About Belfast

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. A modern and growing city, Belfast is renowned for the friendliness of its inhabitants and has seen an unprecedented boom in recent years following greater political stability. The waterfront of the river Lagan, which runs through the city centre, has been extensively developed and modernised in the last few years, making it a hub for conferences and entertainment virtually in the city centre. However, historically Belfast has been an industrial city with shipbuilding, linen manufacture and ropemaking prominent industries, and the industrial tradition is represented in the city landscape. Belfast is also a compact, walkable city with most amenities within a short distance from the city centre, and the countryside with some breathtaking landscapes is only a few miles away.

Click here for a street map of Belfast (PDF 80kb)

City Hall

The impressive City Hall lies in the heart of the city, and is both a tourist attraction and facility for Belfast City Council services. Finished in 1906, the building by Crumwell Thomas was erected to mark that Belfast was a city "equal to other cities in the world". The building features marble interiors, as well as a multitude of historic objects and documents. The stained glass windows, which are all originals, portray various events in the history of Belfast, and there are a number of historic memorials in the City Hall grounds. Guided tours of the City Hall are available daily.

For more information on what to see and do, see the links below. This section also provides some general tourist information.

Orientation
Belfast's compact city centre curls around the undulating west bank of the River Lagan. Most points of interest are within easy walking distance of each other and City Hall on Donegall Square is a good central landmark to use if you lose your bearings. From City Hall, walk north along Donegall Place and Royal Avenue if you want to hit the shops; go northeast to reach the recently redeveloped Cathedral Quarter and alleyways of the pub-filled Entries; keep heading a little northeast for the Albert Memorial Clocktower, dramatically backdropped by Samson and Goliath, the Harland & Wolff cranes on the east bank of the Lagan; go south down Dublin Rd for the Golden Mile entertainment area, Queen's University, Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens; and to the east, follow Chichester St for the Waterfront Hall and Hilton Hotel. The Westlink Motorway cuts off the centre from West Belfast, home to (Catholic) Falls Rd and (Protestant) Shankill Rd.

Head to the Entries in the centre of the city for character-filled pubs, the Golden Mile on Botanic Avenue near the university area for restaurants and bars, and further south to the university area for accommodation.

Around the City Centre
Donegall Square is lined with fancifully ornate buildings such as the Scottish Provident Building, littered with statues of industrial icons, sphinxes, dolphins and lions' heads. The Linen Hall Library nearby was established in 1788 'to improve the mind and excite a spirit of general inquiry'. Its famed Irish and local-studies collection includes a copy of everything written about Northern Ireland politics since 1966.

Grand Opera House
Another of Belfast's noted landmarks, the opera house is an extravagantly balconied confection of over-the-top Victoriana, replete with red satin and swirling gilded plasterwork. The venue opened in 1895 and was derelict for many years before being refurbished by master restorer Robert McKinstry in 1980. On an adjacent corner of Great Victoria St, the Crown Liquor Saloon is another fine example of McKinstry's restoration skills. This is Victorian pub architecture at its most flamboyant, with cut-glass, marble, mosaic and mahogany details galore, gas lighting, brocade-lined walls and multi-patterned tiled floors. If it is all too heady, try to nab one of the 'snugs', the private drinking booths that come complete with match strikers and bells for service.

The Entries
The cluster of narrow alleyways (known as 'entries') running off High Street and Ann Street is all that remains of Belfast's oldest quarter, thanks to heavy bombing experienced during World War II. At one time the alleyways were bustling commercial and residential centres, but these days only the glorious old pubs remain. Mix some history with a spot of Guinness by dropping into Kelly's Cellars, meeting place of Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen, and be sure to visit White's Tavern, Belfast's oldest pub (1630). Other quaint hostelries in this atmospheric district include the gastronomically famous Morning Star and Globe Tavern.
The Cathedral Quarter nearby has been transformed over recent years from a somewhat forlorn area of run-down warehouses into a trendy enclave of restaurants and bars. The vibrant precinct epitomises Belfast's new sense of optimism, buoyed by a strong sense of community and cultural regeneration. It is named for St Anne's Cathedral, the final resting place of Edward Carson, who was the architect of Ireland's partition. There's a number of notable buildings in the vicinity, in particular the grand old 1860 Ulster Bank with its cast-iron lamps, columns and sculptures, interior ceilings chased with chubby cherubs, and iron railings bearing the Red Hand of Ulster, the powerful provincial symbol. The former Belfast Bank building dates back to 1769 in parts, making it the city's oldest public building.

