Updated September 2025--Have you considered spending 24 hours in Belfast?
This post contain affiliate links and I may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
For years, Northern Ireland’s capital city was a no-go for tourists, but with the signing of the peace treaty on April 10, 1998, otherwise known as The Good Friday Agreement, that slowly began to change.
For those not familiar with this part of Ireland, let me give you a brief synopsis.
The province, also called Ulster, is made up of six counties that are technically part of the United Kingdom.
Those counties include Antrim, Armagh, Derry (often referred to as Londonderry by the British), Down, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.
They were partitioned after the rest of Ireland to the south broke off from the U.K. in 1921 and formed its own country, the Republic of Ireland. The agreement was made to keep the six counties of Northern Ireland (with its Protestant majority at the time) within British control.
It took some time of course for tourists to accept the fact that The Troubles, Northern Ireland’s 40-year conflict between its Catholic and Loyalist communities, had come to an end.
The peace process certainly changed people’s perception of the region, as well as bringing much-needed economic stimulus to Northern Ireland as well.
I can tell you that it is safe to travel all across Northern Ireland today.
The region is truly magnificent, especially along its coastline.
But there is a lot to see in its cities, too, including Belfast, once the industrial hub of the island of Ireland.
You’ll see plenty of evidence of that when you spend 24 hours in Belfast, similar to a trip I took in 2019.
Getting There
Let me first say that you do not need to show your passport to enter Northern Ireland. The border between the north and the south of Ireland has been seamless for years.
However, if you do not hold a British or Irish passport, you will need to apply for the ETA, a new travel authorization that the UK government is now requiring from those entering the country, which includes Northern Ireland.
Please do not apply for this on third-party sites, which are overcharging people. Instead, use the official UK Home Office website or its mobile app.
If you’re coming from Dublin, Belfast is super easy to get to. I traveled by rental car from Sligo, but the roads are decent, and it only took about 2 ½ hours to get there.
From Dublin, though, you don’t really need a car.
In fact, you might be better off taking public transportation.
The train service from Dublin to Belfast is probably the most efficient way of getting there. Operated by Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Rail) and NI Railways, the train takes an average of 2 hours and 10 minutes.
There are nine trains leaving from Dublin’s Connolly Station every two hours or so and arriving at Belfast’s Grand Central Station.
The round-trip fare is approximately €35; a first-class ticket is more expensive but in my opinion, there’s not much difference so to save money, I’d purchase the “flexible” ticket.
There are a number of options available if you want to get to Belfast by bus.
Bus Eireann operates a bus service from Dublin’s Busaras Station and Dublin Airport to the Europa Bus Station in Belfast. Buses leave every hour or so.
The round-trip fare is approximately €26.50.
Dublin Coach also operates a service between both cities, from Dublin’s city center to Belfast’s Glengall Street. An adult round-trip fare is £20.
Aircoach fares from Dublin to Belfast are €20 from Dublin City Center to Belfast and €25 from Dublin Airport to Belfast.
Dublin Express also operates a service from both the city center and Dublin Airport to Belfast.
Upon our arrival in Belfast, we checked into the Belfast Hilton Hotel located on Lanyon Place, which is very close to the Belfast Waterfront Hall and a few minutes from the city center.
Fares for a one-night stay are approximately $230 per night, but that is also dependent on the season.
After unpacking, we took a short walk to the Titanic Quarter, where the Titanic Belfast museum is located.
The area is a hub of activity and is one of the world’s largest urban-waterfront regeneration projects in Europe.
It spans over 185 acres and includes the museum and a mix of residential and commercial space. It’s also where many movies have been filmed in recent years, including the HBO hit series, “Game of Thrones.”
The Paint Hall studio facility is the site where the component parts of the Titanic were painted.
The massive space is climate-controlled and now serves as a fully functioning studio.
This is where the children’s fantasy sci-fi adventure City of Ember was made, turning the studios into an underground city.
There is so much to see at Titanic Belfast that it is almost impossible to cover it all in this article. The museum is a beautiful tribute to the building of the Titanic and to Belfast itself.
It is storytelling at its best, with nine interactive/interpretative galleries to lead the visitor from one section to another.
Visit the Game of Thrones Studio Tour (excursion from Dublin)
Interactive Galleries Tell the Story of Titanic
Working your way up from the first floor, you’ll learn first about Belfast at the beginning of the 20th century.
This focuses on the city’s most important industries, including shipbuilding, linen, ropemaking, and whiskey distilling.
The Shipyard section includes a lovely ride on a mini-car up and around a replica of the ship’s rudder, as you listen to and watch the story of the Titanic’s creation.
The Launch portrays scenes from the day the ship launched on May 31, 1911.
While there was great joy at the completion of such a monumental feat, it’s easy to feel a tinge of sadness, knowing what eventually happened to the innocent people on board.
Other exhibitions include the Fit-Out, which includes a large-scale model of Titanic to illustrate how the ship appeared to the passengers and the crew, including its three classes of cabins.
The ship’s disastrous maiden voyage is depicted in the gallery called The Maiden Voyage.
This includes an account of its journey from Belfast to Southampton in England and from there to pick up passengers in Cherbourg, France, and finally to Cobh, where the last passengers boarded.
The sixth gallery portrays the sinking of the ship, with the sound of the Morse code in the background.
It’s here that the Titanic story really unfolds, and you feel what the ship’s passengers and crew must have felt during those frantic hours.
We spent three hours in the museum, but we could have spent a lot more time.
