The city of Belfast in Northern Ireland

Bounded by sloping hills and beside the River Lagan and Belfast Lough, the picturesque Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. Often called the ‘Hibernian Rio’, Belfast is a thriving, fast-moving 21st century metropolis with some great places for shopping and sightseeing.

More than a third of Northern Ireland’s population resides within the Belfast conurbation. The city of Belfast is also renowned as an arts hub with an impressive line-up of cultural events all-the-year-round. To admire the exquisite examples of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, dominated by the magnificently domed City Hall, one must really go on walking tours of Belfast.

The city centre still retains several elegant Victorian buildings; however, Belfast has undergone an enormous transformation as well and the city streets leading northwards from the hub of Belfast life, Donegall Square, are packed with chain stores and new shopping precincts. On most evenings, Belfast's bars, clubs and restaurants, especially around the Golden Mile, are crammed to overflowing.

Belfast is flourishing culturally too. Music, theatre and the visual arts are all flourishing and traditional Irish culture is the subject of rapid rediscovery. Like major metropolises in world like London, Paris and Dubin, Belfast has its fair share of cafes and hotels when one is assured of good food and boarding at reasonable rates.

The core of downtown Belfast sits on the west bank of the River Lagan. Belfast revolves around Donegall Square, which is home to the City Hall; all roads radiate out from there. The city’s main shopping area lies north of the Square and the main areas for entertainment and accommodation are immediately south. Most of the grand old Victorian buildings that are so characteristic of the city are in the north and east, towards the river.

Belfast’s architecture is particularly rich in Victorian and Edwardian buildings with ornate sculptures over the doors and windows. Busts of gods, poets, scientists, kings, and queens peer down from the high ledges of banks and old linen warehouses. Some of Belfast's grandest buildings are on the banks of Waring Street.

Belfast is a good base for one’s trips to the sparsely inhabited northern territories of Ireland. At the city centre, one can glimpse the glories that the industrial revolution brought: grandiose architecture and magnificent Victorian pubs. To the south are the lively and influential Queen's University and the extensive collections of the Ulster Museum, set in the grounds of the Botanic Gardens. A climb up Cave Hill, to the north, rewards the visitor with marvellous views of the city spread out around the curve of the natural harbour, Belfast Lough.

With its large port, Belfast is an industrialized city, often referred to as the engine room that drove the whirring wheels of the industrial revolution in Ulster. Major industries range from linen production to shipbuilding to aircraft manufacturing. The Titanic was built in Belfast port, and today the world's largest dry dock is located here.

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