Derry Girls has put this once-troubled city in the spotlight

Today's Derry-Londonderry is a much more open and tourist-friendly city to the one depicted in that SBS-Netflix show.

I'm strolling past the cannons on the 17th-century city walls when a gang of teenage girls overtake me. Their green school blazers and nasally, sing-song accents are so familiar, it's as if I've stumbled onto the set of Derry Girls. As the teens chat and giggle, I listen out for some of the classic "Derryisms" that peppered the hit TV comedy-drama, expressions like "catch yourself on" (don't be ridiculous) and "stall the ball" (stop what you're doing).

Today's Derry-Londonderry is a much more open and tourist-friendly city to the one depicted in that SBS-Netflix show, which followed the fortunes of four local girls (and one "wee English fella") in the mid-1990s at the back end of The Troubles, the sectarian conflict that had bedevilled Northern Ireland for almost three decades. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement - a deal that helped broker peace between the two sides: the Catholic or Nationalist community, who largely see themselves as Irish (and call this city Derry), and the Protestants, or Unionists, who identify more as British and tend to call this city Londonderry.

A unifying figure here is Bill Clinton. One of my favourite Derry Girls episodes was the season-two finale when the then-US President brought the city to a standstill in 1995. A key supporter of the peace process, he returned in April to give a speech at the Guildhall, a civic hub whose neo-Gothic majesty I admire from the imposing city walls, which were constructed in the early 1600s, ostensibly to protect Protestants who'd settled here from England and Scotland. During The Troubles, the walls were often closed off for security reasons, but its 1.5-kilometre circuit of the historic core is now fully accessible, affording sweeping city views and overlooking narrow lanes and steep streets sprinkled with Georgian townhouses, churches, hotels, shops, artisan galleries and al fresco bars and eateries.

Zombie, an anti-violence anthem by Irish rockers the Cranberries, booms from one establishment as I peer down from the fortifications on this early summer's evening. A mixed crowd - young men and women, middle-aged couples, flat-cap-wearing pensioners - are drinking outside popular watering holes like the Guildhall Taphouse, which recently served Bill Clinton a pint of Guinness, and Badgers, whose backyard sports a giant Derry Girls mural. There's a new exhibition celebrating the show at the Tower Museum, a stone landmark by one of the city gates. On display are props, 1990s memorabilia and anecdotes from Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, who, like her fictional characters, grew up and went to a Catholic school in Derry.

While filming the show, producers were careful to keep the Peace Bridge out of camera-shot. Spanning the River Foyle, this sinuous pedestrian bridge was only unveiled in 2011, connecting the city centre with Ebrington Square, a burgeoning neighbourhood set around a former British barracks. At the height of The Troubles, more than 1000 soldiers were billeted there, with Chinook helicopters - and the occasional paramilitary bomb - spiking noise levels.

The sounds are much sweeter as I cross the bridge, passing two buskers on acoustic guitars. Folksy live music also drifts from the terrace of Embankment Bar & Grill, while craft ales are being sampled at another trendy haunt, the Walled City Brewery. Boosting the district's allure is the new four-star Ebrington Hotel spread across several buildings, including the 19th-century Ebrington clocktower. It watches over the neighbourhood's sprawling old parade ground, where open-air cultural events bring people together from across the city. My gaze is drawn across the river, to the spires jutting above the jumbled city skyline, then down to the curves of the Peace Bridge. I think back to something Peter Monaghan, a local tour guide, had told me earlier, with a wry smile, on a city walk: "Some people complained the bridge wasn't even straight, but our history and peace process has been all over the place, so it's a good symbol."

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West of the walled city, this working-class majority-Catholic district was the scene of 1972's Bloody Sunday - one of the worst atrocities of The Troubles, when British soldiers opened fire on demonstrators, killing 14 people. Guides at the Museum of Free Derry lead walks around the Bogside, explaining the stories behind the area's memorials and murals.

Pop inside to peruse the Guildhall's (pictured) beautiful wood panelling and stained-glass windows, plus an exhibition revealing how the city's history was shaped by the Plantation of Ulster - the colonisation of Ireland's north-eastern region during the early-17th-century reign of King James I.

Hit Waterloo Street for hip cafes like Nine Hostages and live-music pubs such as Peadar O'Donnell's. On nearby Strand Road, Browns in Town serves good modern British-Irish cuisine, with typical dishes including seafood chowder, steak and champ (spring onion-spliced mashed potatoes) and wild berry cheesecake.

The city is only a few kilometres from the open border with the Republic of Ireland and one possible day trip is to Malin Head, which caps County Donegal's rugged Inishowen Peninsula (govisitdonegal.com). It's the northernmost point of the Emerald Isle and appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Stop for a drink at Farren's, touted as Ireland's most northerly pub.

Belfast, Northern Ireland's vibrant capital, is just over an hour's drive on the motorway from Derry-Londonderry, but it's better to journey via the slower, winding, super-scenic Causeway Coast. Expect quaint harbour towns, links golf courses, sandy beaches, Game of Thrones filming locations, Bushmills whiskey distillery, and surreal rock formations, not least Giant's Causeway.

Getting there: You can fly to Derry-Londonderry from various UK airports or with Emirates from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane via Dubai and London Heathrow.

Staying there: The Ebrington has rooms from about $260. Book via theebringtonhotel.com

Touring there: A two-night Derry-Londonderry stay is included on Collette's 12-day Shades of Ireland featuring Northern Ireland tour. Starting in Dublin, it's priced from $3999. See gocollette.com

Explore more: visitderry.com; ireland.com

The writer was a guest of Collette.