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North Belfast
In 1934, this spectacularly baronial castle, built for the Marquess of Donegall in 1865, was passed to the Belfast Corporation. Although the castle functions primarily as a restaurant, it also houses, in the cellar, the Visitor Centre, which provides information about the castle's history and its natural surroundings in Cave Hill Country Park. Tours are self-guided and take in the reception rooms built by the Earls of Shaftesbury. For a fine introduction to the castle and park, check out the excellent eight-minute video Watching over Belfast. In fact, the best reason to visit the castle is to stroll the 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, 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 steep-in-places hill to the fort.
After your walk, the Castle Tavern is a great place for drinks, snacks, and meals.
Antrim Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT15 5GR, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: Free
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Central District
Built of Portland stone between 1898 and 1906 and modeled on St. Paul's Cathedral in London, this Renaissance revival–style edifice—the cynosure of central Belfast—was designed by Brumwell Thomas (who was knighted but had to sue to get his fee). Before you enter, take a stroll around Donegall Square to see statues of Queen Victoria 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 arrive in Europe during World War II. A monument commemorating the Titanic stands in the grounds, and in 2012, a granite memorial was unveiled in a Titanic memorial garden opened for the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking. The memorial, on the east side of the grounds, lists the names of everyone who died in the tragedy. Enter the building under the porte cochere at the front. 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—a veritable homage to the might of the British Empire. After an £11 million restoration, the modernized building has been brought into the 21st century and is home to the Bobbin café. A permanent self-guided interactive exhibition on the history of Belfast spanning 16 rooms covers six theme zones including cultural heritage, sporting celebrities, and laureates of the arts. Look out for the exhibit of ceremonial keys presented by visiting dignitaries from 10 U.S. towns and cities, reflecting the close ties between Northern Ireland and America. In the courtyard a 60-jet fountain has been dedicated to Belfast City Council members killed during the Troubles. Free, one-hour guided tours of the building are available or you can rent headphones for £3.50. Tours are held weekdays at 11, 2, and 3, and weekends at noon, 2, and 3.
Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 5GS, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: Tours free
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Golden Mile
Belfast is blessed with some exceptional pubs, but the Crown is one of the city's glories. Owned by the National Trust (the U.K.'s official conservation organization), it's an ostentatious box of delights and immaculately preserved. Opposite the Europa Hotel, it began life in 1826 as the Railway Tavern and is still lighted by gas; in 1885 the owner asked Italian craftsmen working on churches in Ireland to moonlight on rebuilding it, and its place in Irish architectural pub history was assured. Richly carved woodwork around cozy snugs (cubicles—known to regulars as "confessional boxes"), leather seats, color tile work, and an abundance of mirrors make up the decor. But the pièce de résistance is the embossed ceiling with its swirling arabesques and rosettes of burnished primrose, amber, and gold, as dazzling now as the day it was installed. The Crown claims to serve the perfect pint of Guinness—so no need to ask what anyone's drinking. When you settle down with your glass, note the little gunmetal plates used by the Victorians for lighting their matches as well as the antique push-button bells for ordering another round. Ageless, timeless, and classless—some would say the Crown is even priceless. If you wish to eat, choose the upstairs dining room, which has a much wider and better selection of food.
46 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7BA, Northern Ireland
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North Belfast
Designed by Charles Lanyon, and opened in 1846, this jail held more than 500 prisoners at its peak; today it is one of Belfast's hottest tourist tickets. Throughout its 150-year lifetime, around 25,000 convicts passed through its doors. During the worst years of the Troubles, between 1969 and 1996 (when the prison closed), it held some of the North's most notorious prisoners, including many involved in paramilitary violence. The building has undergone a £10 million restoration, and, with its cream-walled corridors and black railings, has been transformed to reflect the way it looked in Victorian days. The engrossing 75-minute tour takes in the holding, punishment, and condemned cells—the latter where the prisoners were held before being taken to the gallows for execution. The highlight is the execution chamber, hidden behind a moving bookcase where the guide explains the gory details of how the long-drop method was used to break the prisoner's neck. Exhibits in the museum include handcuffs, a flogging rack with the birch used for punishment, photographs, and maps. The jail is said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Belfast, and paranormal tours, ghost, and historical evening tours are held occasionally. A British army Wessex helicopter which patrolled the skies during the Troubles has been added to the display. The helicopter was retired from service in 2002 and has been restored. It was given to the museum by the Royal Air Force in 2019. The Crum Café sells daytime snacks, while Cuffs Bar and Grill is open for evening dining.
