County Donegal - 78 Attractions You Must Visit

This is a small rural community in the Donegal Gaeltacht which lies in unique scenery at the foot of Mount Errigal, the highest mountain in the County. Ionad Cois Locha is situated on the shores of Dunlewey Lough in the shadow of the haunting and mysterious Poison Glen. Attractions include a restaurant & tea room; craft shop; adventure play area and so more.

Errigal is a 751-metre mountain near Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the tallest peak of the Derryveagh Mountains and the tallest peak in County Donegal. Errigal is also the most southern and the highest of the mountain chain called the "Seven Sisters" by locals. Errigal is known for the pinkish glow of its quartzite in the setting sun. It is a good trekking destination and also there are so many things to explore here.

The Fairy Bridges is a natural arch in the cliffs, with blow holes that date as far back as the 1700s. Early travellers to the area were thought to be more interested in coming to see The Fairy Bridges than to experience the natural health benefits of the area’s golden beaches and proximity to the wild Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, this natural rock formation was one of the main attractions to visit in Bundoran at the time.

This old graveyard known as the Famine Graveyard and also the Paupers Graveyard is the site of the burials of victims of the Great Irish Famine 1845-1849 and of the poor generally. There are no marked graves. There are probably hundreds of people buried here, possibly a thousand or more. It lay nearby the old Donegal Town Workhouse. A lone cross and a few plaques commemorate the burials.

Fanad Head with its wonderful view on the rough coast of the Atlantic ocean. Right here in this unique surroundings thrones one of Ireland’s most beautiful lighthouses above the crashing waves. Fanad Lighthouse is classified as a sea light, not a harbour light, despite it marking the entrance into Lough Swilly which is a natural harbour of refuge.

Fanad Head Lighthouse, one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses, is located within the Donegal Gaeltacht on the wild and windswept Fanad peninsula. It is also one of twelve lighthouses which make up Great Lighthouses of Ireland, a new all-island tourism initiative. Visitors from home and abroad now have the chance to visit or stay in a lighthouse and to find out about our history and heritage, to appreciate the spectacular natural world around us.

A beautiful freshwater lough in County Donegal, Ireland. The lough, along with its neighbouring village of Fintown, was named after a mythological woman, Finngeal, who drowned in the lake after attempting to save her wounded brother Feargamhain. The water from Lough Finn outflows into the River Finn.

The Fintown Railway is the only operational railway in Co. Donegal. Set amidst spectacular highland scenery overlooking Lough Finn. It is the only operational narrow guage railway in County Donegal. The railway nestled deep in the heart of spectacular mountainous scenery steeped in tradition, myth and folklore, and running along the crystal clear waters of Loch Finn is a million miles from the constant rush of every day life.

This a very impressive beach just a few kilometers outside the fishing port of Killybegs on the south-west coast of County Donegal. In summer this makes a good destination for a family day out with plenty of opportunity to play beach games, build sandcastles and splash around in the waves. The sandy beach is backed by dunes and grassy hills and provides a vast open space.

The beautiful Five Fingers beach is nestled in impressive dunes. These dunes, up to 30 metres high, are among the highest in Europe. The way to this beautiful beach leads past an idyllic church embedded in the dunes. Swimming is not recommended here due to very dangerous undercurrents and rip tides.

A majestic and beautiful fort located on a rocky promontory accessed over a natural fissure. Originally built as part of a series of fortifications defending Lough Swilly during the Napoleonic Wars, located opposite Knockalla Fort on the other side of the lough. The fort is now a military museum with detailed exhibitions, many restored guns such as BL 6 inch Mk VII naval gun and an old military camp. There are also displays about the area birds, marine life and coastal vegetation.

A beautiful militory museum which was opened to the public in 1986 and attracts visitors and scholars from all over the world. Using the latest DVD and interactive technology the unique history and present role of Fort Dunree is fully explained and recreated in vibrant and colourful displays. Today however, its stunning natural beauty and abundant wildlife are drawing increasing numbers of visitors to one of Inishowen’s most beautiful and peaceful locations.

The Glencolmcille Folk Village is a reconstruction of the historic homes and dwellings of the Glencolmcille area in South West Donegal. It is a cluster of several small cottages, called a ‘clachan’, perched on a hillside overlooking the sandy curve of Glen Bay Beach in the Gaeltacht of South West Donegal. Designed, built and maintained by the local people, the Folk Village is one of Ireland's best living-history museums.

Glenveagh Castle is a 19th century castellated mansion and was built between 1867 and 1873. Its construction in a remote mountain setting was inspired by the Victorian idyll of a romantic highland retreat. It is built in the Scottish baronial architectural style and consists of a four-story rectangular keep, surrounded by a garden, and a backdrop of some 165.4 km2 of mountains, lakes, glens and woods complete with a herd of red deer.

The Glenveagh Castle Gardens are part of Glenveagh National Park in the north west of County Donegal. The site occupied by the castle and gardens was formerly wild mountain moorland, with construction of the castle beginning in 1869 and the gardens in the mid 1880s. Tree rhododendrons and magnolias grace the woods with under-plantings of azaleas, hostas, astilbes and rodgersias.

Glenveagh National Park is a remote and hauntingly beautiful wilderness of rugged mountains, pristine lakes, tumbling waterfalls and enchanted native oak woodland in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains in the north west of County Donegal. The Park, over 16,000 hectares in extent consists of three areas. The largest of these is the former Glenveagh Estate, including most of the Derryveagh Mountains.

The Gola Island covers about one square mile (500 acres) and is situated about one mile from the pier at Machaire Gathlán. It is hilly on its west side, rising to 238 feet at Cnoc an Choillín and 212 feet at An Mhaol Mhór, and these hills shelter the houses that stretch in a ribbon along the east side. Gola islanders are renowned for their skills as mariners and fishermen and story-tellers.

Grianán of Aileach is probably the best known monument in Inishowen, County Donegal. Situated on a hilltop 250m above sea level the view from the stone fort of Aileach is breathtaking. Although the hill is comparatively not that high, the summit dominates the neighbouring counties of Derry, Donegal and Tyrone. Located at the edge of the Inishowen peninsula.