Things to Do
There’s nowhere quite like Northern Ireland if you love a good bucket list. Or a great one, for that matter. You’ve got everything here from World Heritage sites to paradise for walkers and climbers; real-world Game of Thrones® locations to scenery that inspired Narnia; you can stand in the spot where Titanic set out or sleep in the house where George Best grew up. So, bring your bucket list, and a few spare pens.
Buckets to do in Belfast
Walk along the Maritime Mile to explore Belfast's seafaring history on this waterfront trail connecting key attractions along both sides of the River Lagan. You’ll start on the city side of the river and follow the historic trail from Sailortown and St Joseph's Church to Clarendon Buildings, passing key sites including the dry and wet docks, the Salmon of Knowledge (known locally as "the big fish"), the SS Nomadic, Titanic Belfast, the Great Light, and Thompson Dock which is the 415ft long dry dock where RMS Titanic was fitted out.
For sheer quirkiness, you could stay in football legend George Best’s family terraced house. George’s room has been restored to how it would have looked in the 1950s with items of memorabilia from his childhood and youth.
Buckets more for Thronies, bingers and buffs
Unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that Northern Ireland is heaven for Game of Thrones® fans with real-life Westeros locations dotted everywhere. But, serious fan or not, the locations are worth visiting in their own right. In County Down, you have Castle Ward Estate (Winterfell) and Tollymore Forest Park (the Haunted Forest). County Antrim has Cushendun Caves which appear as a Stormlands cove and, of course, the world famous Dark Hedges double as the Kingsroad.
In County Londonderry, Downhill Beach and Mussenden Temple feature as Dragonstone locations, while in County Fermanagh, Pollnagollum Cave became the fictional Hollow Hill secret hideout. There are also lots of immersive experiences and tours to choose from, so fans can get even more of their filmic fix.
However, Northern Ireland locations have enjoyed a starring role in many other TV dramas and comedies such as Line of Duty, Derry Girls, and The Fall as well as big-budget movies like Miss Julie, Good Vibrations, Philomena and The Lost City of Z. You can also tick off the birthplace of famous movie stars born here like Ballymena, County Antrim (Liam Neeson), Holywood, County Down (Jamie Dornan) or Belfast (Sir Kenneth Branagh and Ciarán Hinds).
Speaking of stars…
If you prefer more celestial stargazing, Northern Ireland has experiences by the bucket-load. Like Finn Lough, a resort in the County Fermanagh Lakelands where you can stay in a secluded forest bubble-dome, don plush robes and slippers, lie back in your four-poster bed and watch the starry night skies up above.
Or pay a visit to the OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory at Davagh Forest, near Cookstown in County Tyrone. Davagh has one of the ‘darkest skies’ in Ireland, which means there is so little light pollution that there are crystal clear views of star constellations. Or catch the Northern Lights aurora borealis phenomenon in County Londonderry.
Standing on the boulders of giants
You cannot miss a visit to Giant's Causeway…so good we named an entire coastal route after it! Legend has it that it’s the remains of a causeway built by an Irish giant Finn McCool in order to meet a challenge to a fight set by a Scottish giant Benandonner. Or maybe the intriguing stones are volcanic. Either way this World Heritage site is an epic experience. As is the legendary challenge to cross the 30-metre deep and 20-metre wide chasm via Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge to its tiny island neighbour. Of course, there’s only one way back so you can always say you did the challenge twice.
Marvel at Nature’s wonders
Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark in County Fermanagh combine to create Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark where underground rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers, and above-ground flora and fauna let you wonder at the marvels of Mother Nature. Or you could walk the breathtaking cliff-face pathway called The Gobbins Cliff Path at Islandmagee in County Antrim and feel your senses heighten along exhilarating suspension bridges, caves, steps and tunnels. Any one of the mythical Nine Glens of Antrim could be ticked off a bucket list but if you had to pick one, Glenariff it is. Not to mention the Six Peak Challenge in the Mourne Mountains of County Down.
There’s buckets more…
In Northern Ireland, your bucket list is only ever half written (try our 2023 version for more inspiration!) And like we said, bring a few spare pens along. You’ll need them.
