-site analysis of the Bloody Sunday story in Derry City. This comprehensive tour will give an educational insight to the Civil Rights era, Bloody Sunday and the conflict that ensued. This hour long walking tour in Derry will also retrace parts of the original march and visit places where the dead and wounded fell. The Bogside History Tour will examine the political and social repercussions of Bloody Sunday. The day of the march and the wounding and killing of the innocent civilians. The tour will pass The Museum of Free Derry and conclude at the Bloody Sunday monument within sight of Free Derry corner and beneath the city walls of Derry.

Aras Cholmcille is a Heritage Centre promoting the life of St Columba, patron Saint of Derry. It is set on the site of the monastery from 546AD Located near the historic City Walls on the grounds of Saint Columba’s Church (Long Tower), and offering a unique insight into the life of Saint Columba and the City’s ancient monastic routes. The exhibition is in a category B2 listed building. The centre offers a bespoke, interactive experience detailing the extraordinary life of our city’s founding father, complimented with a range of artifacts and manuscripts that include a facsimile of the Book of Kells, as well as items and objects relating to the 200 year history of the building.

Take a guided tour of this beautiful historic building. The building dates from 1872 and is in the design of 13th century neo-gothic style. It was consecrated by Bishop William Alexander, husband of the famous hymn composer, Frances Cecil Alexander. St Augustine’s was listed in 1976 [Grade B1]. The trinity of buildings making up St Augustine’s is completed by No8 Palace St a one-and-a-half-storey vernacular dwelling constructed in the mid 18th century. Palace St is one of only a few lanes within the historic city walls that does not follow the geometric street plan laid out by Thomas Raven’s maps of 1622 and 1625. The Church is complemented by a historic graveyard.

Saint Columb’s Cathedral, was the first Cathedral built after the Reformation. It is the city’s most historic building containing displays of artefacts from the Siege. St. Columb’s Cathedral was built in 1633 by William Parrot for the Honourable The Irish Society and is in the Planter Gothic Style. The current tower and main building are that of the original Cathedral, with the spire being added in 1821. The Chancel was added in 1887 and the Chapter House in 1910. The Cathedral was built of stone from local quarries. The old pillars and arches bear testimony to sound judgement and first-rate craftsmanship. The Cathedral has many fine stained glass windows, regimental flags, memorials and a large collection of historical items from the time of the siege. The foundation stone in the porch, part of which originally from the 12th Century Templemore Monastery of the Columban tradition is inscribed: A complete restoration of the Cathedral was completed in 2011.

St. Eugene’s Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Derry Diocese, which stretches from Malin Head to Omagh and from Killygordon to Bellaghy. Thousands of Catholic people come to the Cathedral to worship God. St Eugene’s was built in the 19th Century, following the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, and was opened on the 4th May 1873 by Bishop Kelly, in the presence of Cardinal McGettigan and all the Catholic Bishops of the North. The sacred vessels used that day are still in the Cathedral. The Cathedral is a “Decorated Gothic” building. This is well exemplified in the western tower and spire, the high nave ridge, the relatively low lean-to aisle roofs, the dropping of the ridge line over the chancel and the slight projection of the east gable beyond the aisles. The building has many decorative features including stonework, pinnacles and statues. Take an audio tour of this fascinating building.

Sitting within reach of our famous 400-year-old Walls is one of the City’s most recognisable landmarks, the Guildhall. The Guildhall’s most arresting feature is its collection of stunning stained-glass windows. Fashioned in a neo-gothic style, the Guildhall is one of the most striking buildings in the North West and was originally built in 1887 by The Honourable The Irish Society. The red sandstone building is of neo-gothic architecture, with Tudor overtones. The building’s staircase, main hall organ and corridors give a fascinating insight into this distinctive building’s history. As well as being home to the impressive stained-glass windows, you’ll also be able to learn all about the Plantation of Ulster. The Guildhall features a new interactive tourist information point with interpretation panels throughout the building bringing to life its many special features. The dedicated exhibition explores how the Plantation has shaped the City’s history.