Things to do in Northern Ireland
-
A
Rotterdam
The Rotterdam is a purist’s pub, unrepentantly old-fashioned and wonderfully atmospheric, with stone floors, an open fire, low ceilings and a perfectly poured pint of Guinness. It’s famed for the quality of its live-music sessions – jazz, folk, rock or blues plays most nights, and in summer the tables, and the gigs, spill outdoors. Get here before the bulldozers do – the Rott’s long-term future is far from certain.
reviewed
-
B
Dollakis
As well as serving lunch (noon to 4pm), cakes and snacks through the day, this chic little cafe transforms into a Greek-Mediterranean restaurant in the evening. The evening menu includes things such as grilled sea bream stuffed with lemon and herbs, chicken souvlaki and vegetarian moussaka.
reviewed
-
C
Northern Whig
A stylish, modern bar set in an elegant Georgian printing works, the Northern Whig's airy interior is dominated by three huge Socialist-Realist statues rescued from Prague in the early 1990s. Its relaxing sofas and armchairs encourage serious afternoon loafing, though the pace hots up considerably after 5pm on Friday and Saturday when the stag- and hen-party crowd starts knocking back the vodka tonics and alcopops.
reviewed
-
D
Kremlin
Gay-owned and operated, the Soviet kitsch–themed Kremlin is the heart and soul of Northern Ireland's gay scene. A statue of Lenin guides you into Tsar, the pre-club bar, from where the Long Bar leads into the main clubbing zone, Red Square. There's something going on seven nights a week – Revolution (admission £5 to £7) on Saturdays is the flagship event, with DJs mixing up dance, house, pop and commercial till 3am.
reviewed
-
E
Eglantine
The ‘Eg’ is a local institution, and widely reckoned to be the best of Belfast’s student pubs. It serves good beer and good food, and there are DJs spinning most nights. Wicked Wednesday pulls in the crowds with an electric rodeo bull, bouncy boxing, sumo-wrestler suits and other fun; Tuesday is the big music and entertainment quiz night. Expect to see a few stag and hen parties stagger through at weekends.
reviewed
-
Hillsborough Castle
The town's main attraction is this rambling, two-storey late-Georgian mansion built in 1797 for Wills Hill, the first Marquess of Downshire, and extensively remodelled in the 1830s and '40s. The guided tour takes in the state drawing room and dining rooms, and the Lady Grey Room where UK prime minister Tony Blair and US president George W Bush had talks on Iraq in 2003.
reviewed
-
F
Ormeau Baths Gallery
Housed in a converted 19th-century public bathhouse, the Ormeau Baths Gallery is Northern Ireland's principal exhibition space for contemporary visual art. The gallery stages changing exhibitions of work by Irish and international artists, and has hosted controversial showings of works by Gilbert and George, and Jake and Dinos Chapman. The gallery is a few blocks south of Donegall Sq.
reviewed
-
Exploris
Next to the tourist office is this outstanding state-of-the-art aquarium, with displays of marine life from Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea. Touch tanks allow visitors to stroke and hold rays, starfish, sea anemones and other sea creatures. Exploris also has a seal sanctuary, where orphaned, sick and injured seals are nursed back to health before being released into the wild.
reviewed
-
Jeffers by the Marina
This chic little cafe-restaurant is immediately likeable, with its laid-back jazzy tunes, cool art, granite table tops and view of the marina. It serves coffee, cakes and snacks all day and also has a fresh and interesting dinner menu that features local organic produce – from Strangford Lough oysters to the signature Irish beef, slow cooked for five hours.
reviewed
-
G
Harty Room
Queen's University's School of Music (www.music.qub.ac.uk) stages free lunch-time recitals on Thursday and regular evening concerts in the beautiful, hammer beam-roofed Harty Room, and at the Sonic Arts Research Centre (Cloreen Park), with occasional performances in the larger Sir William Whitla Hall (University Rd). You can download a programme from the website - click on the Music at Queen's link.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Erne Tours
Operates 1¾-hour cruises on Lower Lough Erne aboard the 56-seat waterbus MV Kestrel, calling at Devenish Island along the way. It departs from the Round 'O' Quay, just west of the town centre on the A46 to Belleek. There are also Saturday evening cruises that include a three-course dinner at the Killyhevlin Hotel, departing from the hotel jetty.
reviewed
-
H
Speranza 2
A local institution - it's been around for more than 20 years - the recently revamped Speranza is a big, buzzing Italian restaurant that complements traditional pizzas and pastas with more sophisticated dishes. It's family friendly, with a kids' menu, high-chairs, colouring books and crayons. They only take reservations for groups of six or more; otherwise, pop in and wait in the bar for a table.
reviewed
-
Table Bistro
This stylish cafe-bistro is decked out in identikit Northern Ireland restaurant decor of blonde wood with leather chairs in shades of chocolate and cream. It dishes up big breakfasts (till 11.30am), light lunches (gourmet sandwiches, Caesar salad, pasta carbonara) and delicious dinners from a menu that ranges from steak and chips to prawn and shellfish tagliatelle with cream and white wine sauce.
reviewed
-
Carrickfergus Castle
The central keep of Ireland's first and finest Norman fortress was built by John de Courcy soon after his 1177 invasion of Ulster. The massive walls of the outer ward were completed in 1242, while the red-brick gun ports were added in the 16th century. The keep houses a museum and the site is dotted with life-size figures illustrating the castle's history.
