County Armagh, known affectionately as the “Orchard County”, offers a mesmerising blend of ancient myth, natural splendour, and modern discovery. With a landscape characterised by rolling volcanic hills and historic woodlands, it seamlessly marries its deep-rooted heritage with vibrant cultural traditions.
At the heart of the county lies the city of Armagh, a place where history resonates through every street. It stands as the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, boasting two magnificent cathedrals dedicated to Saint Patrick, each commanding spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. Visitors are invited to step back into the legendary past at the Navan Centre and Fort, the ancient seat of the Kings of Ulster, where Celtic myths and tales of the goddess Macha are vividly brought to life. In the city centre, the historic Robinson Library and the distinguished Armagh County Museum provide captivating insights into centuries of local life and culture.
Beyond its historic core, the county unfurls into a landscape of breathtaking natural beauty. The commanding presence of Slieve Gullion—an extinct volcano crowned with a mysterious crater lake—rewards adventurous hikers with sweeping vistas across the province. Meanwhile, the tranquil woodlands of Gosford Forest Park and the wildlife-rich shores of Lough Neagh offer peaceful escapes for families and nature enthusiasts alike. When the sun sets, the gaze turns upward at the celebrated Armagh Planetarium and Observatory, where daily digital shows reveal the wonders of the night sky, ensuring the Orchard County’s appeal reaches from its ancient roots to the stars above.
64 Ardress Road, armagh
Ardress House is a 17th-century Armagh farmhouse remodelled into a Georgian home, its drawing-room carrying delicate Michael Stapleton plasterwork. A cobbled farmyard with animals keeps the children busy, and the Lady's Mile woodland walk loops round in about half an hour.
Northern Ireland, armagh
Armagh is Ireland's ecclesiastical capital, with two cathedrals named for St Patrick on facing hills and a Georgian Mall laid out where a racecourse used to be. Between them you can read a first edition of Gulliver's Travels in an 18th-century library, touch Ireland's largest meteorite at the planetarium, and taste cider from the orchards that ring the city.
Armagh, armagh
Housed in a striking 19th-century building on The Mall, Armagh County Museum has been sharing the story of County Armagh since 1937. Visitors can explore free permanent galleries featuring archaeological finds, historic costumes, and a rare annotated copy of Swift’s *Gulliver’s Travels*, making it an essential stop for history lovers and families alike.
College Hill, armagh
From Francis Johnston’s stately 19th-century courthouse to the imposing Georgian walls of the former gaol, these two landmarks anchor Armagh’s civic history. While both remain closed to interior visits, their striking exteriors and a virtual gaol tour offer a compelling look at the city’s judicial past.
College Hill, armagh
Armagh Observatory has tracked the sky from College Hill since 1789 and holds Ireland's longest unbroken weather record. The planetarium next door, opened in 1968, runs full-dome shows under a 12-metre digital dome, and the surrounding 14-acre Astropark scatters scale models of the planets across the grounds – with Ireland's largest meteorite to put your hand on.
43 Abbey Street, armagh
Archbishop Richard Robinson opened this library in 1771, and a Greek inscription over the door still calls it 'the healing place of the soul'. Its Georgian Long Room holds around 46,000 works – incunabula, medieval manuscripts and a first edition of Gulliver's Travels that Jonathan Swift corrected in his own hand.
Ballykeel Rd, armagh
Ballykeel Dolmen – the Hag’s Chair – is the only portal tomb in Northern Ireland to have had its fallen capstone re-erected, done during a 1963 dig that turned up hundreds of Neolithic pottery sherds. The three-metre granite slab sits at the south end of a long cairn on the western flank of Slieve Gullion.
Ballymoyer, armagh
Ballymoyer is a thin strip of National Trust woodland near Whitecross that walks far bigger than it looks, following the Creggan River through a mossy fairy glen. In the churchyard at the top lies Florence Mac Moyer, the last hereditary keeper of the Book of Armagh, who pawned the manuscript for £5.
Lurgan, armagh
Brownlow House is a 19th-century 'calendar house' on the edge of Lurgan – four wings, 12 corners, 52 chimneys, said to count out the year. Inside are free military exhibitions, including an Eisenhower Room from its days as a US Army headquarters; outside lies 250-acre Lurgan Park with its lake and oak avenue. The museum is by appointment only, so ring ahead.
Camlough, armagh
Camlough combines a 90-acre glacial lake, rugged mountain trails and a rich industrial past. From world-record open-water swims to Neolithic portal tombs, the area offers outdoor adventure and heritage in the heart of the Ring of Gullion AONB.
