Things to Do in Belfast: A Complete Guide
Belfast has transformed itself over the past two decades from a city defined by conflict into one of the UK’s most compelling places to visit, and it hasn’t hidden its history to do it. It tells that story directly, through museums, murals and guided tours led by people who often lived through it. If you’re looking into things to do in Belfast, you’ll find a city that balances heavyweight history with genuinely good nightlife and a warmth that catches a lot of first time visitors off guard.
Titanic Belfast and the Maritime Quarter
Titanic Belfast sits on the site of the old Harland and Wolff shipyard where the Titanic was actually built, and the museum is shaped like the ship’s hull as a nod to that history. Inside, interactive galleries walk you through Belfast’s industrial boom, the construction of the ship and its fateful maiden voyage, using original plans, recreated cabins and a dark ride style section through the shipyard as it would have looked at the time. It’s one of the most visited attractions in Northern Ireland and easily fills half a day. Just outside, the SS Nomadic, the last remaining White Star Line ship and once a tender vessel for the Titanic, is docked and open to explore.
The Cathedral Quarter and Belfast’s murals
The Cathedral Quarter, named for St Anne’s Cathedral at its centre, is Belfast’s cobbled, creative heart, packed with traditional pubs, live music venues and a genuinely good food and drink scene. It comes alive at night, particularly around Commercial Court and Hill Street, where you’ll find everything from traditional Irish music sessions to cocktail bars tucked into converted warehouses. The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival each spring adds theatre, comedy and music to the mix if your visit lines up with it.
For a more sobering side of the city, Belfast’s political murals along the Falls Road and Shankill Road document decades of the Troubles in vivid, often striking detail. A black cab tour is the classic way to see them, with drivers who frequently have personal stories from the conflict and can explain the meaning behind murals that would otherwise just look like impressive street art to an outsider. These tours typically also stop at the Peace Walls, the barriers that still separate some Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods, where visitors are invited to sign their name alongside thousands of others who’ve left messages of hope for the future.
Crumlin Road Gaol and Game of Thrones country
Crumlin Road Gaol operated as a working prison until 1996 and now runs guided tours through its Victorian cell blocks, the underground tunnel connecting it to the old courthouse, and the execution chamber. It held both loyalist and republican prisoners during the Troubles and its history is woven into the tour alongside older stories of the prison’s Victorian origins.
Belfast also became something of a pilgrimage site for Game of Thrones fans, since much of the series was filmed at the Titanic Studios just outside the city centre and across various locations in Northern Ireland. The Dark Hedges, an atmospheric avenue of beech trees used as the Kingsroad, and the Cushendun Caves are both day trip distances away along the Causeway Coast, and several tour operators run dedicated filming location trips from the city that also take in the Giant’s Causeway itself.
Other things to do in Belfast
Belfast’s Botanic Gardens, next to Queen’s University, make for a pleasant stop with their Victorian Palm House, and the nearby Ulster Museum, free to enter, covers everything from natural history to fine art and has a strong section on the Troubles that pairs well with a black cab tour. St George’s Market, one of the oldest covered markets in Ireland, runs on weekends and is a good spot for local food, crafts and live music in a genuinely lively atmosphere.
The city’s food scene has come on considerably in recent years too, with a cluster of good restaurants around the Cathedral Quarter and the Cutter’s Wharf area along the river serving everything from modern Irish cooking to more casual bar food, often alongside a decent pint of Guinness or a locally distilled Irish whiskey.
Getting around Belfast
Belfast’s city centre is walkable, with Titanic Belfast, the Cathedral Quarter and the main shopping streets around Donegall Place all reasonably close together, though Titanic Quarter is far enough out that many visitors take the free Titanic Belfast shuttle bus or a short taxi ride rather than walking. For the political murals, a black cab or organised tour is genuinely the best option since the Falls and Shankill roads are a bus ride or drive from the centre.
Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport both connect the city to destinations across the UK and Ireland, and the Enterprise train service links Belfast to Dublin in around two hours, making a combined trip to both cities entirely feasible. Spring through early autumn brings the most reliable weather for day trips along the Causeway Coast, though Belfast’s indoor attractions make it a solid year round destination regardless of the weather. If you fancy comparing notes with a trip closer to home, our guide to UK staycation ideas is worth a look too.
For more inspiration, take a look at our guide to things to do in Brighton.
