Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, grew rich on linen and shipbuilding: Harland & Wolff built Titanic here, and its yellow cranes, Samson and Goliath, still stand over the yard. The city also carries the memory of the Troubles, from 1969 to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, in the murals and peace walls of West Belfast and in the cells of Crumlin Road Gaol. None of the United Kingdom page's experiences is in Belfast, so everything is here: Titanic Belfast, the city's museums and markets, its Victorian pubs and its traditional music.
Prices are in pounds sterling. Two things have changed that older guides miss: the guided tours of City Hall now cost £6, and the main bus and rail hub is Grand Central Station, which replaced Great Victoria Street and the Europa bus station in 2024. The Giant's Causeway is a day trip by train and bus; it and the rest of that coast are on the Causeway Coast page.
See where Titanic was built at Titanic Belfast and board the Nomadic
Titanic Quarter
3 hours with the NomadicBook ahead
Stand beside the slipways where Titanic was built, then board the last White Star Line ship in existence.
What it is
Titanic Belfast opened in 2012 on the old Harland & Wolff shipyard, beside the slipways where Titanic and Olympic were built. The self-guided Titanic Experience follows a one-way route from boomtown Belfast and a ride through the shipyard to the launch, the sinking and the search for the wreck; by choice it shows nothing salvaged from the wreck site, but it does have Titanic's plan and the last luncheon menu. SS Nomadic, 150 m away in Hamilton Dock, is the 1911 tender built to carry passengers out to Olympic and Titanic at Cherbourg, and the last White Star Line ship in existence.
How to do it
Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours, then up to an hour on the Nomadic. One ticket covers both: £24.95 online or £26.95 at the door in 2026. Walk from City Hall or take the Glider G2.
Good to know
In November and December it closes at 17:00.
Time needed
3 hours with the Nomadic
Best time
Early in the day; last entry is 1 hour 40 minutes before closing
Walk the wings and the condemned cell of Crumlin Road Gaol
Crumlin Road, north Belfast
60 to 90 minutesBook ahead
Walk through the tunnel to the courthouse, along C-Wing and into the condemned cell of a gaol that held prisoners from 1846 to 1996.
What it is
Charles Lanyon designed Crumlin Road Gaol on the plan of London's Pentonville, and its first prisoners were marched here in chains from Carrickfergus in 1846. It held suffragettes in 1914, Éamon de Valera in 1924 and, during the Troubles, republican and loyalist prisoners kept apart, until it closed on 31 March 1996. The self-guided tour, 60 to 90 minutes with audio, video and holograms, goes through the tunnel to the courthouse opposite, the circle where the wings meet, C-Wing, the condemned cell and the execution cell; the last of the 17 men hanged here was Robert McGladdery in 1961.
How to do it
Adults pay £18.50 at the door or £17.50 booked online at least a day ahead. Entry runs 10:30 to 15:30 on weekdays and 10:00 to 16:00 at weekends. Metro 57 and 12B stop outside.
Tour the murals and peace walls of the Falls and Shankill
Falls Road and Shankill Road, west Belfast
90 minutes by taxi, 3 hours on footBook ahead
Understand the Troubles along the Falls and the Shankill, where a peace wall still closes its gates by dusk.
What it is
West Belfast's murals and peace walls are the most direct way to understand the Troubles. Walls went up from 1969 between the nationalist Falls Road and the unionist Shankill, and the one along Cupar Way still stands, its gates open by day and closed by dusk.
How to do it
A black taxi tour is a private car for one to three people, about 90 minutes and roughly £75 to £100 in 2026. Choose an operator whose route covers both roads and stops at the International Wall on Divis Street, the Bobby Sands mural and the Cupar Way wall. To hear both sides first hand, walk instead: Coiste's joint Falls/Shankill tour, three hours from the Coiste mural at Divis Tower, from £16.50, is led by republican former prisoners who hand you over at the peace wall gates to former loyalist activists.
Good to know
Ask the taxi operator how it presents both communities.
Graze a market hall that opens only from Friday to Sunday, with fresh fish, hot food, cheese and local musicians playing live.
What it is
St George's Market, built between 1890 and 1896 opposite the Waterfront Hall, opens only from Friday to Sunday, and each day has its own character. Friday keeps a variety market that dates back to 1604: around 200 stalls of fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, antiques, books and hot food, with Fab Food Friday lunches from many traders for £5.95. Saturday is the city food and craft market, with local and continental produce, cheese, coffee, flowers, pottery and local musicians playing live. Sunday mixes the two with more local arts and crafts.
How to do it
Friday runs 8:00 to 14:00, Saturday 9:00 to 15:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 15:00. Enter from May Street, Oxford Street or East Bridge Street.
Good to know
For a calmer browse, come in the quiet hour, when the music is switched off: 9:00 to 10:00 on Friday and Saturday, 10:00 to 11:00 on Sunday.
Best time
Friday 8:00 to 14:00, Saturday 9:00 to 15:00 or Sunday 10:00 to 15:00
Sit in a carved wooden snug of a Victorian gin palace, with gas lamps, a mosaic crown and a bell for calling staff.
