
The city center is the premier shopping zone in the city.

Leaning four feet off the perpendicular, it gave rise to the quip: “Albert Clock has both the time and the inclination.” At 43 meters tall (141ft), it’s by no means a skyscraping behemoth, though it has notably succumbed to Belfast’s marshy foundations. Nearby Custom House Square is another popular music and concert venue throughout the year and is worth a visit to get a good view of the sandstone Albert Memorial Clock. To experience the thriving arts scene, check out what’s on at the Black Box for music and stand-up comedy, or the Modern Arts Center, better known as the “MAC”, for art exhibitions and experimental theater. The arts are central to the Cathedral Quarter too, best epitomized by the Umbrella Passage mural, portraying famous local faces crowded around a table under a canopy of umbrellas. If you want to elevate your dinner further, reserve a tasting menu at the Muddlers Club, one of only three restaurants in the city to hold a Michelin star. The Harp Bar, the John Hewitt, and the National are all good options for pints of stout, live music and exuberant atmospheres.įor a hearty repast to accompany your beverages, the Dirty Onion and Yardbird is renowned for its rotisserie chicken and racks of ribs, while the Thirsty Goat has a menu of Belfast classics, including Irish stew, fish suppers, and bangers and mash. If you’re lucky enough to find a table in the Duke of York, it’s a classic Northern Irish watering hole, with a 200-year history, lively local clientele, and a riot of memorabilia from the nine counties of Ulster clinging to the walls. Centered around a cobblestone pedestrian street, whose walls are perforated with charming pubs and speakeasies, the quarter comes alive after dark. The architecture is reason enough to make your way to the Cathedral Quarter, but it’s more likely the bars will make you want to stay.

Rather, in 2007, the glinting white Spire of Hope was added on top of the cathedral as a symbol of sociopolitical progress in post-Troubles Belfast. Like many of the buildings near central Belfast, the cathedral was built on the foundations of a silty river basin, known as “sleech”, which meant a traditional bell tower was deemed too heavy for the structure.

The Cathedral Quarter, on the fringes of Belfast city center, takes its name from St Anne’s Cathedral, an early 20th-century Romanesque Revival edifice characterized by its rounded arches and turrets. Cathedral Quarter: best neighborhood for nightlife and the arts Immerse yourself in the best experiences the world has to offer with our email newsletter delivered weekly into your inbox.