Botanic Gardens
If you're all tuckered out after pounding Belfast's pavements, head for the immaculate Botanic Gardens, just south of Queen's University. The gardens' curvaceous cast-iron and glass Palm House was built by the architect of Kew's famous palm house. There's also a Tropical Ravine, an imaginatively designed jungle of tropical plants inhabited by tiny terrapins. The excellent Ulster Museum is just south of the Palm House. Pop in for the lowdown on early Irish history, Irish linen and glass, industrial machines and Irish painting, and don't miss the sumptuous gold jewellery discovered in the 1588 wreck of a Spanish Armada vessel. The gardens are also shared by the Tudorish Queen's College, built in 1849 and inspired by Oxford's Magdalen College. The Union Theological College nearby hosted the Northern Ireland Parliament until 1932, when it transferred 8km (5mi) away to the purpose-built Stormont Castle. Adjacent University Square is one of Ireland's finest terraces, with a score of student-packed cafes hidden away in its quiet, tree-lined streets.

Lagan Weir
Like most of the world's big riverside cities, Belfast is expending a heap of money and energy on the redevelopment of its docklands and waterways. The Lagan Weir launched the city's ambitious Laganside Development Project, transforming unsightly mudflats into a clean, deep river which is now attracting salmon, eels and sea trout. The weir is lit a brilliant blue at night, and features a lookout and visitor centre. The Lagan's facelift has continued apace, with the Waterfront Hall and Odyssey entertainment complexes, riverside apartments and restored warehouse accommodation, linked by a network of parks, public spaces, pathways and footbridges.

Off the Beaten Track
Cave Hill Country Park
Belfast is ringed by hills, visible from many points in the city, but none loom so large as Cave Hill (355m/1165ft). It's the best place to get your bearings and drink in some views - on a clear day you can even see Scotland lurking on the horizon. The Country Park sprawls over 300 hectares (740 acres) reaching down to Belfast Lough and is littered with ringforts, evidence of Iron Age occupation. Wolfe Tone and his United Irishmen gathered at the suitably dramatic McArt's Fort in 1795 to pledge to continue their struggle for Irish independence. Five artificial caves dating from the Neolithic era are nearby, and further down the slopes there's Belfast Castle, a Scottish Baronial confection dating from 1870 that's the venue for many a fashionable Belfast wedding. Below Cave Hill, Belfast Zoo has splendid views over Belfast Lough and as zoos go its enclosures are pretty good, in particular the sealion and penguin pools.

Malone House
This gracious 1820s mansion offers a glimpse of Georgian Belfast. Painting exhibitions are displayed in the Higgin Gallery, and there's a reputable restaurant, gardens filled with rhododendrons and azaleas, and paths leading across the 41-hectare (101-acre) grounds down to the Lagan Towpath. The grounds abutt the rolling meadows, woodlands, formal gardens and riverside fields of Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park. The main attraction is the spectacular City of Belfast International Rose Garden, incorporating more than 20,000 blooms and a garden tracing the development of the rose.

Giant's Ring
This massive prehistoric earthwork is only 8km (5mi) from Belfast's city centre, in County Down. The enclosure is vast - nearly 200m (655ft) in diameter and covering three hectares (seven acres) - and at its heart there's an ancient tomb called the Druid's Altar, dating from around 4000BC. Pragmatic punters in the 18th century held race meetings at the enigmatic site, realising the potential of the 4m (13ft) embankment as a natural grandstand and temporarily banishing the fairies who inhabit such prehistoric rings.