Stand on the Lagan footbridge at Lagan Weir as the light goes down and you get the whole city in one sweep: the metal spire of Saint Anne's Cathedral floodlit upstream, the courts and legal buildings on the bank behind you, and the river running clear where mudflats once stank at low tide. Belfast rewards a walker who is willing to cross from the retail core into the student south and then out west, where the city's story is written into its streets and its walls.
This guide suits anyone with a day or two who wants the centre, the university quarter and the western interface areas rather than a checklist of coach stops. It covers the central sights around Donegall Square, the museums and gardens of the south, and the conflict-related sites of the west, with the practical detail you need to string them together.
Top things to do in Belfast
1. Ulster Museum
In the Botanic Gardens on Stranmillis Road, this is the city's comprehensive museum, covering natural history, archaeology, history including the Irish conflicts, textiles and fashion, and a large art collection. The original neoclassical building was extended in the 1970s in a modern Brutalist style, and the O'Neill inauguration chair from the Castlereagh Hills is on display here. Entry is free.
It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10AM to 5PM, so plan it as a morning or early-afternoon stop and give yourself time afterwards for the gardens it sits in.
2. Botanic Gardens
Established in 1828 and a public park from 1895, this is an extensive leafy space popular with office workers and students from nearby Queen's University. The Palm House, completed in 1840, is an elegant cast-iron glasshouse by Lanyon and Turner with a cool and a tropical section, and near it the Tropical Ravine House lets you walk around a raised balcony observing tropical flora. There are also lawns, a long herbaceous border, a rose garden and woodlands, with a statue of Lord Kelvin presiding over the main entrance.
It is free and open daily from 07:30 until dusk, with the main entrance off University Road by the Ulster Museum, so combine the two in a single visit.
3. Belfast City Hall
Grand municipal architecture on Donegall Square North, built in 1906 of white Portland limestone in baroque style, and housing the council chambers and admin offices. You can look into the entrance hall and rotunda at any time, but for a proper look join one of the guided tours held three times a day. Outside stand a memorial to the victims of the Titanic and a statue of Queen Victoria.
It is open Monday to Friday 9AM to 5PM and Saturday and Sunday 10AM to 5PM, and the tour costs £6. The Linen Hall Library faces it on the north side of the square, so pair the two.
4. Saint Anne's Cathedral
This Church of Ireland cathedral on Donegall Street was built in Romanesque style around the previous parish church and opened in 1904, and has been added to and reconstructed in stages ever since, most recently in 2007 with the addition of a slender metal spire floodlit at night. It could not have a traditional sturdy tower or spire because the soft clay foundations would not support one. There are regular services.
It is open Monday to Saturday 10:30AM to 4PM, with Saturday and Sunday 12:30 to 3PM, and admission is £5 for adults with children free. The Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum is next door on Talbot Street, so see both together.
5. Crumlin Road Gaol
A grim old prison on Crumlin Road, opened in 1846 with a typical Victorian hall design and in use until 1996. The self-guided tour takes you through the building's history.
It is open daily 10AM to 4PM, with adult admission £14, concession £12.50 and child £7.50. It sits in the west of the city, so it makes sense to pair it with the Peace Wall on the same trip out.
6. Peace Wall
Walls of this kind are found in several places across Northern Ireland but especially in West Belfast, and the one along Cupar Way is a good example. They were built from 1969 as civil unrest grew and became ever longer, sturdier and higher to prevent bombs and bricks being hurled over, and they continued growing after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement because both communities felt safer that way. There are several gates in the wall, open in daytime and safe to visit, but closed by dusk.
There is agreement in principle to remove all the walls, but that ideal prompts deep intakes of breath and slow sad head-shaking by residents. Go during daylight hours and be back through a gate before dusk.
7. Queen's University
A red-brick Victorian building in Tudor style modelled on Magdalen College Oxford, with extensive grounds. On University Square, note the fine Union Theological College, where the Northern Ireland Parliament spent its early years until Stormont was ready in 1932.
The Welcome Centre is open Monday to Friday 8:30AM to 4PM. Buses 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d run here from the centre, as does Ulsterbus 22 or 24 towards Lisburn. The Naughton Gallery is on the first floor of the Lanyon Building, open Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 4PM and free, with a large permanent collection of university artwork plus rotating exhibitions.