Keady, armagh
Rising to 365m in the Cooley-Gullion uplands, Carrigatuke Viewpoint is marked by a stone cairn and trig point that reward visitors with sweeping vistas across Northern Ireland. Below, ancient glacial drumlins roll through the Orchard County, framing Armagh’s historic twin cathedrals and fertile valleys. A free, open-access destination, it is a launchpad for hill walks, gravel cycling loops, and photography in one of the province’s most atmospheric landscapes.
Clare Glen, armagh
Step into Clare Glen to walk beneath a canopy of hazel and oak, where spring brings a vivid carpet of bluebells and wild garlic along the River Cusher. The site offers colour-coded trails ranging from steep woodland paths to a flat, wheelchair-friendly riverside walk.
Craigavon, armagh
Craigavon was built from scratch as a 1960s 'new city', and its twin man-made lakes are now a traffic-free park for walking, cycling and watersports. A few miles east, the 18-arch Craigmore Viaduct still carries the Belfast–Dublin line 38 metres above the Camlough valley. Two very different pieces of engineering, both worth a stop.
Crossmaglen, armagh
Crossmaglen is the largest settlement in South Armagh, defined by its sprawling Cardinal Ó Fiach Square and the legendary Crossmaglen Rangers GAA club. Visitors can explore prehistoric court tombs, fish at Lough Ross, and walk the drumlin landscapes that frame this resilient border community.
Cullaville, armagh
Cullaville is the southernmost village in County Armagh, on a border crossroads where the A37 becomes the N53 on the Dundalk–Castleblayney road. The River Fane runs the frontier right through it: the village is in Northern Ireland, but its post office and former railway station sit across the water in County Monaghan. Its GAA club is one of the oldest in Ireland.
Dromintee, armagh
Dromintee is a small village in the Ring of Gullion AONB, at the foot of Slieve Gullion in South Armagh. It's a quiet base for the forest park and summit cairn, and carries real history: home of folklorist Michael J. Murphy, the first GAA club in Armagh (1887), and the Three Steps Inn of the Robert Nairac case.
Crossmaglen, armagh
Upon entering the Fews, the rugged hills unfold like a wild tapestry of glens, stone cairns and mist-shrouded summits. The landscape’s raw beauty, punctuated by the holy silhouette of Slieve Gullion, instantly conveys a sense of ancient refuge that has resisted conquest for centuries.
Gap of the North, armagh
A dramatic limestone corridor guarding the north-south route between Newry and Dundalk, the Gap of the North is crowned by the 16th-century Moyry Castle. Visitors can walk the heritage trail, explore the rugged tower ruins, and discover centuries of military history and local folklore.
Crossmaglen, armagh
Glassdrummond is a townland in the Fews of South Armagh, near Crossmaglen, where a short community woodland loop runs behind St Brigid's Church – a classical 1930s building by Ralph Byrne. The O'Neills built a castle here around 1450. The walk is a 15-minute leg-stretch rather than a day out.
Gosford, armagh
Gosford Castle near Markethill is the largest listed building in Northern Ireland, a vast mock-Norman pile sold for £1,000 in 2006 and converted into 23 private apartments. You can't go inside, but Gosford Forest Park's trails bring you to its walls, past red deer and an arboretum, and on to the spot that stood in for Riverrun in Game of Thrones.
Markethill, armagh
Just outside Markethill, Gosford Forest Park blends ancient woodlands, a mock-Norman castle silhouette and a newly upgraded adventure playground. With 16 km of colour-coded trails, red-deer sightings and a £1 m five-star family upgrade, it’s a premier outdoor destination in County Armagh.
Newry, armagh
At Jerrettspass a 1730s lock from Ireland's first summit-level canal stands a short walk from the 1850s railway bridge that made it obsolete, both now protected listed structures. The traffic-free towpath between them, on the National Cycle Network and the Ulster Way, is the reason to stop.
Kilnasaggart Road, armagh
Thirteen carved crosses and ancient Ogham script catch the light on the Kilnasaggart Pillar Stone. Dating to the early 700s, this free-to-visit monument marks a pivotal moment in Ireland’s transition from pagan ritual to early Christian monasticism, set quietly beside a rural field near the Moyry Pass.
Lurgan, armagh
Only four cast-iron fountains survive worldwide, and Lurgan’s Coalbrookdale Fountain claims one of those rare spots. Set on the main avenue of Northern Ireland’s largest urban park, it anchors a 250-acre green space dotted with lakeside paths, sports courts and the annual agricultural show.
Lurgan, armagh
Lurgan Park spans over 250 acres of mature woodland and formal avenues, surrounding a lake perfect for rowing and fishing. Visitors can explore heritage trails, visit Brownlow House, or test their swing at the nearby Lurgan Golf Club, a classic parkland layout with stunning views.
