GUIDES

Belfast Guide

Belfast - Out and About

The city of Belfast (Béal Feirste, mouth of the sand bank) is the capital of Northern Ireland. Located on an inlet, the city lies on a plain, crossed by the river Lagan.

Belfast is laid out like a chess-board, with Belfast Lough and the surrounding area, neatly divided up by the city’s main streets. The city’s urban area is extensive and stretches for a radius of over 30km around the city centre. A visit to Belfast should start from Donegall Place, which winds its way north of Donegall Square, changing its name on the way to Royal Avenue.The roads, in this area, are the liveliest in the city and contain the finest examples of Belfast’s monuments. The area surrounding Donegall Square is one continuous display of beautiful and elegant buildings, including the Scottish Provident Building, with its statues of sphinxes, dolphins and lions’ heads.

Queen’s College and Queen’s University stand one km to the south of Donegall Square. The University is home to 8,000 students and is the most prestigious in Northern Ireland, renown for its scientific studies. The refined Botanic Gardens, with its Palm House in cast iron and glass and its Tropical Ravine, a jungle environment, populated by tortoises, is located only a short distance away to the south. The adjacent University Square, is lined by one of the finest examples of terraced houses in all of Ireland. The zone houses many cafés, which are well hidden among the tree-lined streets and are always full of students.

The imposing Neo-Renaissance City Hall dominates Donegall Square. A tangled web of narrow streets branch off from the High Street and Ann Street. These streets, called the Entries, are all that remain of the old district of Belfast. The lively zone is full of atmosphere, with its old pubs including White’s Tavern, dating back to 1630 and the Morning Star and Globe Tavern, famous for their cooking.

Cathedral Quarter, closeby, has been transformed from a zone of old warehouses in decay, into a fashionable area with restaurants and bars. The surrounding area has a number of noteworthy buildings, in particular the Ulster Bank (1860), complete with cast iron lamps and columns and sculptures which bear the Red Hand of Ulster, symbol of the province.

Malone house, built around 1820, is a fine example of Belfast’s Georgian Architecture. Higgin Gallery houses many painting exhibitions, has a fine restaurant and its gardens, planted with rhododendrons and azaleas, have numerous paths leading through them, connecting to the Lagan Towpath. The gardens border the wood and fields at the river’s edge, in the Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park.

Visiting West Belfast, separated from the heart of the city by the Westlink motorway, the visitor is transported back to a time when West Belfast was the fulcrum of the city’s linen industry. Today the zone is home to an almost entirely Catholic population. There is hardly a trace of the large blocks of flats or terraced worker’s houses destroyed during the struggles between the Catholics and Protestants. The murals have however survived, these paintings depict the history of the struggle between these two factions. Probably the most famous of the murals is the one dedicated to the hunger-striker Bobby Sands, located close to the seat of Sinn Féin. Other murals have Celtic, religious and historical themes including the potato famine and the various cease-fires and treaties.

The Protestant murals are centered around the Shankhill Road, and have a military theme. The first mural example dates back to 1908 and portrays King William of Orange on his white horse. The icons of today's murals, are the members of the Ulster Defence Organisation and the Derry apprentices who barred the city gates in 1688.

The best way to visit the centre of Belfast is on foot. Destinations further away can be reached by the excellent Citybus service, which covers 60 routes. Tickets and timetables are available from newsagents and the Citybus kiosk in Donegall Square West.

Belfast - Not to be missed

The highly informative Ulster Museum is located a short distance away from the Palm house. The museum houses displays giving little- known information about the ancient history of Ireland, its linen and glass industry, relics of large industrial machines and Irish painters, not to mention the sumptuous gold and jewels discovered amongst the wreckage of a Spanish galleon, belonging to the Spanish Armada, shipwrecked in 1588. The museum’s gardens are shared by Queen’s College. The gardens, built in Tudor style in 1849, imitate the gardens to be found at Magdalen College in Oxford. Entrance is free and visitors can reach the museum by catching either bus N°69 or 71.

The city’s many tranquil tree-lined streets, are home to numerous bars frequented by Belfast’s students.

Belfast is surrounded by hills, which can be seen from the city centre. The highest of which is Cave Hill (355m), from where it is possible to admire a splendid view of the city.

The County Park covers an area of 33 hectares and stretches as far as Belfast Lough. The park houses numerous ruins of Iron-Age forts. Nearby, there are five man-made caves, that date back to the Neolithic period.

Descending Cave hill, the visitor arrives at Belfast Castle, a Scottish Baronial construction from 1870, now used to host fashionable Belfast weddings. Belfast zoo, at the foot of Cave Hill, offers a splendid view of Belfast Lough and houses fine animal enclosures, in particular the seal and penguin displays.

Belfast - Walks and tours

The Giant’s Ring is situated at County Down, 8km from Belfast. These immense prehistoric earthworks, with a diameter of almost 200m and a surface area of 3 hectares, houses a 4000 year old Druid’s tomb at its centre. In the 17th century horse races were organised in this area, taking advantage of the natural potential provided by the 4 metre high earth ring.

Belfast - The traveller's notebook

Currency : English pound, sub-divided into 100 pence

Electric supply: the standard supply is 220 volts AC in the Republic of Ireland and 240 volts AC in Northern Ireland(50 cycles). The use of an adaptor may be necessary.

Climate : the climate is mild and rainy. In January the average temperature is 7-8°C. The summer temperatures are around 14-15°C

Language : Irish and English

Opening hours : shops are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, with the larger shopping centres staying open on Thursday until 8/9pm. On Sundays the large supermarkets and shops are open from 12 until 5/6pm. Pubs are open from Monday to Saturday from 11am to 11pm and Sunday from 12 until 12pm. The banks are open from 9:30am to 4:30 pm from Monday to Friday and many remain open until 5pm on Thursdays.

Telephones: to call Northern Ireland from abroad it is necessary to dial the international code ++ 44 followed by the area code without the initial zero and the number. To telephone abroad from Northern Ireland, first dial the prefix 028. Ireland is on Greenwich time and is in accordance with British summer time, the clocks are put one hour ahead during th middle of March and back by one hour at the end of October.

Belfast - A pocket guide

Belfast’s night life is lively and animated. The pub culture is very evident and plays a strong part in the life of the city, offering a meeting point to converse, listen to music and to be entertained.

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