Belfast
Belfast is the capital, largest city and main port of Northern Ireland.
Belfast is the capital, largest city and main port of Northern Ireland. It stands on the banks of the river Lagan, and is connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel. The city is the most populous in Northern Ireland and the second-largest, after Dublin, on the island of Ireland, with a recorded population in 2021 of 345,418 and of 704,406 for the greater metropolitan area.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Belfast
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Queen's University Belfast
The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast, is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of the Queen's University of Ireland and opened four years later, together with University of Galway and University College Cork.
1.4 km · public research university in Belfast, United Kingdom · Wikipedia - 02Windsor Park
The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, more commonly known as Windsor Park, is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield, who own the site's land, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium; paying Linfield an annual rental fee for its use on behalf of the Northern Ireland national football team.
2.3 km · football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 03The Oval
The Oval is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which has been home to Glentoran F.C. since 1892. In 1941, the stadium was severely damaged by aerial bombing during the Belfast blitz of World War II and was unusable until 1949.
2.6 km · football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 04Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position 400 feet above sea level. Its location provides unobstructed views over the City of Belfast and Belfast Lough.
5.2 km · mansion in Cavehill country Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 05Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre.
0 m · civic building in Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 06Stormont Castle
Stormont Castle is a manor house on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is home to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Executive Office. It is a Grade A listed building.
6.5 km · mansion in Belfast, Belfast district, Northern Ireland, UK · Wikipedia - 07Botanic Gardens
Botanic Gardens is a public garden in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Occupying 28 acres of south Belfast, the gardens are popular with office workers, students and tourists.
1.6 km · public garden in Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 08Ravenhill Stadium
Ravenhill Stadium is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby.
2.8 km · rugby union stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 09St Peter's Cathedral
Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast, is the Catholic cathedral church for the Diocese of Down and Connor, and is therefore the episcopal seat of the Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor. It is located in the Divis Street area of the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and construction began in the 1860s.
1 km · Roman Catholic cathedral church for the Diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland · Wikipedia - 10Solitude
Solitude is a football stadium in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Home ground of Ireland's oldest football club, Cliftonville, it is the oldest football stadium in Ireland.
2.8 km · soccer stadium in Belfast · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Belfast city centre is focused on Donegall Square and Belfast City Hall. The main thoroughfare north from the square is Donegall Place, a retail street leading to the Cathedral. The centre is bounded to the east by the River Lagan, to the south by Donegall Pass, and to the west by the convenient but ugly dual carriageway Westlink. The centre is safe enough at all hours but falls very quiet after 8PM.
From Wikivoyage: Belfast, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
What's on? Check Visit Belfast as well as individual venue websites. And listen to Belfast 89FM on 89.3 MHz or read The Belfast Telegraph, The Irish News and The News Letter, all published daily.
- 01Waterfront Hall
Large events venue on the west bank of the river, see website for upcoming shows.
- 02SSE Arena
- 03Grand Opera House
Opened in 1895, this is a splendid example of Victorian Oriental architecture, refurbished in 2020.
- 04Lyric Theatre
55 Ridgeway St BT9 5FB (south tip of Botanic Garden),.
- 05Metropolitan Arts Centre
- 06Queens Film Theatre
Belfast's art house and repertory cinema, and the main venue for the Belfast Film Festival.
From Wikivoyage: Belfast, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Maggie Mays, Branches at Queens St, 50 Botanic Ave, 2 Malone Rd and 44 Castle St. Mon-Sat 8AM-5PM, Sun 10AM-5PM. Traditionally this is where you rock up with a hangover, for colossal servings of Ulster breakfast - bacon, sausage, egg, fried bread, soda bread, and anything else cardiologically rash. But maybe times are changing, they can even cater for vegans.
- 01Bright's Restaurant
Old style breakfast and lunch, and traditional ambiance right down to the biddy brushing under your table as you're trying to eat.
- 02The Bridge House
- 03Doorsteps
Stonking great sandwiches (hence the name) and trad meals, you'll need a hearty appetite.
- 04Queen's Cafe Bar
City centre pub in the shopping arcade does good grills.
- 05Lee Garden
14 Botanic Ave BT7 1JQ (block east of Benedicts Hotel),.
From Wikivoyage: Belfast, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Belfast
- Airports
- Belfast (BFS), 20 km · Isle of Man (IOM), 102 km · Dublin (DUB), 132 km
- Stations
- George Best Belfast City Airport, 4.3 km · Lanyon Place railway station, 800 m · Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station, 500 m · Port of Belfast, 4.3 km · Botanic railway station, 900 m
- Prestwick, South Ayrshire → Belfast131 km · quickest by road, 14h 24m · £70–95
- Glasgow → Belfast176 km · quickest by road, 13h 59m · £70–95
- Ingliston, Edinburgh → Belfast221 km · quickest by road, 14h 18m · £70–95
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Belfast
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Belfast. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inCitylink / Ulsterbus 923 runs 2-3 times a day from Glasgow via Ayr to the Cairnryan ferry for Belfast.
- Get inThe buses don't join the ferry so you have to lump your luggage off to board, then onto the waiting bus at the other end.
- Get inHannon Coach is a competing service, and its buses with luggage do join the ferry.
- Get inFoot passengers should always look for through-tickets by bus, train and ferry.
- Get inThey are considerably cheaper than separate tickets, and they take care of the connection between city and ferry port, which can be the trickiest part of the journey.
From Wikivoyage: Belfast, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01120 km
- 02145 km
- 03153 km
- 04229 km
- 05264 km
If you know how people move in Belfast – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Belfast
- Newtownabbeysuburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland8.6 km
- Holywoodtown in the metropolitan area of Belfast, Northern Ireland8 km
- Ardoynedistrict in Belfast, Northern Ireland2.6 km
- Dunmurryelectoral ward for Belfast City Council.7.1 km
- Andersonstownsuburb of Belfast, Northern Ireland4.6 km
- Gaeltacht QuarterIrish-speaking neighbourhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland2.2 km