53–55 Crumlin Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT14 6ST, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: £12
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Golden Mile
Fresh from a dazzling £12 million face-lift and just in time for its 125th anniversary, Belfast's opera house, which regularly hosts musicals, plays, and concerts, has been restored to its original 1890s glamour with a new auditorium and ornate boxes. Visitors can now appreciate the beauty of the plasterwork alongside repairs and repainting of decorative features such as elephant heads and the glorious ceilings devised by the renowned theater architect Frank Matcham in 1894. New purpose-designed seats have replaced the old cinema-style ones in use since the 1960s and stalls, circle crush bars, sound, lighting, sets, and scenery were all upgraded. An impressive new permanent display reflects many of the famous names who have taken to this stage including Laurel and Hardy and Luciano Pavarotti. The building, which had already achieved listed status for its architectural merit and is Northern Ireland's only remaining Victorian theater, now takes its place among the city's premier attractions.
2 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7HR, Northern Ireland
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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West Belfast
The fascinating story of James Connolly, from his birth in 1868 to his execution in Dublin for his part in the Easter Rising in 1916, is told in this £1 million interactive visitor center, opened in 2019 by the Irish President Michael D. Higgins and funded largely by American labor unions. The bilingual exhibition—in Irish and English—explores Connolly's crucial role as a pioneer of the early trade union movement, his travels throughout America, and his work closer to home. A laborer, docker, engineer, and salesman, Connolly was also a soldier, political activist, and writer. In 1902, he went on a five-month tour of America, later emigrating to the States. A huge map charts his journey which involved traveling by train to Colorado and New Mexico to address workers. In the ground-floor exhibition, excerpts from Connolly's letters and his quotations are brought to life through an audio library of poetry, music, and an interview with his daughter. Visitors hear stories of the citizen army he founded to protect workers, his influence on the text of the Easter Proclamation, his leadership in the Rising, his subsequent court-martial and death sentence. A display cabinet contains his pistol and the knocker from the GPO in Dublin, the headquarters of the uprising's leader.
374--76 Falls Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT12 GDG, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: £7
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Central District
With its distinctive grayish-yellow brick, this library—the oldest subscription library in Ireland—is a comfortable place to escape the bustle of the city streets. The library, which has been awarded museum status, has an unparalleled collection of tens of thousands of documents and books relating to the Troubles, regarded as the definitive archive and attracting scholars from all over the world. A digital archive launched in 2018, Divided Society, features a wide range of material relating to the peace process of the 1990s resulting in the Belfast Agreement on Good Friday in 1998. One early librarian, Thomas Russell, was hanged in 1803 for supporting an Irish uprising; another early user, Henry Joy McCracken, a founding member of the United Irishmen, went to the scaffold owing the library £1.30 in subscriptions arrears, a debt that was eventually paid by a descendant in 2001. American visitors in particular like to see one extremely rare item: the original document recording the first ever acts passed by the American Congress in New York on March 4, 1789. On the walls are paintings and prints depicting Belfast views and landmarks. Much of this artwork is for sale. Look out for the beautiful stained-glass windows on the first floor featuring portraits of men eminent in literature and science. It's an ideal hideaway for relaxing with a newspaper, enjoying the library's café, and falling into conversation. Guided 45-minute tours are held at 10:30 am weekdays.
