Things to do in Belfast – The Ultimate Belfast Travel Guide

Are you planning a trip to the North of Ireland and want to know all the best things to do in Belfast?

Having lived in Belfast for a number of years, we know the city really well and have loved seeing the cities development in recent years.

Belfast has become a great place to visit, filled with a unique history, lots of great landmarks and a great food and drink scene, making it a popular stopping point for a weekend away.

If you’re planning to take a trip to Belfast, this Belfast Travel Guide will provide you with all of the best things to do in Belfast, including where to stay around Belfast, where to eat and drink and the places you should visit around the city.

How to get from Belfast airports

Belfast International Airport

Similar to Dublin, there is no direct rail link connecting Belfast International to the city centre at the moment. That being said, there are a number of alternative options you can use to reach the city quite quickly.

1) Bus

Public transport is the most common way to get to the city centre from Belfast International. The main option available is to catch the number 300 bus operated by Translink. This bus operates every 15 minutes and runs 7 days a week. The journey to Belfast City centre will take around 30-40 minutes depending on traffic and departs from the main airport exit.

The standard fare is currently £9.50 one way or £13.50 return (valid for 1 month) and can be purchased at the tourist information desk or on the bus itself. You can also download the mLink app on your phone to purchase in advance.

2) Taxi

A taxi will provide you with minimal wait times but naturally will be more expensive than public transport options. Belfast Airport Taxis are the main taxi operator working out of the airport and a standard taxi fare could be upwards of £40.

3) Car Hire

If you would like to rent a car, there are 5 car hire operators available at Belfast International. Details on each of those options may be found here.

Belfast City Airport

As the name suggests, Belfast City Airport is a very short distance from the city centre meaning there are a number of convenient options available for reaching Belfast city centre quite quickly.

Bus/Train

If you would like to travel by bus, you can catch the number 600 bus from Belfast City airport, which operates every 20 minutes and takes around 10 minutes to reach the city centre.

Tickets can be purchased from the ticket machine at the bus shelter, onboard or from a ticket machine inside the airport. You can also travel by train from the Sydenham rail halt to Grand Central train station.

Taxi

A taxi to the city centre from this airport will take around 10 minutes depending on traffic and should typically cost around £10.

How to get around Belfast

Walking:

Belfast is a very walkable city and most of the major attractions are within a 20 minute walk of another. Belfast city centre is also very flat which makes it quite easy to navigate.

Public Transport:

Within the city, the best way to get around is by using the Public Transport network, which includes the Glider, some railway services, Ulster Bus services and the number 600 bus to the Belfast City airport.

If you are just visiting Belfast for a few days, the best option is to purchase a Belfast Visitor Pass, with prices starting from £7 for an Adult ticket and £4 for a Child ticket. These tickets also include promotional discounts for a number of Belfast’s main attractions so it can also save you some money on your activities in the city.

Ticket Prices

Adult

• 1 day: £7
• 2 days: £13
• 3 days: £17

Child

• 1 day: £4
• 2 days: £7
• 3 days: £9

Belfast Hop On/Hop Off Tour:

If it is your first time visiting the city, the easiest and most efficient way to get around is the Hop On/Hop Off tour of the city. These guided tours are a convenient way to get around without worrying about the logistics and you can pick and choose when and where you would like to go throughout your stay.

When to visit Belfast

If you are planning your visit to Belfast in hopes of enjoying the sunny weather, you may leave a little bit short changed. While we do tend to get at least one to two weeks of consistently good weather (most years at least), for the most part a typical day in Belfast consists of clouds, sun, wind, rain and everything in between so try to pack accordingly (whatever that looks like).

One theme that does tend to be reasonably consistent is that the best chance of good weather is often either around the time the school year is winding down (Late May/Early June) or just when it is starting up again (early September) so with that in mind we would suggest choosing between those two periods of the year. During the late Spring/early Summer, Belfast gets a lot of daylight and it often doesn’t get dark until after 10pm so you have plenty of time to explore some of our most famous sites.

