- The Harbour – This is the closest Irish harbour to the U.K. mainland, being only fourteen miles from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland. The sheltered harbour has been at the heart of village life since ancient times and in the early C19 even had its own passport office.
- The Square – Unique to Northern Ireland, the picturesque village square was commissioned by Lord Cushendun and designed in the ‘Cornish Style’ by architect Clough Williams Ellis (famous for the village of Portmeirion in Wales, where the the cult television series The Prisoner was filmed). Williams Ellis also designed the Maud Cottages and updated Glenmona House.
- The Beach – The quality of the sea bathing at Cushendun has attracted visitors since the 1840’s The sheltered and sandy beach is heaven for children and offers safe swimming for strong and hardy swimmers. The area above the beach is known as the Warren (it was once a ‘farmed’ rabbit warren) and is being conservation managed as meadowland.
- Glenmona House – About 500 yards north of the village and overlooking the beach stands Glenmona House. From 1910 Glenmona was home to local landowner Ronald John McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun and Unionist politician.. After the house was burned down by the IRA in 1922 it was rebuilt to a design by Clough Williams Ellis, in a combination of Art Deco and Neoclassical styles. Describing it as palatial and in the most up-to-date style, the Ballymena Weekly Telegraph called the new Glenmona one of the ‘show places of the district’. The house remained in the family until 1954 when it was sold to the National Trust. It is currently available for use by the community and the grounds are open to the public.
- Carra Castle – At the north end of the beach (on the site of a mesalithic flint works) stand the ruins of Carra Castle. It was a stronghold of the McDonnell clan and was where, in 1567 during a period of hostilities incited by the English, they massacred rival clan the O’Neills. Shane O’Neill’s head was cut off, pickled and sent to the English in Dublin. A fine monument to Shane O’Niell erected in 1908, stands a mile north on the Torr Road.
- The Cushendun Hotel – On the south side of the river the Cushendun Hotel is the last of three hotels, (also The Glendun and the Bay Hotel) that used to cater to the thriving holiday industry. Although the hotel is no longer operational the proprietor Randal McDonnell maintains the original decor in the reception rooms so it is worth taking a peek through the windows. Next door the legendary bar, the Blue Room (also known as the Ropeworks Bar) opens occasionally and is definitely worth a visit. Many of the fixtures and fittings come from the SS Minnewasker, a 1920’s ocean liner built by the White Star Line, which also built the Titanic.
- The Caves – Past the Cushendun Hotel, beyond the Bay Appartments are the caves. Made famous by the HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’, the caves are formed of conglomerate rock known as ‘Pudding Stone’. The main cave serves as the entrance to the Cave House. This isolated and romantic house was built by the Crommelin family and was once home to Poet Laureate John Masefield, author of the famous poem “Sea Fever”, amongst many others.
- The Goat – Overlooking the harbour, and now one of the village’s most iconic sites stands the Goat. Erected as a memorial to Randal McDonnell’s pet goat Johannes, a victim of the Foot and Mouth outbreak in Cushendun in 2001, the sculpture is by artist Deborah Brown.