Markethill, armagh
Step into Markethill’s village green and you’ll find a working agricultural hub where market traders mix with summer drumming bands. Just a short walk away, the ancient woodlands and castle ruins of Gosford Forest Park offer quiet trails, making this compact Armagh village a practical base for history, music, and outdoor exploration.
armagh
Milford House in County Armagh is a living museum of Victorian ingenuity and the McCrum linen empire, while nearby William McCrum Park marks the birthplace of the modern penalty kick. Visitors can tour the historic townhouse, enjoy a silver-service afternoon tea, and wander the model village and nature reserve that echo a pioneering industrial community.
Newcastle, armagh
Stretching across 1,931 km² of mountains, volcanic rings and brackish sea, the Mourne Gullion Strangford Geopark is a living museum of geology and legend. From the granite summit of Slieve Donard to the mythic Cloughmore Stone and the calm waters of Strangford Lough, adventure and folklore intertwine.
Armagh, armagh
The 40-metre mound here was built as a vast timber roundhouse, deliberately filled with stone, burnt and covered in earth around 95 BC. Known in Irish as Eamhain Mhacha, it was the mythic seat of Conchobar mac Nessa and the Red Branch Knights, and surveys since 2020 have found far larger temple structures across the hilltop. Entry to the site and centre is free.
Newry, armagh
Follow the flat, traffic-free towpath of the former Newry Canal from Portadown to Newry. Walk or cycle past restored lock-houses, stone aqueducts and wildlife-rich lakes while exploring a pioneering 18th-century engineering story.
Newry, armagh
Newtownhamilton sits at the edge of the Mourne Gullion Strangford Geopark, where a bustling Saturday cattle market meets a landscape shaped by glacial drumlins and volcanic rock. The village’s straightforward grid layout and central square frame a community that has played a prominent role in Ireland’s modern history.
Lurgan, armagh
Once a working island, Oxford Island was transformed in the 1960s into a thriving 282-acre National Nature Reserve. Today it offers four miles of accessible trails, five bird-watching hides, and the lakeside Discovery Centre, making it a top stop for walkers, families and wildlife enthusiasts on the southern shore of Lough Neagh.
Portadown, armagh
Portadown blends industrial heritage with vibrant green spaces along the River Bann. The restored stone arch of Verner's Bridge offers a quiet glimpse into County Armagh's aristocratic past, while the town's parks and canal towpath provide a family-friendly itinerary of play, history, and tranquil walks.
armagh
Richhill offers a rare glimpse into 18th-century Ulster planning, with a striking octagonal market house, uniform Georgian townhouses and a thriving community calendar. The village is a gateway to County Armagh’s orchard country and hosts the celebrated annual Apple Harvest Fayre.
Ring of Gullion, armagh
The Ring of Gullion rises from a 150 km² volcanic ring dyke, cradling Neolithic tombs, glacial lakes, and ancient myth. From Slieve Gullion's summit to the waymarked forest trails, it offers a rugged, historic landscape for walkers and e-cyclists.
Banbridge, down
The River Bann winds 99 miles from the Mourne Mountains, across Lough Neagh and out to the Atlantic, threading a landscape of historic bridges, thriving wildlife and vibrant fishing. Visitors can cruise its waters, trace its linen-industry legacy, and watch kingfishers and seals along its banks.
Armagh, armagh
Housed in an elegant Georgian building on The Mall, this free museum charts two centuries of the Royal Irish Fusiliers’ history. Visitors can explore the dramatic Eagle Takers Gallery, view two Victoria Crosses, and delve into personal artefacts and archives that bring the regiment’s global service to life.
armagh
Rising 573 m above the Ring of Gullion, Slieve Gullion blends dramatic volcanic scenery, Neolithic tombs and legendary lore. Its eastern slope hosts an award-winning forest park, perfect for families, walkers and wildlife lovers.
Armagh, armagh
Rising 64 metres above Armagh’s skyline, this Italianate Gothic cathedral survived funding delays during the Great Famine to become Ireland’s Catholic ecclesiastical capital. Visitors can explore its marble-clad nave, admire intricate mosaics and stained glass, and listen to the historic carillon echoing across the drumlins.
Tandragee, armagh
Perched on the western fringe of Tandragee, this Victorian estate blends centuries of Ulster history with Ireland’s snack-making heritage. Step inside for a working Tayto factory tour, then wander the landscaped grounds or play a round on the estate golf course.
Moy, armagh
The Argory ran on its own acetylene gas lighting from 1906 until the early 1980s, and the fixtures are still in place inside the 1824 neo-classical house. The National Trust now opens the rooms, the barrel organ that survived a 1898 fire and 130 hectares of gardens and Blackwater riverside walks.
Belfast, antrim
Conceived in 1946 and officially restored in 2009, the Ulster Way stitches together dramatic coastlines, ancient peaks and historic towns across six counties. Walkers can tackle the entire loop or explore individual stages, all clearly signposted with distinctive yellow markers.
