Experience the best of Derry-Londonderry

Derry stands on the River Foyle in the north-west of Northern Ireland, and its seventeenth-century walls, about a mile round, are the most complete city walls in Ireland and can be walked along the top. The Guildhall, a neo-Gothic building with stained-glass windows, stands beside the river, and St Columb's Cathedral dates from the 1630s. The Siege of Derry of 1688 and 1689 is the best-known episode in its history.

The Peace Bridge, a pedestrian bridge, links the two sides of the river, and the Tower Museum tells the story of the city, while the large murals of the Bogside record the city's twentieth-century history. Across the border in County Donegal, the stone hillfort of Grianan of Aileach looks over the Foyle estuary, and along the north coast the beach at Benone and the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO site, lie within reach.

An Ulster fry of soda and potato bread with bacon and eggs, Irish stew, fresh seafood and strong tea are the staples, and pubs often have live music at weekends. Derry holds one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in Ireland. The climate is mild and damp, with soft light and quick-changing weather off the Atlantic.