Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland is an interesting city to visit! A city that is divided into two, by a 6 metre high wall. A city that is famous for being the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, which sadly sunk in 1912. It’s a city like no other!
When it comes to travel, you don’t always have a few days spare! Sometimes, all you want is a quick weekend gateway! Belfast is a perfect city for that! A city that’s not too big you need a few days to explore, but a city that has enough to see and do to fill a good 24-hour mini gateway.
Here are all the top attractions of what the city has to offer, when you have just 24 hours spare:
The Peace Walls
The Peace Walls are what divide Belfast into two. At 6 metres high, and stretching for 30 km in total, they cannot be missed. The people of Belfast have divided themselves into 2 categories; the Catholics, who want to be part of Ireland, and the Protestants, who want to be part of the United Kingdom. The 2 sides do not get on with each other. Therefore, they built the wall to divide them into 2. Every night, the gates get locked, allowing the people to feel safe while they sleep. The government hopes to knock down the wall in 2023, however, the locals are against it. They believe it will cause a lot of friction and maybe cause war in the city again. Some of the locals have said; ‘if the walls get knocked down, they will no longer feel safe at night’.
You can choose to visit the walls yourself or you can book yourself on a guided tour. Since we had a hired car, we decided to choose to visit the walls on our own, without a guided tour. There is also the hop-on, hop-off bus, which will take you around the walls too if you are wanting to do it on your own without a tour guide.
If you are visiting the walls without a guide, the most popular locations to see are:
- Falls Road (Catholic side)
- Shankill Road (Protestant side)
- The Peace Walls down Cupar Way (this is where I saw the big 6 metres high walls).
Some of the Peace Walls have murals. The people from both sides of the walls are encouraged to express their thoughts and opinions, through colourful murals. This is worth seeing. There are plenty dotted all over the walls. I saw some just off Falls Road.
The Cathedral Quarter
The Cathedral Quarter is a cultural and nightlife area, located around Saint Anne’s Cathedral and St Anne’s Square. We parked in St Anne’s Square. A beautiful square is full of restaurants.
St Anne’s Cathedral is a Romanesque church, known for its organ recitals and needlelike steel spire. We didn’t get a chance to go inside, however, it did look very beautiful from the outside.
The whole area was very quiet during the day when we visited. However, I have heard, on the night, it becomes a very lively place, as the doors to the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs all open.
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall is a beautiful, civic building, of Belfast City Council. It is located in Donegall Square, dividing the commercial and business areas of the city centre. The city hall does guided tours for anyone who is interested in learning more about history. As we were quite short of time, we decided to give the guided tour a miss and enjoyed the views from the outside of the city hall only.
Big Fish
The Big Fish is more than just a sculpture. It’s a sculpture that tells a story about the history of Belfast. The 10-metre-long sculpture was constructed in 1999, by John Kindness.
To find the Big Fish, it is located on Donegall Quay, near the Lagan Lookout and Custom House.
CS Lewis Square
C.S. Lewis Square is a public space, located at the heart of the Connswater Community Greenway, east of Belfast. You may know CS Lewis as the author from the famous, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. He was born in Belfast and when he died, they decided to commemorate the square after him. As you walk around the square, you will see different sculptures made out of metal, relating to his books. We saw the lion from, ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’. Unfortunately, this was the only one we had time to see.
Titanic Experience
The Titanic Experience is a must!! It was fantastic! The tour will take you around 2 – 3 hours. We booked tickets in advance as if can get very busy and sell out. A ticket will cost you £19 per adult and £8.50 for children between the ages of 5 and 16.
To book your tickets in advance, here is a link to their website: Titanic Belfast.
Samson & Goliath Cranes
The Samson and Goliath are the twin shipbuilding gantry cranes, situated at Queen’s Island, in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. It used to be one of the biggest shipyards in the world! Each crane has a span of 140 metres, and can lift a load of up to 840 tonnes, to a height of 70 metres, making a combined lifting capacity of over 1,600 tonnes. It is one of the largest cranes in the world. They are unbelievable! Sadly, they are not used anymore for shipbuilding. Instead, they have become one of the most photographed monuments in the city.
Enjoyed this guide and would like some more inspiration for your travels? Please check out some of my other Nothern Ireland guides: https://livingwiththewolf.co.uk/category/northern-ireland/
If you would like to be notified when any new travel guides goes live, straight to your inbox, please subscribe here:
(don’t forget to check your junkbox for the confirmation e-mail!)