Similarly, if you are planning to visit during the coldest months (November-January), just be aware that it gets dark as early as 3pm and does get quite cold in the lead up to Christmas, with potential disruptions to travel due to snow and high winds more common at this time of the year.

Belfast is a nice place to visit at Christmas time as well, with the Christmas Market becoming increasingly popular in recent years and there are lots of good shopping options too, including Victoria Square.

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How long should you spend in Belfast

Ordinarily, we would suggest you spend at least 3 days in any city to allow sufficient time to explore and enjoy the city, without feeing like you are in a huge rush to move from one place to the next. Belfast is quite a small city and so, you will comfortably have enough time to see the major attractions in 2 days if you are limited for time.

If you are staying for 3 or more days we would suggest that rather than spending all of your time in the city centre, you visit some of the more popular suburb areas of the city or use one of the days to take a day trip to another area of the country outside of Belfast. As it is not a huge country, you can easily reach Dublin in two hours from Belfast or Derry, Donegal or the Mourne Mountains and other areas all in under 3 hours.

Our personal suggestion for a memorable day trip from Belfast would be the Dark Hedges and Causeway Coast tour. The Causeway Coast is a spectacular part of the country, with a lot of unique landmarks and castles along the route, as well as some of the most beautiful beaches in the country.

This area is home to the Giants Causeway, Magheracross Viewpoint, Carrick a Rede Ropebridge, White Rocks Beach, Dunluce Castle, Mussenden Temple and so many other incredible places, it really is well worth seeing.

Where to Stay in Belfast

The advantage of being a small city means you have more scope when it comes to finding a hotel in Belfast. You don’t necessarily need to stay in the heart of the city centre to have easy access to it. Ideally, you will want to be within walking distance of the centre but some of the recommendations below are just a 10 minute taxi journey as well.

Must Visit Places in Belfast

There are lots of great sights to visit around Belfast depending on your interests. If you are interested in history, we would really encourage taking one of the historical city tours to get a sense of the cities conflicted past and the incredible progress that has been made over the last 25 years in particular.

Another major historical point of interest in Belfast that is well worth visiting is the Titanic Exhibition Centre. The Titanic Tour allows you to get a unique insight into the history of the famous vessel – including stories from the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the ship was designed and built in the early 1900’s.

If you visit in the Autumn time, we would also recommend taking a trip to Stormont Estate, this is the main Government building where the political assembly is held but beyond that it has beautiful grounds for an autumnal walk, as well as a large play park for children.

This area is home to some great cafes like Haptik and The General Merchants and also Flout! Pizza, which has developed a huge following globally in recent months.

If you are a sports fan, you could take a trip to the Odyssey Arena to see the Belfast Giants hockey team; take in an Ulster Rugby match at Ravenhill or play a round of golf at some of the World’s best golf courses.

For nature lovers, take a trip to Cavehill for a hike overlooking the city. This walk also sits directly above Belfast Castle, as well as being just a few minutes from Belfast Zoo, so if you are visiting with a family in particular, this is a really nice area to spend a Summer’s day.

If you’re looking for a great place to enjoy a drink after a day of exploring, head to the Cathedral Quarter, where you will find some great bars like The Thirsty Goat, Dirty Onion, The National and lots of other great bars in what is the main area for a great night out in Belfast city centre.

Best Areas to Visit Around Belfast

If you want to get out of the city centre for a day, there a number of places we would recommend visiting within an hour of the city by car/public transport.

Hillsborough

Hillsborough is one of our favourite places to visit for a day out near Belfast. This picturesque village has lots of great things to do like visiting Hllsborough Castle and Gardens, a Georgian estate with beautiful gardens and an on-site cafe. You could also take a walk around Hillsborough Forest, which has a great playground for children and is a great place for a walk with a coffee dock on site.

There are some great food and drink options in Hillsborough as well such as The Plough Inn; The Roundhouse bakery, The Parsons’s Nose and Karibu cafe. If you don’t have access to a car you can take the number 238 bus from Belfast City centre to Hillsborough.