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Check out our guide to the must-see attractions in Northern Ireland's vibrant city of Belfast.

Northern Ireland

Belfast

The Top 10 Things to See and Do in Belfast, Northern Ireland

From Titanic Belfast to Cave Hill, check out the top things to do in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.

Must-Visit Attractions in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Follow Culture Trip’s walking guide to Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland.

Europe

United Kingdom

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Belfast's Ulster Museum contains a variety of exhibitions and is a cultural hot spot in the heart of Northern Ireland's capital city.

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Insider Travel Guides

There are lots of reasons to visit Belfast: are you infatuated with the cathedrals? Do you fancy a tour of Game of Thrones filming locations? Or do you just want to say you’ve had a drink in a proper Irish pub? No matter your reasoning for coming, the diversity and splendour of the Northern Irish capital is sure to win you over.

The Insider Guide to Belfast

Being a tourist in Belfast is really easy! Most must-see highlights are either in or near the buzzing Cathedral Quarter. A vibrant district built around St Anne’s Cathedral, it’s packed with cafés, bars, restaurants and nightlife. Be sure to check out what’s on at The Black Box and The MAC. The two venues, just a five-minute walk apart, each host a wealth of visual arts, live music, theatre, comedy and dance events. For something a bit more bourgeois, take in an opera at the majestic Grand Opera House on Great Victoria Street.
 
A hop, skip and jump from the Grand Opera House is City Hall. It was built in celebration of Belfast being granted city status by Queen Victoria in the late 19th Century – a time of rapid industrialisation. The key local industry back then was shipbuilding; in fact, it was here that the most famous ship of all time, the Titanic, began construction in 1908. Today, Titanic Belfast is the largest Titanic museum in the world. More maritime history – including artefacts from the Spanish Armada – can be explored at the Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens. The Gardens themselves are also a big draw for nature lovers.
 
You dark tourists may well be wooed by the Crumlin Road Gaol: the old prison dates back to 1845, before falling into disuse in 1996. It’s now a popular attraction; book a tour to learn all about the gritty history there. If prison bars don’t appeal, maybe a booze-serving bar will? Well-known watering holes Kelly’s Cellars, McHughs and the Duke of York all promise a merry atmosphere. Meanwhile, the bedazzling interiors at the famous Crown Liquor Saloon are a throwback to a past as a Victorian gin palace.

Belfast is also home to Titanic Studios, where much of hit TV series Game of Thrones was shot. Filming took place in lots of spots just outside the city as well, and tours of them run very frequently. Pick the right one and you’ll get to see the iconic Giant’s Causeway on the same day as well.
 
To hone your itinerary further, read on.

Discover what's the craic: The Main Attractions

Oran

Setif

Algeria

Luanda

Angola

Cotonou

Porto-novo

Benin

Botswana

Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Tonga

Yaounde

Bamenda

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Kinshasa

Lubumbashi

Congo

Abidjan

Cote Divoire

Florentin

Dijibouti

Djibouti

Cairo

Alexandria

Sharm El-sheikh

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Asmara

Eritrea

Addis Ababa

Lalibela

Ethiopia

Gambia

Accra

Kumasi

Cape Coast

Ghana

Guinea-bissau

Nairobi

Mombasa

Malindi

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Antananarivo

Antsirabe

Madagascar

Blantyre

Malawi

Bamako

Timbuktu

Mali

Mauritania

Port Louis

Mauritius

Casablanca

Marrakech

Sale

Morocco

Maputo

Mozambique

Swakopmund

Windhoek

Namibia

Lagos

Abuja

Ibadan

Nigeria

Pointe-noire

Republic Of The Congo

Kigali

Musanze

Butare

Rwanda

Dakar

Touba

Senegal

Seychelles

Freetown

Sierra Leone

Cape Town

Durban

Johannesburg

South Africa

South Sudan

Khartoum

Sudan

Mbabane

Manzini

Swaziland

Zanzibar

Arusha

Dar Es Salaam

Tanzania

Tunis

Hammamet

Tozeur

Tunisia

Kampala

Gombe

Uganda

Western Sahara

Lusaka

Zambia

Harare

Bulawayo

Zimbabwe

Africa

Antarctica

Kabul

Afghanistan

Dhaka

Bangladesh

Thimphu

Bhutan

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei Darussalam

Siem Reap

Phnom Penh

Sihanoukville

Cambodia

Shanghai

Beijing

Guangzhou

China

East Timor

Wan Chai

Hong Kong

Mumbai

Delhi

India

Bali

Penang

Jakarta

Indonesia

Israel

Tokyo

Kyoto

Osaka

Japan

Almaty

Astana

Kazakhstan

Pyongyang

Korea

Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan

Luang Prabang

Vientiane

Pakse

Laos

Macau

Kuala Lumpur

Ipoh

Malaysia

Maldives

Mongolia

Yangon

Mandalay

Nay Pyi Taw

Myanmar

Kathmandu

Darchula

Nepal

Hyderabad

Islamabad

Lahore

Pakistan

Manila

Boracay

Baguio

Philippines

Asia

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