Home Destinations Europe Ireland Northern Ireland Sights City Hall

City Hall Review

Read our Northern Ireland sights reviews. Or post your own.

City Hall

Address: Donegall Sq., Golden Mile, Belfast
Phone: 028/9032-0202
www.belfastcity.gov.uk

Category: Government Buildings
Location: Belfast

Write a review

Fodor's Review:

Massive, exuberant, Renaissance Revival City Hall dominates Donegall Square. Built between 1898 and 1906 and modeled on St. Paul's Cathedral in London, it was designed by Brumwell Thomas, who was knighted but had to sue to get his fee. It was from a specially built platform on its front steps that American president Bill Clinton made an emotional address to the people during his historic 1995 visit. Before you enter, take a stroll around Donegall Square, to see statues of Queen Victoria; a monument commemorating the Titanic, which was built in Belfast; and a column honoring the U.S. Expeditionary Force, which landed in the city on January 26, 1942—the first contingent of the U.S. Army to land in Europe during World War II. Enter under the porte cochere at the front of the building. From the entrance hall (the base of which is a whispering gallery), the view up to the heights of the 173-foot-high Great Dome is a feast for the eyes. With its complicated series of arches and openings, stained-glass windows, Italian-marble inlays, decorative plasterwork, and paintings, this is Belfast's most ornate public space—homage to the might of the British Empire. Unfortunately, during 2009, City Hall is undergoing extensive renovation and the building is closed. The guided tours—a popular feature with visitors—are not due to start again until early 2010. But all is not lost: a new attraction, the Belfast Wheel, opened in 2007 in the grounds of City Hall and has proved such a success with both locals and tourists that it is being retained until at least the spring of 2009.

Find more sights in Northern Ireland »