Belfast

United Kingdom

Things to do in Belfast:

View the Gallery Wheel & City Hall (night)

Belfast Restaurants

Cheap (35)

Villa Italia

If you are in the mood for some no-nonsense, good-value Italian food, this place is hard to beat. It tends to be busy most nights of the week, so you may have to queue even on a weeknight. read more
Affordable (50)

Muriel's

This quirky bar on the edge of the Cathedral Quarter is a real find. Actress Natalie Portman called in for a drink while she was in town filming a year or so ago. It's a great spot for breakfast,... read more
Good quality (34)

Mourne Seafood Bar

Tucked away in a quiet street just off Royal Avenue, this terrific seafood restaurant is a must for anyone who is serious about fish. The restaurant has a bistro feel to it and the food is second... read more

Belfast Nightlife

Chilled (33)

The Morning Star

Situated in an entry running between Anne Street and High Street, this historic bar is well worth checking out. It is one of the oldest bars in the city and they serve a mean pint of Guinness. I... read more
Live Music (31)

Auntie Annie's

As well as being a bit of a student hangout, this venue is also a home from home for some of the best bands in the city. They have a great bar downstairs and a fantastic live music upstairs. It... read more
Clubbing (41)

The Menagerie Bar

Although it doesn't look like much from outside, The Menagerie is one of the best late-night venues in town. It is in the university area and is around a 20-minute walk from the city centre. Over... read more

This Month in Belfast:

By Chris Sherry, Ulster Tatler

Shopping: Miss Moran's, a specialist tobacconist shop, is well worth visiting even if you are not a smoker. They sell everything and anything to do with smoking and tobacco. It's a great place to pick up a present for someone who enjoys a good cigar (6 Church Lane).

Sightseeing: Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, 3-13 May Despite funding cuts and a biting recession, this fantastic festival is going from strength to strength. Now in its 13th year, this year's highlights include John Cale, Field Music and Alexei Sayle. All of the events take place in and around the Cathedral Quarter and are priced at under a tenner - what's not to like!

Key areas: Titanic Quarter. The Titanic sank one hundred years ago this year, so now is a good time to visit this historic part of the city. While you are in the area, check out the recently opened, �90million Titanic Belfast Visitor Centre as well as the dry dock where the ship was built and the massive Harland and Wolf cranes.

Day trips: Londonderry, Northern Ireland's second city, is around a 90-minute drive from Belfast and is a great destination for a day trip. It has a much more laid-back atmosphere than Belfast and the locals are very friendly. I recommend a stroll along the new Peace Bridge and a visit to the recently restored Guildhall in Guildhall Square.Take the M2 out of Belfast and follow signs to Londonderry.

Belfast News & Gossip

Network in Numbers

�44M - Asturias
Cost of the Centro Niemeyer arts centre in the northern Spanish city of Avil�s (20 minutes from Asturias Airport), which has temporarily shut its doors after just six months. Local politicians say the closure is due to accounting irregularities.

35 - Belfast
The number of years the Black Santa has been appearing in the city. A Belfast tradition, he's dressed in a black cloak and sits on the steps of St Anne's Cathedral in the city centre all Christmas week, collecting for charity in sun or snow.

4,200 - Dresden

The weight in kilograms of the world's largest Stollen. Unveiled at the Dresden Christmas market at the beginning of December, and made by a team of more than a hundred chefs, the festive German fruit cake measures 4.75m in length.

�64,000 - Nice
Amount allegedly scammed out of a Cote d'Azur casino by a French croupier and three Italians. The ploy involved invisible ink and infra-red contact lenses, and was only sprung when the group, who initially won �44,000, returned to bag another 20k.

Belfast Trivia

May: There are more pubs and restaurants per head of population in Belfast than there are in the whole of Finland.
April: Homesick emigrants have given the name Belfast to at least 11 other towns, mostly in North America and Australasia.
March: Belfast's Sirocco Works invented air conditioning, and the Royal Victoria Hospital was the first building in the world to be fitted with it.