Tourist attractions Belfast

The Victorian interior is richly decorated with tinted glass and tiles in lively colours which are reflected in the arcaded mirrors behind the long curved marble bar. Inspired by his journeys to Spain and Italy Patrick Flanagan built this cafe like..

This museum’s varied collections provide a remarkable perspective on the history of Ulster and its capital. Its Art Gallery includes works by Turner, Gainsborough, Bacon and Henry Moore. In addition to its decorative arts exhibits, there are some f..

Opened in 1934, Belfast Zoo has built an enviable reputation since its first enclosures, surrounded by ditches, were established on a green site called Hazelwood. Big cats, deer and kangaroos roam in expansive verdant spaces. Penguins, sealions and p..

Set in the grounds of Cultra Manor , this is one of the largest and most interesting museums in the whole of Ireland – and fun, too! The busy coastal road (A2) crosses the estate. To the south is the remarkable open-air folk museum dedicated to vill..

The events hall has been enlarged and adapted to serve as the local museum, and also houses an interesting exhibition on the area’s linen industry. In the Middle Ages, Irish linen was exported to England to be woven. In the 17C the Scots and English ..

This Norman castle standing on a basalt promontory commanding the entrance to Belfast Lough and the port is the best preserved in Ireland. The heart of the building is its interior courtyard (1180-1200), surrounded by a high curtain. The seigneur's a..

The building of this impressive Anglican cathedral stretched over more than a hundred years (1899 to 1981) which explains the variety of architectural styles. The sober interior has a military chapel devoted to the memory of Irish soldiers killed i..

At the heart of Belfast, this square’s gardens are dotted with statues ; note Queen Victoria, surrounded by allegorical representations of the textile industry and shipbuilding (see the memorial to the Titanic, built here in Belfast). To the south i..

The town hall (1898-1906) was built to celebrate the granting by Queen Victoria in 1888 of a new statute to the town of Belfast. The building in Portland stone stands on the site of the old White Linen house (1784) and was designed around a courtya..

Services in this Church (1857) are only for the maritime community in Belfast as shown by the location of this building near the docks and in the originality of its interior decor. Everything here recalls the sea and ships. The bell from HMS Hood is ..

Here there is a bowls green, lawns which follow a majestic curve of huge shrubs, flowerbeds and a Rose Garden with a pergola descending gently towards the River Lagan . The gardens (11 ha) were originally designed by the plant devoted society Horti..

A University since 1908, Queen's College (1845) with its Tudor-style architecture is reminiscent of Magdalen College Oxford. Charles Lanyon also designed the Union Theological College of the Irish Presbyterian Church (1852-1855) where the first Nor..

Its construction (1630-1650) was intended to oversee the main roads in the country. Charles II declared Hillsborough a royal fort. It forms a square that measures 82 m on each side, with a lanceted bastion on each corner for lateral artillery attacks..

The building was begun in 1760 by Wills Hill, and became the residence of the governor of Northern Ireland. Today, it is use by State services. It occupies the western side of the square, behind a fine wrought iron gate erected in 1936 but designed i..

Rowallane Gardens are famous for massed plantings of azaleas and rhododendrons. They are the work of a horticulturist who inherited the estate in 1903 and spent the next half-century transforming it. Features include a rock garden, patches of wild fl..

The centre is part of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and occupies a pleasant site on the western bank of Strangford Lough. The freshwater lakes that formed in the old clay and chalk pits (for bricks, tiles and pottery) make this an ideal area for hi..

The first Presbyterian Church in Belfast (1783) is the oldest religious building still standing in the town. Its elliptical layout was designed by Roger Mulholland . The line of boxwood benches echoes the curve of the galleries, held up by columns c..

The interdenominational School for children commonly called the «Inst.» is set back from the road behind pleasant gardens. The main building has a long brick facade on three floors, lightened by four pairs of bare pilasters and a frame at the back ..

Young and Mackenzie, Belfast architects, designed the general quarters of the Irish Presbyterian Church in the 15C Gothic style in 1905. Today it houses the shopping precinct of Spires Mall .

John Bowden designed the Church in 1816. The classical portico comes from the Palace that the bishop of Derry began to build at Ballyscullion after 1787.