Belfast Castle

Belfast Castle Review

In 1934 this spectacularly baronial castle, built for the Marquis of Donegall in 1865, was passed to the Belfast Corporation. Although the castle functions primarily as a restaurant, it also houses, on the second floor, the Cave Hill Visitor Centre, which provides information about the castle's history and its natural surroundings in Cave Hill Country Park. Views across Belfast are spectacular, taking in a vast swathe of the city and stretching, for miles, in all directions. Guided tours (by reservation) of the reception rooms built by the Earls of Shaftesbury are sometimes offered on weekends. For a fine introduction to the castle and its park, check out the excellent eight-minute video "Watching over Belfast." In fact, the best reason to visit the castle is to take a stroll in its ornamental gardens and then make the ascent to McArt's Fort. This promontory, at the top of sheer cliffs 1,200 feet above the city, also affords an excellent view across Belfast. Take the path uphill from the parking lot, turn right at the next intersection of pathways, and then keep left as you journey up the sometimes-steep hill to the fort.