Most of this list runs along the coast. Dunluce Castle stands on a basalt crag near Portballintrae, reached by a narrow bridge, with a planned town of 1608 still largely buried beside it. Dunseverick, further east, is a weathered gate lodge and earthworks on a stack above the Atlantic, free and open at any hour, and the eastern end of the cliff path from the Giant’s Causeway. Kinbane, west of Ballycastle, is a fragment of a 1547 tower house at the foot of about 140 steep steps.
South along the Antrim Coast Road, Ballygally sits three miles north of Larne: a 1625 tower house now run as a Hastings hotel, the one here you can sleep in. Glenarm, the MacDonnell seat since 1636, is visited for its four-acre walled garden rather than the house; Red Bay above Cushendall is a two-storey scrap of wall on private farmland, best seen from the road as you pass.
The rest are inland or urban. Carrickfergus, de Courcy’s castle of 1177, sits in the middle of its town with the museum and marina a short walk away. Belfast Castle is free to enter, on the lower slopes of Cave Hill. Galgorm opens through an hour-long Wednesday tour of its grounds, Shane’s Castle for estate events such as the May-Day Steam Rally, and at Antrim Castle the house is gone and the 400-year-old gardens are the visit. Rathlin Castle needs the 40-minute ferry from Ballycastle, then a walk from the harbour.
A ruin on a basalt crag reached by a narrow bridge, with a buried 1608 town beside it and a Game of Thrones afterlife.
The best-preserved Norman castle in Ireland, held by the army until 1928, with guided tours included and ramparts looking clear across Belfast Lough.
A 1625 tower house on the Coast Road north of Larne, now a Hastings hotel and the only 17th-century castle in Northern Ireland still lived in.
Free to enter on the lower slopes of Cave Hill, where the terrace view over city and lough matters far more than the modest interior.
A 1618 Jacobean house on a 430-acre estate near Ballymena, seen on an hour-long Wednesday tour, with championship golf and a free fairy trail.
14 of 14 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Portballintrae – Portrush, antrim
Dunluce Castle stands on a basalt crag on the Antrim coast, reached by a narrow bridge and abandoned after the 17th century. Beside it lies a planned town laid out in 1608, uncovered by excavation in 2011 and still 95% buried. The ruin doubled as Pyke, seat of House Greyjoy, in Game of Thrones.
Carrickfergus, antrim
John de Courcy built Carrickfergus in 1177 as the seat of his Earldom of Ulster, and the army only handed it over in 1928 - one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Ireland. Free guided tours come with the ticket, there's a sensory room and dressing-up for children, and the ramparts look clear across Belfast Lough.
Ballygalley, antrim
Ballygally is a small village on the Antrim Coast Road, three miles north of Larne, gathered around Ballygally Castle – a tower house built in 1625 and now a Hastings hotel, reputedly haunted and the only 17th-century castle in Northern Ireland still in use as a residence. The beach is a modest 200-metre strand, but the castle, the Polar Bear rock and the volcanic headland make it a worthwhile stop on the Causeway Coastal Route.
Belfast, antrim
Belfast Castle is a Scots Baronial pile in pink sandstone on the lower slopes of Cave Hill, free to enter, with sweeping views over the city and Lough. The interior is modest – the real draw is the terrace view and the trail up to Napoleon's Nose behind it.
Carrickfergus, antrim
Carrickfergus grew up around the castle John de Courcy built in 1177 to hold Belfast Lough, the best-preserved Norman fortress in Ireland. The keep, the museum and the marina sit within a short walk of each other, and the town marks the natural start of the Causeway Coastal Route.
Galgorm Road, antrim
Galgorm Castle is a 1618 Jacobean house on a 430-acre estate near Ballymena. The house itself is still private, so the way in is George Chesney’s hour-long Wednesday tour of the grounds and history; the estate also holds a championship golf course that has hosted the Irish Open and a free woodland fairy trail for families.
Glenarm, antrim
Glenarm is the southern gateway to the Glens of Antrim, a small harbour village built around the MacDonnell family's 1636 castle. The four-acre walled garden, named Historic Houses Garden of the Year in 2023, is the main reason to stop.
Glenarm, antrim
Glenarm Castle is the coastal seat of the McDonnell family, Earls of Antrim, on the Causeway Coastal Route. The main draw is the walled garden — Historic Houses Garden of the Year in 2023, the first Northern Irish garden to win — alongside a woodland walk, heritage centre and butler-led castle tours on selected dates.
Ballycastle, antrim
Kinbane Castle is a fragment of a 1547 tower house on a white limestone headland west of Ballycastle, reached by about 140 steep steps down to the sea. Colla MacDonnell built it to watch the sea lanes to Rathlin, and below it lies Lag na Sassenach, the 'Hollow of the English', where trapped soldiers were killed during a siege. The views run to Rathlin Island and, on a clear day, the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.
Cushendall, antrim
A two-storey fragment of sandstone wall on a headland above Cushendall, built by the Bissets in the 13th century and knocked about by Shane O’Neill and Cromwell in turn. It sits on private farmland, visible from the Antrim Coast Road, and the real reward is the view over Red Bay.
Randalstown, antrim
Shane’s Castle has burned twice, in 1816 and again in 1922, leaving a ruin on the shore of Lough Neagh. The O’Neill family still farms the estate, opens it for events like the May-Day Steam Rally, and runs a hydro-electric turbine that powers around 300 homes.
Antrim, antrim
Dunseverick, antrim
Rathlin Island, antrim
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