Belfast

Belfast Empire

This former church has three floors of bars and music venues.

Mon noon-11PM, Tue-Sat noon-1AM, Sun 12:30PM-midnight

Botanic Gardens

Established in 1828 and becoming a public park from 1895, this is an extensive leafy green space, popular with office workers and students from nearby QUB. The Palm House, completed in 1840, is an elegant cast-iron glasshouse by Lanyon and Turner (who went on to build similar glasshouses at Kew, London and Glasnevin, Dublin) with a cool and a tropical section. Near it is the Tropical Ravine House, where visitors walk around a raised balcony observing tropical flora and fauna. There are also extensive lawns, a herbaceous border as long as the Zambezi, a rose garden and woodlands. Presiding over the main entrance is a statue of Lord Kelvin.

Daily 07:30-dusk·Free

Boundary Brewing

Modern craft beer brewery with attached taproom serving 20 beers on draught.

Daily noon-11PM·£6 pint

Bright's Restaurant

Old style breakfast and lunch, and traditional ambiance right down to the biddy brushing under your table as you're trying to eat.

Mon-Sat 9AM-4PM, Sun 11AM-4PM

Bullhouse East

Taproom belonging to Bullhouse Brewing with approx 20 beers on draught. Woodfired pizzas also available.

Daily noon-midnight·£6 pint

Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich

Irish Language Cultural Centre

The hub of Irish language activities in Belfast. It's a cultural centre with visitor information, art, trad music, a cafe and a bookshop. They put on regular Irish language classes, from beginners to advanced.

Mon-Thu 9AM-6PM, Fri Sat 9AM-9PM, Sun 11AM-4PM

Darcy's

Large servings of Belfast cuisine in an old-fashioned candlelit ambiance. Excellent vegan/vegetarian menu.

Mon-Thu 5-9PM, Fri-Sun noon-9PM

Doorsteps

Stonking great sandwiches (hence the name) and trad meals, you'll need a hearty appetite.

Mon-Sat 8:30AM-3PM

Duke of York

The main Duke of York bar is a classic mirrored beer hall, Harp Bar is a trad saloon with live music, The New Orpheus is its swish extension, The Friend at Hand is the whiskey collection, and The Dark Horse is their events venue.

Mon-Sat 11:30AM-midnight, Sun 1-8PM

HMS Caroline

Royal Navy light cruiser built in 1914 and engaged in the Battle of Jutland. After the war Caroline had a spell in the Indian Ocean then was mothballed until 1924, when she came to Belfast as a training ship and navy headquarters.

Fri-Sun 10AM-4:30PM·Adult £11, conc £10, child £9

Hatfield House

Buzzing southside pub in 1850s trad building, often has live music and Gaelic sport on TV.

Daily noon-1AM

Irish Republican History Museum

Eileen Hickey Museum

Museum in a former mill depicting the history of Republicanism in Belfast. Eileen Hickey was a Provisional IRA organiser within Armagh prison and amassed a great collection of artifacts and memorabilia relating to her side of the conflict. This is the half-history where 1200 Catholic civilians died in Belfast during the Troubles. You have to cross the city to the Orange Heritage Centre for the half-history where 600 Protestant civilians died - and both are correct.

Tue-Sat 10AM-2PM·Donation

Lee Garden

Reliably good place, especially good value for lunch and dim sum.

Daily noon-10PM

Limelight

Katy Daly's

Standard pub early evening, then late night there are four music and club areas: Katy's the main bar, Limelight 1 and 2, and the rooftop Rock Garden.

Mon Wed Thu 10PM-2AM, Fri Sat 5PM-2AM

Little Wing Pizzeria

Slick friendly place serves pizza Napoli-style. Also has branches on Lisburn Rd and Upper Newtownards Rd.

Mon-Sat noon-10PM, Sun noon-9PM

McHugh's

In a building of 1711, with a 100-seat restaurant, a basement bar offering live entertainment and the main gallery. Often has trad music.

Mon-Sat noon-1AM, Sun 1PM-1AM

Metropolitan Arts Centre

The MAC

The MAC opened in 2012 and is a centre for art, theatre and dance.

Morning Star

Grand alehouse since 1810. Downstairs is a traditional bar whilst upstairs is a food orientated lounge specialising in steaks and whiskey.

Mon-Sat 11:30AM-midnight, Sun noon-11:30PM

No Alibis

Renowned quirky independent bookshop, specialising in crime and US fiction.

Mon-Sat 9AM-5:30PM

Out Of Office Brewing

Situated at the top floor of Ulster Sports Club. This brewpub usually has a range of 4-8 of their own beers pouring.

Thu-Sat 3PM-midnight

Queen's University

August red-brick Victorian building in Tudor style modelled on Magdalen College Oxford, with extensive grounds. On University Square note the fine Union Theological College: the Northern Ireland Parliament spent its early years here until Stormont was ready in 1932.

Welcome Centre Mon-Fri 8:30AM-4PM

Queens Film Theatre

Belfast's art house and repertory cinema, and the main venue for the Belfast Film Festival.

Robinsons Bar

Fibber Magee

Trad "long" pub, established 1895. The saloon (front end off GVS) is decorated with Titanic memorabilia, this is the area for a quiet pint. Head to the first floor bistro for food, served until 9PM. The back bar is Fibber Magees, which you can also enter via the alley behind Travelodge: this has trad music every night.

Sun-Wed 11:30AM-midnight, Thu-Sat 11:30AM-1AM

Ryan's Bar & Restaurant

The ground floor has a family-friendly grill restaurant and there's a late night bar.

Mon-Thu 11:30AM-11PM, Fri-Sun 12:30PM-1AM

SS Nomadic

Titanic and her sister-ship Olympic were too big to dock in Cherbourg, so in 1911 two tenders were built to transfer passengers, baggage and mail. SS Nomadic was the more luxurious and took first and second-class passengers, while SS Traffic took third class. During World War I they served as auxiliary military vessels then resumed as tenders for Olympic, until 1934 when Cherbourg harbour was enlarged. They saw further military service in World War II, after which the slow, accident-prone Traffic was scrapped. Nomadic was reprieved because bombed-out Cherbourg was again unable to receive large liners, so she tendered to the likes of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth before retiring in 1968. After a spell in Paris as a floating restaurant she looked destined for scrap, but a charitable trust brought her to Belfast for restoration.

Daily 11AM-4:30PM·Same ticket as Titanic

SSE Arena

Formerly Odyssey Pavilion

This complex contains a 12-screen cinema, the multi-use SSE Arena, conference facilities, W5 science museum (see above) and restaurants and bars.

Scalini

Excellent pizzeria and trattoria near QUB, they make sure you realise they're Italian.

Tue-Thu 5-10PM, Fri-Sun 4-10PM

Smithfield Market

Small mall north of Castle Court with some 30 independent retailers.

Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM

St George's Market

Lively indoor market in an 1896 building with a grand range of food, clothing and crafts.

Fri 8AM-2PM, Sat 9AM-3PM, Sun 10AM-3PM

Sunflower

Lively pub, don't let the security cage put you off, inside is a very welcoming pub with great craft beers on tap and some of the cheapest pints in the city centre.

Sun-Wed noon-midnight, Thu-Sat noon-1AM