17 Donegall Sq. N, Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 5GB, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, tours from £5, Closed weekends
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Titanic Quarter
This world-class attraction headlines a "Titanic Experience" exhibition along with showcasing nine linked interpretative galleries that outline the Titanic's dramatic story as well as the wider theme of Belfast's seafaring and industrial heritage. The stunning bow-shape facade of the six-story building reflects the lines of the great ship, the shardlike appearance created from 3,000 different-shape panels each folded from silver anodized aluminum sheets into asymmetrical geometries. The ultimate, startling effect is of light caught by a cut diamond. As you wander through Titanic Belfast, you learn about the thriving boomtown at the turn of the 20th century; the ride through the reconstruction of the shipyards echoes with the sounds and sensations of more than 100 years ago. In one of the galleries, the ship's saga is brought up to the present with the discovery of the wreck and into the future with live links to contemporary undersea exploration. Also on-site is a movie theater designed by the Titanic explorer Robert Ballard (he discovered the wreck in 1985), which shows films about the ship. From time to time new exhibits are added; one of these is the original plan used during the British Titanic Inquiry held one month after the sinking. The historic plan was a vital reference tool and contains markings indicating where the liner struck the iceberg. The inquiry concluded that the loss of the liner had been brought about by "excessive speed." Tours are self-guided; audio guides are available in seven languages and cost £4. The one-hour Discovery Tour (£10) explores the symbolism of the Titanic building and incorporates the new Titanic Hotel, the converted former drawing offices of Harland & Wolff shipyard. The admission price to Titanic Belfast includes access to the nearby SS Nomadic, Titanic's original tender ship and the last remaining White Star Line vessel. Following a stint as a Parisian restaurant and nightclub, Nomadic was restored and visitors can experience a permanent and tangible piece of maritime heritage at Hamilton Dock. You can separately book a visit to the Nomadic on its own. Tickets are £7. You can also buy a White Star Premium Pass (£30) for daylong benefits such as discounts in the bistro and in the Titanic Store, as well as access to SS Nomadic and a personalized souvenir photograph of your visit. Tickets for Titanic Belfast are based on a timed ticketing, with slots available every 15 minutes throughout opening times; last admission is one hour, 45 minutes before closing time.
On selected Sundays, afternoon tea is hosted by the grand staircase in the Titanic Suite, but must be booked in advance. The cost is £28.50, £35.50 with a glass of prosecco, or £39 with a glass of Heidsieck Monopole Champagne, the official champagne of the RMS Titanic.
6 Queen's Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT3 9DT, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: £19.50 includes Titanic Experience tour at Titanic Belfast and entrance to SS Nomadic; discovery tour £10
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University Area
Next door to the Botanic Gardens, the rejuvenated Ulster Museum is a big hit with visitors for its spacious light-filled atrium and polished steel. The museum's forte is the history and prehistory of Ireland, using exhibitions to colorfully trace the rise of Belfast's crafts, trade, and industry. In addition, the museum has a large natural history section, with a famed skeleton of the extinct Irish giant deer and a trove of jewelry and gold ornaments recovered from the Spanish Armada vessel Girona, which sank off the Antrim Coast in 1588. Take time to seek out the Girona's stunning gold salamander studded with rubies and still dazzling after 400 years in the Atlantic. The museum includes a first-rate collection of 19th- and 20th-century art from Europe, Britain, and America. The Modern History gallery tells the story of Ulster from 1500 to 1968 and shows a remarkable range of objects from the history collection, many on display for the first time. A permanent exhibition installed in 2018 presents a somber look at the history of the civil and political conflict in Northern Ireland. "The Troubles and Beyond" recounts in a graphic way the story of three decades of communal violence covering the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. Through a wide variety of images, including reproduction of wall murals, maps, photographs, and propaganda ephemera, as well as videos, listening posts, and screens, the harrowing story of the conflict, which claimed more than 3,000 lives, is told in an engaging way. Look out for two poignant wall exhibits: the Peace Quilt, a red fabric with white birds representing the dove of peace and a teddy bear as a reminder of the children who suffered the loss of loved ones; and a powerful oil painting by the artist Jack Pakenham, Peace Talks, completed in 1992 as Northern Ireland moved slowly towards a resolution of the Troubles. In 2020, the museum received six etchings by the Dutch master Rembrandt which were gifted as a major acquisition by the Arts Council of England. The delicate etchings, which are on permanent display, date from 1630 to the 1650s. They include Dutch landscapes such as Six's Bridge which Rembrandt made in 1645 while visiting the country estate of Jan Six, a wealthy Amsterdam merchant who was his friend and patron.
The art, history, and nature discovery zones are packed with hands-on activities for children. Kids enjoy the Peter the Polar Bear exhibit and the famed Egyptian mummy, Takabuti.
Sunday morning is the quietest time to visit, but go early before the crowds. Afterward, lay out a picnic in the Belfast Botanical Gardens next door.
Stranmillis Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT9 5AB, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon., except for Northern Irish holidays
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Central District
Tilting a little to one side—not unlike Pisa's more notorious leaning landmark—this clock tower was named for Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert. The once-dilapidated Queen's Square on which it stands has undergone a face-lift, and a restoration has brought the clock back to its original glory. The tower itself is not open to the public.
Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 3FG, Northern Ireland
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North Belfast
From the superstar Chilean flamingos and a gorilla troop reigned over by silverback alpha male Gugas---whose latest offspring was born in October 2021---to spot-necked otters, West African chimps, and Goodfellow's tree kangaroos, you can enjoy the spectacle of more than 150 types of the world's most exotic creatures on a visit to Belfast Zoo. Note that it's on the steep side of Cave Hill and getting around the zoo involves a strenuous uphill walk for even the most energetic (not ideal for anyone with mobility problems)—a stroller would be advisable for small children. A popular attraction at the Rainforest House, a walk-through exhibition with dense tropical landscaping, is the toco toucan, with its huge, bright, yellow-orange bill. The zoo is also noted for its children's farm and underwater views of the resident penguins and sea lions.
The Treetops Tearoom (at the top of the Cave Hill site) affords the perfect view over Belfast Lough and is surrounded by the Malayan sun bear and cheetah enclosures.
Belfast, Co. Down, BT36 7PN, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: £14
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University Area
In the Victorian heyday it was not unusual to find 10,000 of Belfast's citizens strolling about here on a Saturday afternoon. These gardens are a glorious haven of grass, trees, flowers, curving walks, and wrought-iron benches, all laid out in 1827 on land that slopes down to the River Lagan.
The curved-iron and glass Palm House is a conservatory marvel designed in 1839 by Charles Lanyon.
Inside, the hot "stove wing" is a mini-jungle of exotic plants such as the bird-of-paradise flower and heavily scented frangipani. In the main grounds you can wander around the arboretum and the 100-year-old rockery, or in summer savor the colors and scents of the herbaceous borders. On the last Sunday of August each year more than 30,000 people converge on the grounds for the Belfast Mela, a program of music, dance, food, and arts. Stalls and stands are laid out, and street theater, drummers, and choirs from many countries take part in the festivities alongside global cuisine in a world-food market, while tastings and tea-leaf readings are held in a tea emporium.
A fun challenge is to follow the Tree Trail, which leads you around 20 trees, many planted in the 19th century, with specimens such as the tree of heaven, Japanese red cedar, and the wonderful ginkgo biloba from China.
Stranmillis Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT9 5AB, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: Free
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Golden Mile
A landmark in Belfast, the Europa is seen as a monument to the resilience of the city in the face of the Troubles. The most bombed hotel in Western Europe, the hotel was targeted 11 times by the IRA starting in the early 1970s and refurbished every time; today it shows no signs of its explosive history after a £1 million renovation. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton chose the hotel for an overnight visit during their 1995 visit—for 24 hours the phones were answered with "White House Belfast, can I help you?" The former president's room is now called the Clinton Suite and contains memorabilia from the presidential stay.
38 Great Victoria St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT2 7AP, Northern Ireland
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Central District
Dating back to 1644, the First Presbyterian Church has been located in Rosemary Street since 1783, and in 2019 held a special service to mark 375 years of worship. It is the oldest church building in Belfast in continuous use and it is worth calling to see its elliptical interior and sampling some music. It hosts free lunchtime recitals on Wednesdays in July and August. Guided tours, lasting 45 minutes, are held on weekday mornings at 11 and are free.
41 Rosemary St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 1QB, Northern Ireland
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Central District
Off High Street, especially down to Ann Street (parallel to the south), run narrow lanes and alleyways called entries. Though mostly cleaned up and turned into chic shopping lanes, they still hang on to something of their raffish character, and have distinctive pubs with little-altered Victorian interiors. Among the most notable are the Morning Star (Pottinger's Entry off High Street), with its large windows and fine curving bar; White's Tavern (entry off High Street), Belfast's oldest pub, founded in 1630, with plush seats and a big, open fire; and the delectable Muriel's Café Bar in Church Lane, with its damask drapes and velvet seats, themed on a 1920s hat shop. Look into St. George's Church, at one end of High Street, a beautiful building with a magnificent portico transported by canal from the house of the eccentric Earl Bishop of Derry.
Don't miss Kelly's Cellars, a 200-year-old pub in Bank Street, not far from High Street.
The bar was the meeting place of the militant nationalist group, the Society of United Irishmen, whose leader Wolfe Tone is remembered as the founder of Irish Republicanism. A colorful wall mural erected in the upstairs bar in 2018 features the poet Seamus Heaney, writers such as Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, and Samuel Beckett, and musicians including Phil Lynott and Sinéad O'Connor. At lunchtime they serve tasty bowls of filling beef stew, but get there early as stocks are limited ( 028/9024--6058).
