Destination of the week…Derry, Northern Ireland

Why we’re loving Derry, Northern Ireland this week…

Derry/Londonderry have been chosen because the UK City of Culture in 2013, transforming the town right into a cultural hotspot.

The recent title comes at a time when Derry is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance; leaving its troubled history well and actually previously.

A world-class programme was announced for 2013, including the presentation of the Turner Prize (for the primary time outside England), a brand new commission by the London Symphony Orchestra and the primary visit to Northern Ireland by the Royal Ballet in over a decade, to call but a couple of.

The festivities will kick off on January 20th 2013 with Sons & Daughters – a free concert staged inside the new pavilion at the banks of the River Foyle. The concert will celebrate Derry’s rich heritage and world-class talent with live performances mixed with a digital visual spectacular showcasing the history of the ‘City of Song’. It is going to even be the launch of the Lighting the town project that’s a year-long installation, animating prestigious buildings, iconic structures and historic monuments.

When you’re not attending some of the host of events held all year long, take a stroll across one of the crucial city’s new landmarks – the ‘Peace Bridge’, symbolically linking the city’s Catholic and Protestant communities – or walk across the 1.5 kilometre circumference of Derry’s City Walls, that are celebrating their 400th anniversary; the appropriate approach to absorb the view of the Renaissance style street plan retained within.