Derry and County Donegal - Ireland 2014 - page 619

Easygoing Fitzroy's, tucked below Ferryquay Gate, serves good £9-12 lunches and
£12-19 dinners (Mon-Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun 13:00-20:00, 2-4 Bridge Street, tel. 028/
7126-6211).
Austins Department Store, right on the Diamond in the center of the old city, is Ire-
land's oldest department store (1830). It predates Harrods in London by 15 years, and
Macy's in New York by 25 years. Its basic top-floor café comes with lofty views and
£5.50 lunch specials (Mon-Sat 9:30-17:30, Sun 13:00-17:00, 2-6 The Diamond, tel. 028/
7126-1817).
Bloom's Cafe, a cheap and cheery basic lunch option, hides inside the Verbal Arts
Centre atop the walls near Double Bastion (Mon-Fri 9:00-16:00, closed Sat-Sun, tel. 028/
7127-2517).
Supermarkets: Tesco has everything for picnics and road munchies (Mon-Fri
8:00-21:00, Sat 8:00-20:00, Sun 13:00-18:00, corner of Strand Road and Clarendon
Street). SuperValu meets the same needs (Mon-Wed and Sat 8:30-19:00, Thu-Fri
8:30-20:00, Sun 12:30-17:30, Waterloo Place).
Derry Connections
FromDerry,it'sanhour'sdrivetoPortrush.Ifyou'reusingpublictransportation, consider
spending £16.50 for a Zone 4 iLink smartcard (£15 top-up for each additional day), good
for all-day train and bus use in Northern Ireland (see here ) . Translink has useful updated
schedules and prices for both trains and buses in Northern Ireland (tel. [phone],
www.translink.co.uk ) . Keep in mind that some bus and train schedules, road signs, and
maps may say “Londonderry” or “L'Derry” instead of “Derry.”
From Derry by Train to: Portrush (8/day, 1.5 hours, change in Coleraine), Belfast
(8/day, 2.5 hours), Dublin (6/day, 5 hours).
By Bus to: Galway (6/day, 5.5 hours), Portrush (5/day, 1.25 hours, change in Col-
eraine), Belfast (hourly, 1.75 hours), Dublin (12/day, 4.5 hours).
Between Derry and Galway
If you're driving into Northern Ireland from Galway, Westport, or Strokestown and don't
have time to explore Donegal, consider these two interesting stops in the interior.