8. St Malachy's Church
This Roman Catholic church opened in 1844 with a Tudor Revival exterior, but what is most remarkable is the elaborate fan-vaulted interior, likened to a wedding cake turned inside out. It is at 24 Alfred Street at the corner of Clarence Street, two blocks south of City Hall.
It is open Monday to Friday 9:30AM to 1:30PM and Saturday and Sunday 9:30AM to 6PM, so a weekday visit needs to be a morning one.
9. Lagan Weir and footbridge
The weir was built across the river in 1994 just upstream of Lagan road bridge, raising the river level and covering mudflats that were ugly and smelly at low tide. It can open as a gate or close as a barrage against high tides, and the 1994 footbridge was replaced in 2006 with a more accessible structure. On the bank, The Big Fish is a large ceramic artwork looking on in approval of the weir, which has greatly enhanced river water quality.
This is an outdoor stop with no set hours, and the cathedral spire is floodlit at night, so it works well as an evening walk.
10. The Crown
The gorgeous Victorian pub that greets arrivals emerging from the bus and railway station, and it is owned by the National Trust. It is worth looking in even if you do not intend a drink.
Check the Drink section for its hours. Because it sits right by the station, it is an easy first or last stop of the day.
11. Linen Hall Library
On the north side of Donegall Square facing City Hall, this library was founded in 1788 and hosts exhibitions and events, with a huge collection of Irish books.
It is open Monday to Friday 9:30AM to 5:30PM, which makes it a weekday-only stop to slot in beside City Hall.
12. Belfast Exposed
A photography gallery with changing exhibitions in a refurbished warehouse at 23 Donegall Street, and an extensive photo archive. It is open Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 5PM, with a donation requested.
It is on the same street as Saint Anne's Cathedral, so visit the two in one stretch.
13. Belfast Central Library
The Victorian library building on Royal Avenue houses an excellent Irish section and a newspaper library, with archives of all Northern Irish newspapers. It is open Monday and Thursday 9AM to 8PM, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9AM to 5:30PM, and Saturday 10AM to 4:30PM.
Use it as a wet-afternoon stop in the retail core, close to Donegall Place.
14. The Legal Quarter
The block between Victoria shopping centre and the river, with the courts and other legal buildings. You cannot go inside them unless you are already in trouble, but the exteriors are interesting, with good examples in the former town hall, now a court house, the Royal Courts of Justice, and the Bar Library.
It is an outdoor walk with no opening hours, and it sits naturally between the shopping core and the Lagan Weir.
15. Giant's Ring
A Neolithic earthwork off Ballynahatty Road, 200 yards in diameter with a dolmen in the centre. It is one of the oldest sites connected with the city, and there is no charge and no set hours.
It lies beyond the built-up south of the city, so treat it as a separate outing rather than part of a centre-based day.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at Belfast City Hall on Donegall Square, looking into the entrance hall and rotunda and joining one of the guided tours if the timing works. Cross the square to the Linen Hall Library, then walk up Donegall Place to Saint Anne's Cathedral and, next door, the Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum. If it is a weekday morning, fit in St Malachy's Church before its 1:30PM close.
Afternoon: Take a bus to Queen's University and look around the Lanyon Building and University Square, then walk into the Botanic Gardens through the main entrance off University Road. Spend the rest of the afternoon in the Ulster Museum, which closes at 5PM.
Evening: Return to the centre and walk the Legal Quarter down to the Lagan Weir and footbridge, with The Big Fish on the bank, as the cathedral spire comes on floodlit. Finish with a look inside The Crown by the station. Note that the centre falls very quiet after 8PM.
Frequently asked questions
Is the city centre safe at all hours?
The centre is safe enough at all hours but falls very quiet after 8PM. The student quarter in the south is generally safe at all hours apart from the occasional aggressive drunk.
When should I visit the Peace Wall?
Go in daytime. The gates in the wall are open in daytime and safe to visit, but they are closed by dusk.
Which sights are free?
The Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens and the Giant's Ring are free. Belfast City Hall charges £6 for the guided tour, Saint Anne's Cathedral charges £5 for adults with children free, and Crumlin Road Gaol charges £14 for adults, £12.50 concession and £7.50 for children.
How do I reach the Queen's University area?
Buses 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d run there from the centre, as does Ulsterbus 22 or 24 towards Lisburn.
Pick your dates, check the opening days for the museums and the cathedral, and build your Belfast days around the places that fit the hours you have.