Cathedral Hill in Downpatrick is where much of this list begins. The granite slab marking St Patrick’s reputed grave was laid only in 1900, but the two 12th-century crosses beside it and the 11th-century font inside Down Cathedral are older, and entry is free. Inch Abbey stands roofless by the River Quoile a short way north, with a heritage railway running out to it. Ballynoe Stone Circle and Ballyalton Court Cairn lie a few miles south and east, so one day based in Downpatrick covers five of the twenty-three places here.
The rest are spread wide. Legananny Dolmen sits on the slopes of Slieve Croob above Dromara, three slender uprights under a granite capstone, with the Mournes filling the view. Kilfeaghan Dolmen near Rostrevor asks more of you: parking on a narrow farm lane, then a muddy field on private ground. Further north, Bangor Abbey keeps a 15th-century tower and a 1693 steeple on the site Columbanus left from, and Greyabbey pairs a 12th-century Cistercian ruin and a recreated physic garden with the antique dealers along the village street.
Most of this is open ground and free to walk into. The abbeys and the cathedral hold up in winter; the dolmens and the sunken track down to Ballynoe are better after dry weather. Newry Town Hall, on its bridge over the Clanrye, and the Gillespie column in Comber Square are ten-minute stops rather than outings.
The reputed grave of St Patrick lies under a granite slab on Cathedral Hill, with 12th-century crosses and an 11th-century font alongside, free to visit.
Three slender uprights carrying a massive granite capstone, over 5,000 years old, with the Mourne Mountains behind and free access on the slopes of Slieve Croob.
Founded in 558 by Saint Comgall and known across medieval Europe, it survives as a working parish church with a 15th-century tower and 1693 steeple.
21 of 23 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Downpatrick, down
The reputed grave of St Patrick is a slab of Mourne granite on Cathedral Hill, laid only in 1900. Around it sit two 12th-century crosses carved with book-holding monks, an 11th-century font once used as a farm watering trough, and a pipe organ from the 1818 rebuild. Entry is free, and an hour covers it.
Legananny, down
Legananny Dolmen is a striking Neolithic portal tomb on the slopes of Slieve Croob, featuring three slender uprights supporting a massive granite capstone. Dating back over 5,000 years, this ancient site offers free access and frames sweeping panoramic views of the Mourne Mountains.
Ballynoe, down
Just south of Downpatrick, Ballynoe Stone Circle is one of the largest prehistoric monuments on the island – around 50 granite stones in a ring 35 metres across. A sunken, tree-lined track leads to it, and the western entrance lines up with the setting sun near the spring equinox.
Bangor, down
Founded by Saint Comgall in 558 AD, Bangor was one of medieval Ireland's great centres of learning – important enough to be named on the Hereford Mappa Mundi, and the place Columbanus and Gall left to found monasteries across Europe. The monastery itself is long gone; what stands today is a working Church of Ireland parish with a 15th-century tower and an octagonal steeple of 1693.
Downpatrick, down
Saint Patrick's reputed grave lies on Cathedral Hill, and the town below earns a day of its own: a free county museum in a former gaol, the Saint Patrick Centre, and Ireland's only full-size heritage railway running out to Inch Abbey.
Dromore, down
Christians have worshipped on this spot in County Down since St Colman set up a wattle church around 510 AD. The present cathedral was rebuilt after the 1641 destruction under Bishop Jeremy Taylor, whose grave slab is set into the floor, and a restored high cross with 9th or 10th-century stonework stands by the entrance.
Mount Street, down
Built by Sir John de Courcy's men in the early 1200s, this 12-metre mound rises over a bend in the River Lagan and counts as the best-preserved Anglo-Norman motte and bailey in Ulster. King John lodged here for three days in 1210, Edward Bruce destroyed it in 1315, and a 1951 dig found the timber palisade that once ringed the summit. Free, open access, five minutes to the top.
Ballynahatty, down
The Giant's Ring is a Neolithic henge on the southern edge of Belfast: a circular earth bank 180m across and 3.5m high, enclosing a five-stone passage tomb at its centre. Built around 2700 BC, it predates the pyramids, and it's free and open at all hours – one of the largest and least-visited prehistoric monuments in the north.
Helen's Bay, down
Built in 1907 to guard Belfast Lough, Grey Point Fort stands on a rocky promontory in Helen’s Bay with its twin 6-inch guns still in place. Volunteers now run a free museum showcasing wartime memorabilia, while the site’s concrete shelters and observation towers offer a tangible glimpse into Ireland’s coastal defence history.
Greyabbey, down
Greyabbey pairs a 12th-century Cistercian ruin – one of Ulster's earliest Gothic churches – with a village of antique dealers locals call the 'wedding village'. The abbey grounds and a recreated medieval physic garden are free and open daily; the shops and the Wildfowler Inn do the rest.
Downpatrick, down
Founded in 1180 as an act of penance, Inch Abbey’s Gothic arches and lancet windows frame the tranquil River Quoile. Free to enter and open year-round, the site blends medieval history, Viking-era earthworks, and pop-culture fame into a peaceful day out.
rostrevor, down
A 5th-century monastic graveyard above the Kilbroney River, this is the burial place of Saint Bronagh, marked by a wheel-less granite cross carved in the late 8th century. It also holds the grave of Patrick Murphy, the 8ft 1in 'world's tallest man', and got a £300,000 upgrade in 2023.
Rostrevor, down
Kilfeaghan Dolmen is a portal tomb of around 4,500 years old on the eastern slopes of Knockshee, near Rostrevor in Co Down. Its capstone is a single block of granite weighing roughly 35 tonnes, thought to be a glacial erratic propped up on portal stones rather than lifted into place. Reaching it means parking on a narrow farm lane and walking across a field on private ground, muddy underfoot and with no facilities.
Newtownards, down
Founded in 540 by St Finnian, Movilla once held Ireland's only complete Latin Vulgate Bible, and a fight over a copy of it produced the world's earliest recorded principle of copyright. Today the church ruins and their carved coffin lids sit free and open within Movilla Cemetery.
38 Hill Street, down
Rising over Newry's Hill Street, this granite cathedral of 1829 was the first Catholic cathedral finished in Ireland after Emancipation. Inside are the country's largest spread of gold-leaf mosaic, Hardman stained glass, and a reliquary of more than 300 relics – put out for veneration just once a year.
Newry, down
Newry Town Hall sits on a bridge over the Clanrye River, on the historic line between County Armagh and County Down. Designed by William Batt and opened in 1894, it works as a theatre and events venue; its riverside walk gathers the town's war memorials and statues, including one to goalkeeper Pat Jennings.
Comber, down
The Rollo Gillespie Monument is a 55-foot Grecian column in the middle of Comber Square, honouring the locally born army officer Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie. Reputedly the only public Masonic monument in Ireland, it was unveiled before a crowd of 30,000 in 1845. Free to visit, and a ten-minute stop.
Tullynakill, down
The 17th-century ruin of Tullynakill outlasted its own replacement: a Georgian church built here in 1825 was demolished in 1970, while the older shell still stands. Its red Castle Espie limestone doorway, dated 1639, and grooved stone windows front a quiet graveyard in the drumlin country west of Strangford Lough.
Ballyalton, down
Bangor, down
Dromara, down
Near Castlewellan, down
Finnis, down
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