High St., Belfast, Co. Down, Northern Ireland
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Belfast has so many churches you could visit a different one nearly every day of the year and still not make it to them all. The oldest house of worship is the Church of Ireland Knockbreda Parish Church. This dark structure was built in 1737 by Richard Cassels, who designed many of Ireland's finest mansions. It quickly became the place to be buried—witness the vast 18th-century tombs in the churchyard.
Church Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT8 7AN, Northern Ireland
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Central District
To see the city from a different perspective, board the Titanic harbor tour, which takes in the shipyard where the famous liner was built. The 65-minute tour leaves daily (March--October) from Donegall Quay at 12:30, 2, and 3:30 pm near the Big Fish sculpture (a gigantic salmon covered in tiles and printed with text and imagery about Belfast). Weekend tours are held in the winter months. Tickets can be bought in the Maritime Emporium shop beside the Obel tower at Donegall Quay.
66 Donegall Quay, Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 3NG, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tours £12.50, Titanic tour end of Mar.–Oct., daily noon, 2, and 3:30; Jan-Mar weekends, times vary.
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Cathedral Quarter
Eye-catchingly beautiful, and flooded with light, the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) is Northern Ireland's flagship home for the arts and energizer of the Cathedral Quarter's flourishing creative scene. Six stories tall, and with two theaters, three art galleries, and artists' studios—along with a café, bar, and restaurant—the MAC is the centerpiece of the neo-Palladian St. Anne's Square development. The MAC makes an astonishing statement with redbrick and dark basalt, oak furnishings, Danish fabric panels, steel balustrades, bronze window frames, and dark-gray terrazzo flooring. Downstairs is a 350-seat auditorium, while upstairs is a 120-seat studio. The galleries present up-and-coming Northern Irish artists as well as attention-grabbing temporary exhibitions incorporating the works of world-renowned artists. The only permanent display is a sculptural artwork by Mark Garry, commissioned by the MAC and the Thomas Devlin Fund, created in memory of a 15-year-old boy killed in an unprovoked attack in North Belfast. Made up of 400 metal wires in the main foyer, it creates a color spectrum through the space with the aim of highlighting the futility of violence. Ushers, known as "MACtivists," are on hand to help point you in the right direction.
Exchange St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 2LD, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Galleries free, Closed Mon. and Tues.
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University Area
Dominating University Road is Queen's University. The main buildings, modeled on Oxford's Magdalen College and designed by the ubiquitous Charles Lanyon, were built in 1849 in the Tudor Revival style. The long, handsome, redbrick-and-sandstone facade of the main building features large lead-glass windows, and is topped with three square towers and crenellations galore. University Square, really a terrace, is from the same era. The Seamus Heaney Library is named after the Ulster-born, 1997 Nobel Prize–winning poet who died in 2013. The McClay Library in College Park features a multistory open atrium, 1.5 million volumes, and the Brian Friel Theatre, named in honor of one of Ireland's most illustrious playwrights. The C. S. Lewis reading room on the first floor has a replica of the wardrobe door used in the film The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Queen's Welcome Centre hosts a program of exhibitions and serves as a visitor information point. Guided tours are available but must be booked in advance.
With a student population of 25,000, the university has been making waves internationally for its research in many fields. In 2020 Queen's appointed Hillary Clinton as its new chancellor to serve for a five-year term. It is the first time that a woman has taken on what is a largely ceremonial role and has boosted the university's prestige. The Clintons first came to Northern Ireland in November 1995 when Bill, as U.S. president, was a key player involved in talks leading to the Northern Ireland peace process. In 2018 Hillary received an honorary degree from Queen's and a scholarship was set up in her name for postgraduate study in politics, human rights, and peace-building.
University Rd., Belfast, Co. Down, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland
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Rate Includes: Free
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Central District
By the riverfront is one of the most appealing churches, Presbyterian Sinclair Seamen's Church. Designed by Charles Lanyon, the architect of Queen's University, it has served the seafaring community since 1857. The pulpit is shaped like a ship's prow; the bell is from HMS Hood, a Royal Navy battleship sunk in Portland Harbor on the south coast of England in 1914; and even the collection plates are shaped like lifeboats. Tours are offered between March and December on Wednesday from 2 to 4:30 pm.
Corporation Sq., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 3AJ, Northern Ireland
Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Jan. and Feb.
