See

See

 

To make the most of your time in the city your first point of contact should be the centrally located Belfast Welcome Centre (Tourist Office) at 47 Donegall Place, just north of City Hall. The first floor centre is accessible by elevator and escalator just to the left of the Boots Pharmacy. The staff can provide maps, book accommodation and tours, recommend itineraries and places of interest and sell you overpriced and tacky souvenirs. There is also a useful left luggage facility. See gotobelfast.com for more information.

Before you go, you should also check out www.inyourpocket.com then pick up a copy of Belfast In Your Pocket at Tourist Information Centres, hotels, arrival points, car hire desks and other visitor-friendly attractions.

Central

 

Belfast city centre is focused on Donegall Square and Belfast City Hall in its centre. All major city bus routes converge here and, on sunny days, this is where shoppers and office workers can be found enjoying their breaks. The City Hall is the grand centerpiece of the city and the orientation point for your exploration of Belfast. Running north from the centre of Donegall Square is Donegall Place, a broad and bustling shopping street, which will lead you towards the Cathedral Quarter and the Arts School. The city centre is bordered to the east by the River Lagan, and to the south by the area around Donegall Pass. Where Belfast city centre meets the River Lagan, windswept pavements prove that meaningless sculptures and grandiose attempts at urban planning do not necessarily make for a popular urban space. The horrendous dual carraigeway known as the Westlink successfully separated the centre of Belfast from the western suburbs of the city in the nineteen-seventies; this borders the city centre to the west, on the plus side, the network of dual carriageways and motorways mean that one can get from the city centre to all the surrounding suburbs and satellite towns in less than fifteen minutes,even during the rush hour, something which is impossible in many other cities, for example Dublin.

In between these rough boundaries, you'll find Belfast's heart. Parts of it are blighted by deriliction, others are blighted by narrow minded money grabbing redevelopment. Note that while largely safe at all times, years of city centre curfews during the troubles means that the centre of Belfast can be startlingly empty of pedestrians after 8pm. City centre living has yet to become as popular here as in other parts of Britain and Ireland.

The *City Hall, Donegall Square, Tel: 9032 0202 - Opened in 1906, the City Hall will possibly seem familiar to South African visitors, who may notice more than a passing resemblence to the city hall in Durban. This is a fine example of turn of the century architecture from the heart of the British Empire's drafting office. The City Hall houses Belfast's Council chambers and administrative offices. Excellently presented free guided tours are available every day; ring ahead for details of times. Also of note are the grounds, containing a memorial to victims of the Titanic and a statue of Queen Victoria. The spacious grassy square and broad pavements that surround the City Hall are also where local youths gather to perform complex mating rituals. The City Hall will temporarily close to the public from early November 2007 for essential renovation works. However, the grounds of the building will remain open and will continue to play host to popular events, such as the Continental Christmas Market. The building is scheduled to reopen in 2009 and, until then, most Council services, including the Registrar's office for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships, will relocate to Adelaide Exchange in nearby Adelaide Street.

• Place, 40 Fountain Street, Tel: 9023 2524. This diminutive shop space was recently taken over by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) as a small gallery space to promote the built environment in Northern Ireland. Regular exhibitions and workshops are held here.

• Ormeau Baths Gallery, 18a Ormeau Avenue, Tel: 9032 1402, Significantly lacking in credibility, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland has now taken over the running of this once-lively and vibrant art gallery. This change of direction has left the OBG without a single artist involved in the running of the museum. A group of local artists has subsequently formed the Ormeau Baths Gallery in Exile, a mobile venue which hopes to 'return' to the OBG building in 2007.

• Saint Anne's Cathedral, Donegall St, Tel: 9043 4006. The stunning cathedral building is situated at the opposite end of Royal Avenue, the main shopping street, from the City Hall. It is a fascinating building, and is at the centre of the "Cathedral Quarter", which is reluctantly being redesigned and cleaned up by various investment agencies to become Belfast's 'cultural' distract. Thankfully, a lot of work remains to be done, and the area contains many fine cafés, bars and interesting buildings that recall the city's commercial and industrial heritage. Rent prices have yet to jump significantly, so keep an eye out for the small galleries and studio workspaces that remain in this area.

• Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street. Tue-Sa 11am to 5pm, Tel: 9023 0965. Belfast Exposed is Northern Ireland's only dedicated photography gallery, and as well as operating a fine exhibition space in a refurbished warehouse building, also provides local photographers with dark room and processing facilties and a well maintained library. Exhibitions are usually free and always worth seeing.

• Belfast Print Workshop and Gallery, 30-42 Waring Street, Tel: 9023 1323. This gallery is combined with an active workshop, where local artists are able to use the facilities to print their work. Usually a good selection of local work.

• Belfast Central Library, Royal Avenue, Tel: 9050 9150. Opposite the road from the Cathedral, the Victorian library building houses an excellent Irish section and a Newspaper library, containing archives of all Northern Irish newspapers.

• Lagan Lookout Visitors Centre, 1 Donegal Quay, Tel: 9031 5444. On the river, beside the Big Fish, the Lagan Weir controls the flow of the River Lagan. It contains the Lagan Lookout, which has an exhibition on Belfast history and a model of the Titanic. The complex is attractively illuminated at night, which is fortunate since the Visitor Centre is scheduled to close for good at the end of August 2006.

• Titanic Boat Tour. Belfast takes a bizarre pride in that the ill-fated Titanic was built here (not caring to promote the many hundreds of other ships that were built here which did not sink) and you can now take a boat tour around the area that the ship was built. The former boat yards of Belfast are being amitiously redeveloped into a residential and commercial neighbourhood that will be called (you guessed it) the Titanic Quarter. Tours cost £5. Check sailing times on their website.

• The Waterfront Hall, 2 Lanyon Place, Tel: 9033 4455. Standing on the northern side of Donegall Square, Belfast's imposing concert and conference venue is visible to the east where Chichester Street meets the riverside. Built in 1997, it has been credited with generating £10 for the Belfast economy for every £1 spent on its construction. The main auditorium offers some of the best performance hall acoustics anywhere in Europe, and it is worth checking with the box office for upcoming shows.

• The Bar Council & Bar Library of Northern Ireland, 414 Chichester Street. Not open to the public, but notable for its striking architectural design. The northern half of the building is the opulent home of Belfast's (privately employed) barristers; meanwhile the southern end of the building (visible from May Street) is occupied by the more modest Royal Courts of Justice Stamp Office (a tax-payer-funded government agency). Presented with two clients with two wildly different budgets, local architects Robinson McIlwaine successfully designed one building which seamlessly merge a more modest design and cheaper materials for the southern half of the building and a more elaborate and expensive design at the northern end.

• Cornmarket is at the centre of Belfast's retail area. Visitors from Britain and Ireland will feel immediately at home with the bland selection of high street chains.

 

South

 

Belfast's leafiest and most accessible suburbs are found south of the city centre along Botanic Avenue, and University Road around the Queen's University. Apart from the small loyalist community around Donegall Pass, the areas between University Road and Lisburn Road are mostly mixed, and there is a dense student population living in rented accommodation. It's a twenty-minute walk from Donegall Place to Botanic Avenue. The commercial core of Belfast is apparent on Bedford Street, and the lively bars, take-aways of Dublin Road are busy most nights of the week. Botanic Avenue is somewhat quieter with less traffic, and is lined with cafés, restaurants and small shops. Further south, beyond the University, is the Lisburn Road, recently christened "Belfast's Bond Street," with its eclectic mix of boutiques, chic bars and restaurants, and lively coffee shops. This part of town is the most affluent of the city, and is regularly referred to by its postcode - BT9.

• Queen's University, University Road, Tel: 9024 5133. Take any number 8 bus (8A - 8C) from the city center. At the southernmost end of the Golden Mile, the university is a fine Victorian building with extensive grounds. It contains a visitors' centre in the main central building.

• Queens Film Theatre, 20 University Square, Tel: 9097 1097. Belfast's art house and repertory cinema, and is the central location for the annual Belfast Film Festival.

