Belfast
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.
Getting to Belfast
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- 01George Best Belfast City Airport
- 02Belfast International Airport
- 03Grand Central Station is
Worth seeing
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.
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.
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),.
Getting around Belfast the local way
- 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.
- Get inThere are no direct ferries to Northern Ireland from the Continent and it may be easier to sail into Rosslare or Dublin rather than trundle across Great Britain.
- Get aroundThe Black Taxi is Belfast's equivalent to the dolmuş or marshrutka - they're shared taxis running over a fixed route for a fare similar to the bus.
- Get aroundOxford St bus station was the worst hit, and bombs also went off at Smithfield bus station, three railway stations, the ferry terminal, a truck depot, a taxi firm, and several bridges and filling stations.
From Wikivoyage: Belfast, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.