What it is
The Crown, on Great Victoria Street opposite the Europa Hotel, is a Victorian gin palace that the National Trust has owned since 1978. It opened as the Railway Tavern and was renamed and remodelled in 1885 by Patrick Flanagan, who persuaded Italian craftsmen working on Belfast's new churches to decorate it after hours: polychrome tiles outside, a mosaic crown at the door, a red granite bar with a heated footrest, gas lamps and carved ceilings. The Trust bought it after a campaign backed by John Betjeman and restored it in 1981 and again in 2007, and it appeared in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out in 1947.
How to do it
Nicholson's runs the bar, open daily from 11:30 to midnight, with real ale on cask.
Good to know
The ten wooden snugs keep their gunmetal plates for striking matches and the bells for calling staff.
Best time
Early afternoon, before the after-work crowd fills the snugs
Find a traditional music session in the Cathedral Quarter
Cathedral Quarter and Bank Street
Free
Join a free trad session in old Belfast pubs a short walk apart, for the price of a drink.
What it is
Belfast is the island's only UNESCO City of Music, and its traditional music lives in a few old pubs. The Duke of York in Commercial Court, a cobbled alley off Donegall Street, was a pub for 200 years until a bomb meant for the High Court went off prematurely in the alley in 1972; it was rebuilt and is now lined with Belfast distilling memorabilia. Kelly's Cellars on Bank Street, off Castle Street, was built in 1720 and is said to be where the United Irishmen plotted the 1798 rising.
How to do it
Start at the Duke of York, then the Harp Bar on Hill Street, a trad saloon with live music run by the same owners. Cross the centre to Kelly's Cellars, with trad at weekends, as at Maddens on Berry Street. Fibber Magees, the back bar of Robinsons beside the Crown, has trad every night.
Climb the Grand Staircase on a Belfast City Hall tour
Donegall Square
45 to 50 minutes for the tourNo booking needed
Follow a guide up to the marble Rotunda, the Whispering Gallery in the dome and a portrait left unrestored since the 1941 Blitz.
What it is
Belfast City Hall, the Baroque Revival building designed by Alfred Brumwell Thomas and completed in 1906 on Donegall Square, runs daily guided tours of its state rooms. The guide leads you up the Grand Staircase to the marble Rotunda, the John Luke mural and the Whispering Gallery in the dome, past a portrait left unrestored after the 1941 Blitz, to the Robing Room.
How to do it
Tours last 45 to 50 minutes. They are not free: tickets cost £6 for adults, card only, sold at reception on the day, first come first served; under-18s go free but need a ticket. From October to April they start at 11:00, 14:00 and 15:00 on weekdays and at 12:00, 14:00 and 15:00 on Sundays, with none on Saturdays; from May to September weekdays add 16:00 and Saturdays replace Sundays.
Good to know
Arrive 15 minutes early, as latecomers are not admitted.
Time needed
45 to 50 minutes for the tour
Best time
Arrive 15 minutes before a tour; tickets are sold on the day
See the Armada treasure at the Ulster Museum, then the Palm House
Botanic Gardens, Stranmillis Road
Half a day with the gardensFree
See treasure from a wrecked Armada galleass and the mummy of Takabuti for free, then walk on to an early iron and glass Palm House.
What it is
The Ulster Museum stands at the Stranmillis Road edge of the Botanic Gardens. The Troubles and Beyond tells Northern Ireland's story from the late 1960s to today, Life and Death in Ancient Egypt shows the mummy of Takabuti, and the treasure divers raised in the 1960s from the Girona, the Spanish Armada galleass wrecked on the Causeway coast in 1588, is on display. In the gardens, the Palm House was begun in 1839 to Charles Lanyon's design with ironwork by Richard Turner and is one of the oldest curvilinear iron and glass buildings; the Tropical Ravine dates from 1889.
How to do it
The museum is free, with no booking, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. The Palm House and the Tropical Ravine are free too; the Palm House opens 10:00 to 15:30. Metro 8 stops at Queen's University.
Good to know
The museum closes on Mondays except Northern Ireland bank holidays.
Climb Cave Hill from Belfast Castle to McArt's Fort
Cave Hill Country Park, Antrim Road
Free
Climb the basalt crag over north Belfast to McArt's Fort, a ráth at about 368 m above the city.
What it is
Cave Hill is the basalt crag that rises over north Belfast, named after five caves in its cliffs. Belfast Castle, a Scots Baronial mansion built between 1867 and 1870 on its lower slopes, has gardens, a coffee shop and the Cellar Restaurant.
How to do it
Start at the castle. The council's three waymarked trails start at the second car park on the castle drive, reached from Innisfayle Park off the Antrim Road: the Castle Trail, 1.3 km round the gardens; the Estate Trail, 3.9 km with 134 m of climbing; and the Cavehill Trail, a 7.2 km circuit with 256 m of ascent to McArt's Fort, a ráth at about 368 m. Metro 1 buses run along the Antrim Road.