• Botanical Gardens, accessed from University Road beside the university and at the southern end of Botanic Avenue. Very popular with locals and visitors alike. The Palm House contains local and interesting plants, such as carnivorous plants. Beside it is the Tropical Ravine, unique to the British Isles, where visitors walk around a raised balcony observing tropical flora and fauna. With large lawns and well maintained planting, the park is a popular destination in the summer. Fans of the BBC TV hidden camera comedy show 'Just for Laughs' will recognise the park from many hidden stunts. During the summer months be on the lookout for cameras pointing at you from parked vans and badly disguised tents.

• Ulster Museum, Tel: 9038 3000. Accessed off Stranmillis Road in the Botanic Gardens, Tel: 9038 3000. This excellent museum has much to see, including a large section on the history of Irish conflict, Northern Ireland's marine life and a significant collection of art. While many locals dislike the seventies extension, it is one of the finest examples of a Brutalist modern extension being added and successfully integrated to an older classically designed museum. Entry is free. The Museum is closed until Spring 2009 for major redevelopment.

 

• Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Tel: 9038 1081. The diminuitive Lyric remains the only full-time producing theatre in the North of Ireland. A busy schedule of productions can be found online. A major redevelopment is planned to take place in the next few years.

 

North

 

• Belfast Zoo, Antrim Road, Tel: 9077 6277. Open daily 10am-5:30pm, admission £6.70, take any number 1 bus (1A - 1G) from the city centre. A substantial modernisation programme has recently been finished, and the zoo has a very good variety of animals. The prairie dogs are of particular interest, as their tunnels extend throughout the park, rendering any open space looking like a giant game of 'whack-a-rat'. Much merriment was caused when the zoo was praised for letting the prairie dogs run wild and free, when the real reason for this was some bright spark forgot that prairie dogs can dig. The Zoo has recently welcomed Lily, the first Barbary lion cub to be born in Ireland.

• Belfast Castle, Antrim Rd, Tel: 9077 6925. Daily 9am-6pm, admission free, take take any number 1 bus (1A - 1G) from the city centre. The castle (more accurately a large stately home) dates from 1870 and was restored in 1988. It is situated on Cave Hill and has good views of the city and coast. Cave Hill Country Park has marked walking routes and is an excellent viewpoint from which to get a view of Belfast.

 

East

 

East Belfast is the largest of the cities' 4 electoral wards and is serviced by a number of large arterial roads: the Cregagh Road, Castlereagh Road, Newtownards Road and Hollywood Roads which all start in or close to the city centre.

East Belfast is a mainly residential and largely protestant area encompassing a wide range of housing from the working class terraced streets along the Beersbridge road, to wide tree lined avenues of Belmont and all areas in between. Despite it's being largely protestant nature East Belfast is generally the area of the city where newcomers of all religious and political persuasions to Belfast from within Northern Ireland will look to purchase houses in when they arrive in the city. The rationale for this may be that although South Belfast is often thought of as a desirable locale it is in many cases prohibitively expensive. North and West Belfast are even cheaper than the East but whilst both contain many pleasant neighbourhoods they still have a lot of echoes from the troubles that can put newcomers off. North Belfast especially has a large number of "interface areas" (regions where working class loyalist and republican areas meet) that can occasionally flare up into trouble. East Belfast, possibly because it has only one interface area and is relatively homogeneously protestant was less on the "coalface" of the troubles than both the North and the West.

 

• Stormont Parliament Buildings, Tel: 9025 0000. The parliament buildings are the home of the recently reinstated Northern Ireland Assembly. The buildings are massive and have marble interiors. The grounds are interesting in themselves, and a walk down the mile long road to the main parliament buildings is well recommended. Guided tours may be possible, telephone in advance.

• Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Tel: 9042 8428. This is approximately 8 miles north-east from Belfast City Centre and is most easily reached by train from Culta station. Open daily 10am-6pm, admission £6.50. It is one of Ireland's premier tourist attractions. It has an absolutely vast collection, and you could spend days exploring all of it. Highlights of the transport museum include a DeLorean (great scott!, etc.) and two train sheds full full of old steam locomotives and buses from Northern Ireland's past. The Folk Museum, on the other side of the railway line features a re-creation of an old Irish town. On Saturdays, there is a miniature railway operating, which is great fun. The folk museum is outdoors, so come prepared for the changeable Irish climate.