Things to Do in Belfast
Prices, opening hours, best times to visit and the stuff nobody tells you, everything you need for a first trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, plus one pigeon's opinions on all of it.
Belfast doesn't do things by halves, a shipyard that built the most famous ship in history, murals that turned a divided city's walls into an honest record of its own past, and a Georgian city hall sitting calmly in the middle of it. This is the proper guide to things to do in Belfast, what things actually cost, when to go, and which bits deserve your time. Seven main stops below, plus a quiz at the bottom to see if you were paying attention.
Titanic Belfast
Built on the exact site where the ship itself was designed and launched, in the shadow of the Harland & Wolff shipyard, Titanic Belfast is a nine-gallery, self-guided walk through the ship's construction, launch, and eventual sinking, easily one of the best-done museum experiences in the UK, not just Northern Ireland. Allow a proper two hours minimum.
I asked about the ship and the shipyard in the quiz, so here's the fuller picture. Harland & Wolff still stands next door, and the two enormous yellow cranes you'll see on the skyline, Samson and Goliath, named after the Biblical giants, still belong to it.
Hours Generally 10am-5pm or later in peak season, check current times
Address 1 Olympic Way, Titanic Quarter, Belfast BT3 9EP
Official site titanicbelfast.com
The Peace Walls & political murals
The murals along the Falls Road and Shankill Road are some of the most striking political street art anywhere in the world, decades of Belfast's own history painted directly onto gable walls, alongside sections of the Peace Walls themselves, still standing between some neighbourhoods today. A black taxi tour is the standard way to see them properly, drivers who often lived through what they're describing, giving context a self-guided walk simply can't.
It's not always an easy visit, and it isn't meant to be. But it's one of the most honest ways to understand modern Belfast, and most tours end at a stretch of wall where visitors are invited to add their own message.
Best time Any time, tours run throughout the day
Crumlin Road Gaol
Known locally as "the Crum," this Victorian jail operated from 1846 until 1996 and is now open by guided tour only, including the tunnel that once linked it to the courthouse across the road, the execution cell, and the old hospital wing. It's remarkably atmospheric rather than gimmicky, and now shares its A-wing with McConnell's, a working whiskey distillery, if you fancy a very different kind of tour on the same site.
Book ahead, tours run on a schedule rather than continuously, and slots do fill up in summer.
Address 53-55 Crumlin Road, Belfast BT14 6ST
Official site crumlinroadgaol.com
Belfast City Hall
A grand Edwardian Baroque building dominating Donegall Square, free to walk round both inside and out, with formal gardens and a strikingly impressive marble entrance hall. Guided tours run most days if you want the full history rather than just the architecture.
It's the natural centre point for the city, most walking routes to the Cathedral Quarter, the shopping streets, or St George's Market start from right here.
Hours Grounds open daily; guided tours typically run Mon-Sat, check current schedule
Address Donegall Square, Belfast BT1 5GS
St George's Market
A Victorian market hall running since 1890, now open Friday, Saturday and Sunday only, food stalls, local crafts, and live music most weekends. It's the kind of place that rewards going hungry, fresh oysters, artisan bread, and enough street food stalls to make lunch decisions surprisingly tricky.
The Friday variety market runs 8am-2pm; the weekend food and craft markets are generally a little later and busier.
Hours Fri 8am-2pm, Sat-Sun mornings to mid-afternoon, closed Mon-Thu
Address 12-20 East Bridge Street, Belfast BT1 3NQ
Botanic Gardens & the Palm House
A 28-acre Victorian park beside Queen's University, free to enter, home to the Palm House, one of the earliest examples of a curved cast-iron and glass glasshouse anywhere in the world, dating to 1828, and the Tropical Ravine, a sunken jungle walkway that's considerably stranger and more atmospheric than it sounds.
The Ulster Museum sits right next door if you want to follow the gardens with something indoors, free entry, and a wide-ranging collection running from dinosaurs to Egyptian mummies to Troubles-era history.
Hours Gardens open dawn to dusk; Palm House typically 10am-5pm, shorter in winter
Address Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AB
The Cathedral Quarter
Cobbled lanes around St Anne's Cathedral, packed with pubs, live music venues, and Belfast's best concentration of independent bars, this is where the city's evenings really happen. St Anne's itself, also called Belfast Cathedral, is a Romanesque building from 1899, free to look round, with the striking modern Spire of Hope rising above it.
Good area to end a day of museums and murals, a proper Belfast pint somewhere in these streets is close to compulsory.
Best time Evenings, for the pubs and live music
Best time to visit Belfast
May to September gives the most reliable weather for the murals tour and Botanic Gardens, and the city's festival calendar, including the Belfast International Arts Festival, tends to land in this window too. Titanic Belfast and Crumlin Road Gaol both work fine in any weather, so a wet week doesn't rule out a good trip, just push the outdoor half towards whatever dry hours you get.
Getting around Belfast
The city centre, City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter and St George's Market, is entirely walkable. Titanic Belfast is about a mile from the centre and reachable via the G2 Glider bus route, and the Botanic Gardens sit a similar distance in the other direction near Queen's University. For the murals and Peace Walls, a black taxi tour is by far the easiest and most informative way to get there rather than walking or driving yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Belfast worth visiting?
- Yes. Between Titanic Belfast, the murals, and a compact, walkable centre, it offers a genuinely different city break to anywhere else in the UK, at prices generally lower than London or Edinburgh.
- How many days do you need in Belfast?
- Two days covers the city centre, Titanic Belfast and a murals tour comfortably. Three lets you add Crumlin Road Gaol and a day trip out to the Giant's Causeway without rushing.
- Is Belfast expensive?
- No, it's one of the more affordable UK city breaks, and several of the best things to do, City Hall, Botanic Gardens, the Cathedral Quarter, cost nothing at all.
- What is Belfast famous for?
- Building the Titanic at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, its political murals and Peace Walls, and being the capital of Northern Ireland.
That's everything I've got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government's latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
