8 Things To Do in Belfast, Northern Ireland

We visited Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is now one of my favorite cities in the world. From history to nature to art, there is so much to do there. If you are in Ireland, I highly recommend adding Belfast to your itinerary. Here are 8 things we did in Belfast, Northern Ireland: 0:00 - Visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland 0:25 - #1: Titanic Museum 1:42 - #2: Belfast City Hall 2:52 - #3: Dome at Victoria's Square 3:45 - #4: Belfast Giants Hockey (plus we played hockey too) 5:17 - #5: Hiking Cavehill 8:12 - #6: St. George's Market 9:31 - #7: North Ireland Coast Tour 12:00 - #8: Crown Bar Titanic Museum The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The sinking took the lives of more than 1,500 people - but the sinking affected the world in more ways, because it signified the end of the gilded age, the end of an era and of innocence of so many things. One thing we forget is that it took more than 2 years to build, and supported thousands of jobs in Belfast during that time. Belfast City Hall Belfast was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888, and the city hall building opened in 1906. The city hall building currently has a sort of local museum on the ground floor where you can learn all about the city. You can walk through it for free and learn about Belfast - but it's also worth it just to see the beautiful architecture. Also - it's a great place to stop and use the bathroom because they were beautiful - and with no entrance fee. You can also do a guided tour. Dome at Victoria's Square Victoria Square is a shopping complex in Belfast that opened in 2008 - with more than 55 stores, 16 restaurants, and a movie theater. The Dome at Victoria Square is 37 m in diameter and 45 m high. During normal business hours, it's one of the best views in Belfast and is free to go to the top. Belfast Giants Hockey The Belfast Giants are a professional hockey team in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League or the EIHL. They play at the SSE Arena in Belfast. Like I said, we play hockey with someone whose son plays for the Giants currently, so we all took a trip to Belfast to see him play. The SSE Arena is a short walk over the river from downtown Belfast. The Giants began playing in Belfast in the year 2000 and have won 6 challenge cups in that time. We also set up a few games with a local team: the Belfast Tridents. You can find them here:   / northern-ireland-tridents-ice-hockey-club-...   Hiking Cavehill Cavehill is is 368 meters, or 1,207 feet high, overlooking the city of Belfast. You can find the trailhead to Cavehill at the base of the Belfast Castle, and it's around 5 km round trip. Cavehill is thought to be the inspiration for Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Swift imagined that Cavehill resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city. St. George's Market St George's Market is the last surviving Victorian covered market in Belfast. It was built between 1890 and 1896, and before that - it was an open market and possibly a slaughterhouse and a meat market. St. George's Market is only open on weekends - so definitely check opening times before you plan your trip. Today it has more than 300 vendors, including musicians and restaurants. North Coast Tour We traveled to the Northern Ireland Coast as a day trip from Belfast, N. Ireland. We visited Carrick-A-Rede, Fullerton Arms for lunch, Giant's Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Dark Hedges, Bushmill Distillery, and more! Carrick-A-Rede The Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge was built in 1755 by Irish fishermen, near Ballintoy in Northern Ireland. The bridge is suspended nearly 100 feet above the Atlantic ocean and was built as a way to reach important fishing spots. The current Carrick A Rede bridge was built in 2004 and is 20 meters long, or 66 feet, and 98 feet above the rocks below. In 2018, nearly 500,000 people visited the bridge. Giant's Causeway Giant's Causeway has around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns - which is the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption 50 to 60 million years ago. According to legend, the columns were built by a giant - and you will see that giant character all through Northern Ireland, including Belfast. Nearly 1 million people visit Giant's causeway every year. Bushmills Distillery The Old Bushmills Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery in Bushmills, Northern Ireland, established in 1784. The distillery has a tasting room and gift shop and welcomes around 120,000 visitors per year. Dark Hedges The Dark Hedges are an avenue of beech trees in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. The trees were planted in 1775 by the land owner James Stuart. The Dark Hedges has become such an important location in recent years because it was used as a location in Game of Thrones.