The castle overlooks the harbour where William of Orange landed on 14 June 1690, on his way to the Battle of the Boyne; a blue plaque on the old harbour wall marks the site where he stepped ashore, and a bronze statue of the man himself stands on the shore nearby.
reviewed
-
I
Spaniard
Forget 'style': this narrow, crowded bar, which looks as if it's been squeezed into someone's flat, has more atmosphere in one battered sofa than most 'style bars' have in their shiny entirety. Friendly staff, good beer, an eclectic crowd and cool tunes played at a volume that still allows you to talk: bliss.
reviewed
-
Copper
A stalwart of Warrenpoint’s fine-dining scene, Copper is an elegant, white-linen-tablecloth kind of restaurant that combines food sourced from local farms and fish bought from the quayside at Kilkeel with Mediterranean and Asian flavours. There’s a separate vegetarian menu (mains £12.50) with inventive dishes such as sweet-potato pancake with shiitake mushrooms, scallions and black bean sauce.
reviewed
-
J
Titanic Tours
A two-hour luxury tour led by the great- granddaughter of one of the Titanic's crew, visiting various Titanic-related sites, for groups of two to five people; includes pick-up and drop-off at your accommodation.
reviewed
-
K
Conway Mill
Conway Mill is a restored 19th-century flax mill that now houses around 20 artists' studios, an exhibition on the mill's history, an education centre and work spaces for local enterprises. It also houses the Irish Republican History Museum, a collection of artefacts, newspaper articles, photos and archives relating to the Republican struggle from 1798 to the Troubles.
reviewed
-
Scoffs Wine Bar & Restaurant
This busy restaurant has a modern vibe with shades of chocolate-brown and burgundy, dark wood and dim candlelight, and an international menu that includes braised lamb shank with creamy mash and redcurrant and rosemary gravy, and spicy vegetable and sunflower seed tortillas with tomato sauce and créme fraiche. The downstairs wine bar offers lighter meals. Three-course Sunday lunch costs £18.
reviewed
-
L
Clarendon Dock
North of the Harbour Commissioner's Office is the restored Clarendon Dock. Leading off it are the dry docks where Belfast's shipbuilding industry was born – No 1 Dry Dock (1796–1800) is Ireland's oldest and remained in use until the 1960s; No 2 (1826) is still used occasionally. Between the two sits the pretty little Clarendon Building, now home to the offices of the Laganside Corporation.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
M
Milltown Cemetery
The 1981 hunger strikers are buried at Milltown Cemetery. You'll see lots of green Hs attached to lamp posts (in memory of the H-blocks at the Maze prison where the hunger strikers were incarcerated); at Hugo St, opposite the City Cemetery, there's a large mural entitled 'St James's Support the Hunger Strikers'.
There's a bus stop across the road from the Milltown Cemetery entrance.
reviewed
-
N
Palace Stables Heritage Centre
The Primate's Palace, overlooking the ruins of a 13th-century Franciscan friary on the southern edge of town, was built for Archbishop Robinson when he was appointed primate of Ireland in 1769. The bishop's stables are now home to the Palace Stables Heritage Centre, a set of tableaux staffed by costumed guides illustrating how the archbishop's guests were entertained in the 18th century.
reviewed
-
O
Robinson & Cleaver Building
On the north side of square is the 1888 Robinson & Cleaver Building, once the Royal Irish Linen Warehouse and later home to Belfast's finest department store (now occupied by Marks & Spencer). There are 50 busts adorning the façade, representing patrons of the Royal Irish Linen company - look out for Queen Victoria and the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, both former customers.
reviewed
-
P
Cellar Restaurant
This cosy little basement restaurant with intimate wooden booths and a big fireplace is the place to sample Ulster produce – locally caught crab claws grilled with garlic butter, and Carrick-a-Rede salmon are both on the menu, along with Irish beef and lamb, and lobster from Rathlin Island. There are also good vegetarian dishes such as baked peppers stuffed with mushroom and shallot.
reviewed
-
Q
Garrick Bar
Established in 1870 but recently refurbished, the Garrick hangs on to a traditional atmosphere with acres of dark wood panelling, tiled floors, a pillared bar and old brass oil lamps. There are snug booths with buttoned leather benches, and a real coal fire in each room. Traditional music sessions in the front bar at 9.30pm on Wednesday, 5pm Friday and 4pm Sunday.
reviewed