BELFAST is the capital of Northern Ireland and its largest city by some way. More than a third of the province's population live within the Belfast conurbation and, consequently, there's a pace and bustle about the place that you'll find almost nowhere else in Northern Ireland. In appearance it closely resembles Liverpool, Glasgow or any other industrial port across the water, and, similarly, its largely defunct docklands - in which, famously, the Titanic was built - are undergoing massive redevelopment. Though the city centre is still characterized by numerous elegant Victorian buildings, there's been an enormous transformation here, too, and the streets leading northwards from the hub of Belfast life, Donegall Square , are packed with chain stores and new shopping precincts. Yet it is not simply the city's appearance that is changing. Nowhere is the optimism engendered by the peace process more obvious than Belfast at night. Most evenings, the city's bars, clubs and restaurants, especially around the Golden Mile , are crammed to overflowing and new venues seem to spring up almost daily. It's almost as though a generation deprived of nightlife by the Troubles has decided to stage a permanent party while it has the chance. Belfast is thriving culturally too: as the tension diminishes, visiting artistes and performers are returning in large numbers and there's been a significant resurgence of homegrown talent. Music, theatre and the visual arts are all flourishing and traditional Irish culture is the subject of rapid rediscovery.

   Belfast is a place for getting out and about, and has plenty to experience. This need not take more than a couple of days in the city itself, although Belfast is a good base from which to visit virtually anywhere else in the North. In the centre, concentrate on the glories that the industrial revolution brought: grandiose architecture and magnificent Victorian pubs . To the south are the lively and influential Queen's University and the extensive collections of the Ulster Museum , set in the grounds of the Botanic Gardens . A climb up Cave Hill , to the north, rewards you with marvellous views of the city spread out around the curve of the natural harbour, Belfast Lough . Security measures in the city have been considerably relaxed and many of the barriers and controls have been removed. However, the iron blockade known as the Peace Line still bisects the Catholic and Protestant communities of West Belfast , a grim physical reminder of the city's and country's sectarian divisions. The physical core of Belfast is Donegall Square : in the centre of it stands the City Hall, and buses and taxis depart for every part of the city from the sides of the square. The main shopping area lies a stone's throw north and the main areas for entertainment and accommodation are immediately south. Most of the grand old Victorian buildings which characterize the city are in the north and east, towards the river.

   Further out, North Belfast boasts Cave Hill, with its castle and zoo, and South Belfast is home to the " Golden Mile ", leading down to the university, Botanic Gardens and Ulster Museum. The River Lagan flows from Belfast Lough along the eastern side of the city centre and offers riverside walks. The riverside is also the focus for the most radical development in the last few years, the Laganside. In East Belfast , across the river beyond the great cranes of the Harland & Wolff shipyard, lies suburbia and very little of interest apart from Stormont Castle, the former Northern Irish parliament and home to the new Assembly. Working-class West Belfast , by contrast, seems almost a separate city in its own right, divided from the rest by the speeding traffic of the Westlink motorway.