A NUMBER of popular visitors attractions across the north opened their doors yesterday for the first time in almost five months.
As the easing of coronavirus restrictions continues, the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Armagh's Navan Centre and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in Co Down re-opened.
Like all visitor attractions, they have remained closed since March when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
The Ulster Museum is the first major museum in Northern Ireland to reopen to the public since the beginning of lockdown.
Safety measures are in place to facilitate social distancing with 450 people allowed into the building. Visitors are not required to wear a mask, but the museum is urging people to pre-book slots online.
The first visitor through the doors was student Anna Lakse from Dublin.
Kathryn Thomson from National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) said: "The Ulster Museum is the first of our four museums to open, we are absolutely thrilled.
"We believe we have worked really hard to make sure that we follow all the government guidance.
"We have appropriate social distancing and really good hygiene in place throughout the museum and we are really confident that we are welcoming visitors in to a safe and very welcoming and warm environment."
The Ulster Folk Museum in Cultra and Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh will reopen on August 13, while the Ulster Transport Museum will follow on August 20.
Titanic Belfast will reopen tomorrow.
Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in Co Down also reopened yesterday, as well as Armagh’s Navan Centre, which unveiled a fresh take on its 2,000-year-old history.
The Armagh City visitor attraction has a new programme of outdoor interpretative events which celebrate its pivotal place in history, its Celtic past and the stories of warriors, knights and legends.
