Lagan Weir

Lonely Planet review

Across the street from the Custom House is Bigfish (1999), the most prominent of the many modern artworks that grace the riverbank between Clarendon Dock and Ormeau Bridge. The giant ceramic salmon - a symbol of the regeneration of the River Lagan - is covered with tiles depicting the history of Belfast. It sits beside Lagan Weir, the first stage of the Laganside Project, completed in 1994.

Years of neglect and industrial decline had turned the River Lagan, the original lifeblood of the city, into an open sewer flanked by smelly, unsightly mudflats. The weir, along with a programme of dredging and aeration, has improved the water quality so much that salmon, eels and sea trout migrate up the river once again. Take a boat tour to get up close.