We spent last week in Belfast, the capital and the largest city of Northern Ireland. One thing we loved about our visit was how easy it was to walk around the city of Belfast.
In Belfast, there are well-marked walking paths throughout the city, as well as throughout all of Northern Ireland. You can get details on them all at Walk Northern Ireland’s website. In the photo above, we are walking along the Lagan River on the Lagan Towpath, heading to the Belfast Botanical Gardens. You can walk up the entire 11 miles Lagan Towpath that is a section of the 26-mile Lagan canal constructed in the 18th Century to transport bulk commodities between Belfast and Lough Neagh.
We joined the path just behind the Belfast Central Train Station.
The signs are clear with a sense of humor. Pick up after your dog or face a penalty of up to 500 British pounds.
Flowers and well-groomed shrubbery is seen throughout the city. These colorful hydrangeas were some of my favorite flowers.
Colorful flowers are present throughout the Belfast Botanical Gardens.
The Palm House conservatory is the highlight of the Belfast Botanical Gardens. Completed in 1840, it is one of the world’s earliest examples of a curvilinear cast iron greenhouse, and it is free to all visitors.
The giant H & W shipbuilding cranes in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter are visible throughout many viewpoints in Belfast. The two iconic cranes are nicknamed “Samson & Goliath.”
Belfast is home to an impressive amount of public art. One of our favorites was the Thanksgiving Statue, a 64-foot sculpture by Andy Scott. The sculpture has several nicknames including the Beacon of Hope and the Nuala with the Hula. We liked her flying ponytail.
You might recognize The Big Fish ceramic mosaic sculpture by John Kindness if you looked at tourism marketing materials for Belfast and Northern Ireland. Inside the Big Fish there is a time capsule storing information and images on the city of Belfast, while the outer skin is made of ceramic tiles decorated with texts and images relating to Belfast’s history.
Opened in March, 2012 on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard, the Titanic Belfast Museum is dedicated to Belfast’s maritime history. It’s a stunning building inside and out.
Throughout Belfast, you will see a small blue sign like this one noting places of historical significance. The one picture above marked the site where John Boyd Dunlop invented the first successful pneumatic tire. It was interesting to learn that Mr. Dunlop was a veterinary surgeon before he founded a tire company.
The 80 ft. high glass viewing dome is iconic highlight of the 800,000 ft. Victoria Square shopping mall in central Belfast.
At night, the game dome is lighted in blue and is visible through much of Belfast.
Outside of the Belfast City Hall, visitors will find the Titanic Memorial Garden. The name of each victim is engraved in the memorial.
Colorful murals are found on building walls throughout Belfast. This one pays homage to some personalities with a tie to Belfast. Can you pick out actor Liam Neeson, who was born near Belfast and had his stage premier at Belfast’s Lyric Theater?
These 15 photos are just a small sampling of the delights of Belfast we discovered while walking around the city.
Are you planning a trip to Belfast? Here are some resources to help you:
Other posts on our visit to Belfast you may want to check out:
- Getting from Kansas City to Belfast
- A Look Inside the Hilton Belfast Hotel
- 34 Fun Facts About Belfast, Northern Ireland
- A Visit to the Titanic Quarter and Titanic Belfast
- Dinner at the James Street South Bar + Grill in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Adding Northern Ireland to Our Travelers’s Century Club List of 324 Destinations
In preparation for our trip, we created a Belfast and Northern Ireland board on Pinterest.
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