JOHN SHERIDAN A city that has lost touch with its past is in danger of losing its soul - and despite the large number of dramatic new developments, this is certainly not a charge which can be levelled against the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. This is a small city with a big personality.

Built around the curve of the River Foyle, Derry is the most complete walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of walled cities in Europe. But there is a lot more to do in Derry than regard the walls. There is a wide range of visitor attractions to explore both inside and outside of the city walls.

After a 40-minute BA flight from Glasgow into Derry City airport, which is just six miles away, the first task was to book into HQ for my latest jaunt, the City Hotel at Queens Quay. It's ideally set overlooking the River Foyle and just a stroll away from the numerous cafes, bars and shops in the city centre, the perfect base to explore Derry and the surrounding North West area.

A quick shower and change and it was time for a brisk stroll round Derry's Walls. English merchants built these magnificent town walls that give Derry so much character and I soon found that a walk along the great seventeenth- century walls, which are 18ft high and a mile around, the best way to get your bearings. The walls are open from dawn to dusk and admission is free, with walking tours available all year round - the city's multifaceted history is complex, but your guide will ensure that it all makes perfect sense.

The great thing about Derry is that all of the attractions are within walking distance. But if you can't face some of the mountainous hills in the city centre, then you can always tour in a taxi or an open-top bus. Or why not take a different view of the city with a cruise along the River Foyle?

Shaped by events both ancient and contemporary, history lurks in the cobbled streets running down to the River Foyle. In the past, strife and conflict have not been a new phenomenon for this walled city. Despite three sieges, the walls were never breached, and the panels set into the wall near the eight bastions and four original gates explain the historical background of the nearby buildings and features, such as the great cannon, Roaring Meg.

Renowned for its architectural Georgian splendour, Derry is also home to St Columb's Cathedral (1633), Western Europe's first post-reformation cathedral containing the country's oldest and largest bells. If you happen to have a bit of a hangover, keep out of the way of the bells until later in the day. The Guildhall, with its stunning stained-glass windows illustrating almost every episode of note of the city's history, is the seat of local government. It was built in 1890 in a lavish neo-gothic style, and stands at the entrance to Shipquay Gate.

Careful restoration coupled with sensitive new developments such as the Craft Village and the Tower Museum housed in the seventeenth-century O'Doherty's Tower, have rejuvenated Derry's walled city and enhanced its reputation as one of Ireland's most priceless historical treasures.

The Craft Village in Shipquay Street houses the Genealogy Centre, which offers a fee-paying research service for those tracing their roots in County Derry, the Inishowen Peninsula and County Donegal. The centre has a database of over one million records.

Derry is not a city which has lost touch with its past. Evidence of this can be seen inside the shadows of the walls in the Bogside, the Fountain as well as the Waterside areas of the city. The Bogside has become a must to visit for both native and foreign tourists, eager to capture the Bogside gallery of Murals with their latest cameras. The 11 murals are described as the people's gallery and are painted by a group of local artists to reflect the events in the past and one, the peace mural, looks forward to the future with an idealist image of a dove. This area also houses the Museum of Free Derry, which tells the people's story of the Bogside. While the Apprentice boys' Memorial Hall, where the Siege of Derry celebrations take place every year or the Fountain Estate loyalist murals, close to the city walls, are well worth a visit.

Derry is a city where people work hard and play hard. There is a popular saying in Northern Ireland, "the craic's 90", which roughly translated means that the combination of good times, good company and a good pint is near the top mark. Well, in Derry, it certainly pushes 100. If it's craic and live music you're after, head for Paedar O'Donnell's in Waterloo Street where the craic regularly breaks the century mark and where the penny whistle sounds like a million dollars.

If you're into retail therapy then Derry is the place for you. Among the many meccas for indulgence is the Foleaide Shopping Centre, the Richmond Shopping Centre and the Unique Craft Villge.

There are designer boutiques dotted throughout the city centre. But whatever you do, visit the world's oldest independent department store, the magnificent Austins in the South corner of the Diamond.

In Derry, the food in the restaurants, bistros and brasseries will have you coming back for seconds. Not least at Mange 2 in Clarendon Street or Thompsons Restaurant on the River at the City Hotel. But if you get a chance then you must try some of he locally-caught seafood.

Further afield, the Giants Causeway, Bushmills Distillery and the rugged Antrim Coastline are all within an hour of Derry. To the north lies the Inishowen Peninsula and Donegal, while for golfers, Ballyliffen and Royal Port Rush are within driving distance.

Yes, Derry is fast developing as a cosmopolitan city, and as I relax in the Jacuzzi of the City Hotel's health suite, Salubris, I take time to reflect on how the intriguing blend of ancient and modern is encouraging tourists to visit Derry. Leaving its troubled civil rights protests behind, the city has a youthful vibrancy and is a city for all seasons to be visited for all reasons.

Need to know Genealogy Centre - www.irishgenealogy.ie Ballyliffin Golf Club - www.ballyliffingolfclub.com Tower Museum - www.derrycity.gov.uk/museums Open Top Bus Tour - www.city-sightseeing.com Foyle Cruises - www.foylecruiseline.com Walking Tours - www.derryvisitor.com Museum of Free Derry - www.museumoffreederry.com Flights to Derry are from BA operated by Loganair - www.ba.com - which runs daily services from Glasgow www.cityhotelderry.com or e-mail reservations@cityhotelderry.com