Inishowen Maritime Museum & Planetarium

Inishowen Peninsula

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An eccentric collection of artefacts awaits at this museum in a former coastguard station on a grassy verge right by the waterfront. The most fascinating exhibits are from the sunken wrecks of Lough Foyle, the displays exploring the demise of the Spanish Armada and the examples of Drontheim fishing boats, once widely used along Ireland's north coast. There's also an astronomy show in the full-dome digital theatre at the Planetarium.

A welcoming cafe with tables out the front is right next door. If the sun's out, grab a coffee and savour the harbour views.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • August 7, 2017: Cliffs of Northern Ireland and the ruins of Dunluce Castle Magheracross.

    Dunluce Castle

    16.07 MILES

    This medieval castle ruin is perched on top of a dramatic cliffside overlooking the glorious Causeway Coast.

  • Setting sun over the The Giants Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

    Giant’s Causeway

    18.68 MILES

    This spectacular rock formation – Northern Ireland's only Unesco World Heritage site – is one of Ireland's most impressive and atmospheric landscape…

  • Malin Head is located on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland and is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland. A military watchtower was built at Banba's Crown in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. Around 1902, a signal station was also built at Banba's Crown, quite close to the old Napoleonic watchtower. Both of these buildings still stand.

    Banba's Crown

    19.73 MILES

    On the northernmost tip of Malin Head, called Banba's Crown, stands a cumbersome 1805 clifftop tower that was built by the British admiralty and later…

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    Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

    25.34 MILES

    This 20m-long, 1m-wide bridge of wire rope spans the chasm between the sea cliffs and the little island of Carrick-a-Rede, swaying 30m above the rock…

  • People's Gallery Murals

    People's Gallery Murals

    19.57 MILES

    The 12 murals that decorate the gable ends of houses along Rossville St, near Free Derry Corner, are popularly referred to as the People's Gallery. They…

  • Ballymastocker Beach on the western shroes of Lough Swilly in Ireland.

    Ballymastocker Beach

    25.26 MILES

    Once named the second-most beautiful beach in the world by British newspaper the Observer, this tawny-coloured Blue Flag beach is a supremely fine place…

  • Culdaff beach, Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal

    Culdaff Beach

    8.95 MILES

    This Blue Flag beach is great for swimming and windsurfing. You can wander its gorgeous length and get lost in the grassy sand dunes, and there's a fun…

  • Derry's City Walls

    Derry's City Walls

    19.46 MILES

    The best way to get a feel for Derry's layout and history is to walk the 1.5km circumference of the city's walls. Completed in 1619, Derry's city walls…

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Nearby Inishowen Peninsula attractions

1. Northburgh Castle

0.44 MILES

Once known as Northburg Castle and then known as Greencastle, apparently from the stone it was constructed from (but today it very well describes the…

2. Magilligan Martello Tower

1.16 MILES

On Magilligan Point itself, watching over the entrance to Lough Foyle, stands a well-preserved Martello tower, built during the Napoleonic Wars in 1812 to…

3. Downhill Demesne

7.34 MILES

In 1774, the bishop of Derry (fourth earl of Bristol, Frederick Augustus Hervey), built a palatial home amid a 160-hectare demesne. The house burnt down…

4. Clonca Church & Cross

8.72 MILES

The gable ends and huge windows of the roofless shell of 17th-century Clonca Church frame views of the Donegal mountains. Inside there is an intricately…

5. Culdaff Beach

8.95 MILES

This Blue Flag beach is great for swimming and windsurfing. You can wander its gorgeous length and get lost in the grassy sand dunes, and there's a fun…

6. Portstewart Strand

10.46 MILES

The broad, 2.5km beach of Portstewart Strand is a 20-minute walk south of the centre along a coastal path, or a short bus ride along Strand Rd. Parking is…

7. Donagh Cross

11.78 MILES

The intricate 7th-century Donagh Cross (also called St Patrick's Cross) stands under a shelter by an Anglican church at the west end of town. It's carved…

8. Green Lane Museum

12.44 MILES

At the entrance to Roe Valley Country Park, the Green Lane Museum contains old photographs and relics of the valley’s flax industry.

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