A tour of Belfast

In the heart of Belfast is the city's most distinctive historic building and City Hall, which is open to visitors. The city administration runs free tours organized 3 times a day, which will show the interior of the first floor of the building, where the meeting hall of the city council is located, including period robes (possibility to take photos in it). The tour lasts about an hour and you just need to pick up a card in the lobby with information indicating the time of entry of the group. The ground floor of the town hall is freely accessible and offers beautifully colored glass panels, a café bar and occasionally spaces with a current exhibition or public toilets. In front of the town hall is a large park with benches, where locals like to go at noon to eat „lunch“ or just sit on the grass in nice weather

Along with a tour of the university, it would be a shame not to go and see the botanical garden next door, which is open to the public. It offers both outdoor exhibits, flower beds changing almost every 2–3 months, but also a tropical greenhouse. If you are traveling to Belfast around May to July, it is definitely worth a look at the rose garden, which is at the end of the botanical garden and offers countless varieties in a wide area of fragrant roses. If the weather is not right, the garden is adjacent to the large national Ulster Museum, where you can reliably entertain yourself for the whole day. Admission is free here as well.

The city center is full of monuments, old buildings of typical English brick style and shops. Not far from the City hall, however, there is a modern architecture, such as the building of the Victoria square shopping center, where more than one shopoholic can be found. However, the building also hides a viewpoint where you can go to the 4th floor or go and have an overview of the city center or a view of the nearby Cave hill cliff above the city (more on this in a separate article). If you walk through the center to the other end you will find a golden fountain – Jaffe fountain in still life with a bar in a brick house in the shape of an iron.

Belfast's „Big Ben“ is the Albert Clock on the banks of the River Lagan flowing into the Gulf of Belfast

Most people have the city of Belfast associated with the much-known ocean liner Titanic as its birthplace, the Belfast docks. The whole shipbuilding industry helped in the development of the city at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. After a fatal tragedy and with the advent of air transport, the production of such large ships declined over time, until the collapse of shipping companies such as WhiteStar and Harold, the parent company of Titanic. In memory of the whole tragedy, an interactive museum awarded several awards was established near the docks, commemorating this event.

The people of Belfast have a culture associated with both the United Kingdom and their Irish island neighbors, so no one is surprised by the number of bars and pubs in the city. The oldest bar in the city is opposite the Great Victoria station (train and bus station) and the Grand Opera House and is called The Crown Bar. As it is a national cultural monument, you will meet tourists rather than locals. Nevertheless, the menu is typical of Northern Ireland – whiskey (the local and oldest distillery is Bushmils), beer (most often Irish Guinness) and cider (often Magners or Strongbow).