Good to know
Since 10 September 2026 the trail has been partly closed by erosion between the Devil's Punchbowl and the fort, so reach the fort through the limestone quarry.
Wander the rebuilt town and farms of the Ulster Folk Museum
Cultra, Holywood
2.5 to 3 hoursBook ahead
Walk a village of homes, shops and workshops moved or rebuilt from every county of Ulster, with a working forge and a licensed pub.
What it is
The Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra, opened in 1964, is a village of homes, shops and workshops moved or rebuilt from every county of Ulster. In the town area a blacksmith works the Pound Forge from Ballinderry, McCusker's is a licensed pub, and Belfast's Tea Lane labourers' houses stand near a Carrickfergus corner shop; out in the countryside sit farms and cottages, among them Duncrun Cottier's House, the first building moved here.
How to do it
Adults pay £12.50; booking ahead is advised. From October to February it opens Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 16:00 and weekends 11:00 to 16:00, and from March to September Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00. Take the Bangor line train to Cultra, then walk 15 minutes uphill.
Good to know
Some exhibits, including the Meeting Street houses and the corn and flax mills, are closed for repairs.
Time needed
2.5 to 3 hours
Best time
Tuesday to Sunday; open longer from March to September
George Best Belfast City Airport is 2 miles east of the centre, and the Airport Express 600 reaches Grand Central Station in under 15 minutes, for £2.30 in 2026. Belfast International, 20 miles west, has the Airport Express 300: about 50 minutes and £9 single. From Dublin, the Enterprise train runs hourly from Connolly in 2 hours 15 minutes, and buses from Dublin Airport take about 2 hours 20. By sea, Stena Line sails into Belfast from Cairnryan in Scotland and from Birkenhead, across the Mersey from Liverpool.
Getting around
The centre, the Cathedral Quarter and the Queen's Quarter are walkable, and Titanic Belfast is 25 to 30 minutes on foot from City Hall. Translink's pink Metro buses cover the city, and the purple Glider runs two lines: G1 from the Falls Road across to east Belfast and G2 from the centre to the Titanic Quarter; buy Glider tickets at the machine before boarding. The Belfast Visitor Pass covers Metro, Glider, zone 1 trains as far as Cultra and the 600 airport bus, but not the 300. Passes bought online are posted and cannot be used the same day, so buy one at Grand Central, Lanyon Place, Botanic or the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre.
How many days
In must30's view, two full days: one for Titanic Belfast and the Nomadic, then City Hall, a drink at the Crown and a trad session at night; and one for a murals tour of the Falls and Shankill, Crumlin Road Gaol, the Ulster Museum and the Botanic Gardens. Add a morning from Friday to Sunday for St George's Market, half a day for Cave Hill or the Ulster Folk Museum, and a separate day for the Causeway Coast.
When to go
Belfast works all year, but plan around a few calendars. St George's Market trades only from Friday to Sunday, and City Hall tours run on Sundays from October to April and on Saturdays from May to September. Titanic Belfast closes from 24 to 26 December 2026 and keeps shorter hours, 9:50 to 17:00, in November and December. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the all-Ireland festival of traditional music, filled the city from 2 to 9 August 2026 and returns to Belfast in 2027; Belfast TradFest runs from 25 July to 1 August 2027.
Where to base yourself
The city centre around City Hall puts you near Grand Central, the Crown, St George's Market and the airport buses. The Cathedral Quarter, north of the centre around St Anne's Cathedral and Donegall Street, is the place for pubs and live music. The Queen's Quarter to the south, by Queen's University and the Botanic Gardens, is quieter, with Botanic station and the Ulster Museum close by. The Titanic Quarter, across the Lagan, has hotels next to Titanic Belfast and its own train station.
Questions travellers ask
Is the Belfast City Hall tour free?
No. The guided tours cost £6 for adults, paid by card at reception on the day, first come first served; under-18s go free but still need a ticket. Tours last 45 to 50 minutes, run daily at times that change between winter and summer, and do not currently enter the Council Chamber. The ground-floor visitor exhibition costs £4.
How long do you need at Titanic Belfast?
Titanic Belfast says an average visit to the self-guided Titanic Experience takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours, followed by 30 minutes to an hour on SS Nomadic, which the same ticket covers. Add about an hour for the guided outdoor Discovery Tour. Last admission is 1 hour 40 minutes before closing.
Black taxi or walking tour for the Belfast murals?
A black taxi is private and quick: about 90 minutes for one to three people, roughly £75 to £100 in 2026, with pick-up in the centre. Walking tours take longer but go deeper: Coiste's three-hour tours are led by republican former prisoners, and its joint Falls/Shankill tour hands you over to former loyalist activists at the peace wall gates.
How do you get from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway without a car?
Take the hourly train from Grand Central to Coleraine, about 80 minutes, then Ulsterbus 402 or 172 along the coast to the Causeway; the 402 also serves Portrush, Dunluce Castle and Bushmills. Many day tours from Belfast combine the Causeway with Carrick-a-Rede and the Dark Hedges.