If you’ve got the time, check out the other attractions in the Titanic Quarter, which is part of the city’s Maritime Mile.
They include the SS Nomadic, the last remaining vessel of the White Star line, and the HMS Caroline, a First World War ship, with interactive features such as the Drill Hall, which brings the famous Battle of Jutland to life with an impressive, cinema-style experience, “The Signal School,” where you will learn to crack codes, signal ships and fire torpedoes just like the ship’s original crew, and a virtual Access Suite, where you can learn more about HMS Caroline’s history and her restoration.
If you’re curious about Belfast’s whiskey making tradition, you should definitely visit Titanic Distillers, the city’s first working distillery in 90 years.
The distillery is located in the old Thompson Dock Pump House, which at one time could drain a staggering 21 million gallons of water in just over 90 minutes out of Titanic’s dry dock.
The 130-year-old Great Light is one of the largest lighthouse optics of its kind ever built, weighing 10 tons, and if you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’ll be fascinating by the Glass of Thrones trail, a series of six stained-glass panels depicting several scenes from the show.
Don’t miss Soundyard, a playful installation that mimics the sounds of Belfast’s shipyards.
Read More: 10 Day Trips from Belfast You Won’t Want to Miss
Belfast’s Classic Victorian Pub
Feeling hungry after our museum visit during our 24 hours in Belfast, we decided to grab a bite to eat as well as a beer at the Crown Liquor Saloon, which is housed in a building owned by the National Trust.
During the Troubles, the bar was bombed several times by the IRA, giving it the reputation of being the most bombed pub in Europe.
Today, it has been restored to its original glory, thanks to the renovation efforts of the National Trust.
The floor’s original mosaic tiles are still there, as well as the red granite-topped bar, the decorative ceiling, and the gas lamps that hang from it.
The pub also has 10 snugs used in the past by patrons who didn’t want to be seen by the public.
They are each equipped with gun metal plates for striking matches, along with an antique bell system that was used for communicating with the bar staff.
It is situated across the street from the Europa Hotel, which was bombed over 30 times.
Black Taxi Tour Tells Story of the Real Belfast
We were up early the next morning to take our pre-arranged tour of West Belfast.
We chose Taxi Tours Belfast to take us on our journey through the Catholic and Protestant strongholds of the city.
Our driver, who was Catholic, stopped first at a wall that was covered in graffiti.
In this section of the city, you’ll see lots of murals, both to heroes of the Catholic side of the conflict (like Bobby Sands, a member of the Irish Republican Army who died while on hunger strike in the Maze Prison), and also pictures of the late Queen Elizabeth II on buildings in the Shankill Road section.
That’s also where you’ll also see hundreds of British flags flying from both residential and commercial properties.
Both neighborhoods are literally a few blocks away from each other. The entrance to them is accessed through a steel gate, which is open during the day and closed at night.
Our driver took us to Bombay Street, where a Loyalist gang burned the homes of 1,500 Catholics in 1969.
The victims’ photos are part of a mural in this neighborhood, along with a separate memorial.
If you look carefully, you’ll see that homes in both sections are different.
The houses in the Protestant section are set back from the road, while homes in the Catholic neighborhood are closer together and very near to one of more than 50 peace walls all across Belfast.
Behind the houses, you can still see the grating that protected them from being destroyed by firebombs during the conflict.
The most prominent peace line stretches for about half a mile and contains the signatures of President Bill Clinton, the late South African President Nelson Mandela, and others.
No matter what tour company you choose or even if you choose to do it on your own steam by taking a regular cab there or a bus (take the 10A or the 10H from Fountainville Avenue in the Queen’s Quarter), you’re sure to get a unique behind-the-scenes look into the real Belfast.
Exploring Belfast’s Rich Architecture
Belfast is the perfect place to view some interesting architecture. Most of it is in the Victorian style, but there are some exceptions.
One of them is Belfast City Hall, which was built in the Baroque Revival style.
Opened to the public in 1906 (four years after Queen Victoria’s death), it is in many ways similar to the interior design of the Titanic.
The skilled workers who created the finish for the ship’s lounges and suites, including its carved paneling, put the same finishing touches to this building.
Another unique feature is its collection of stained-glass windows. Over the years, the windows have been unveiled to mark historic events or to celebrate the contributions of various groups and individuals.
Some of them include the Belfast Women’s Window, which is a tribute to the city’s linen industry workers.
Others are tributes to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), Belfast’s former police force; the Famine Window; and the Lunette Window, honoring the royal coat of arms, among others.
The hall also includes a ground-floor visitor exhibition, which can be viewed in 16 separate rooms. Both the exhibition and the guided tour of the hall are free.
Don’t forget to stop at the Titanic Memorial Gardens outside of City Hall, which names all 1,512 victims of the disaster.
Belfast City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Free guided tours are also available at these times.
Belfast’s and Northern Ireland’s Only Victorian Theater
The Grand Opera House is another perfect example of the city’s rich Victorian architecture and something you shouldn’t miss during your 24 hours in Belfast.
It is, in fact, the only Victorian theater in Northern Ireland. Constructed in 1895, it, too, was severely damaged by the IRA during the early 1990s.
It has thankfully been renovated and boasts many fine features, including carved elephant heads that frame the auditorium’s private boxes.
The Opera House hosts performances of all kinds, including operas, musicals, plays, ballets, dance, and family shows, as well as pantomimes.
A Theatre Tour Experience is offered at the weekends, where you’ll hear about the venue’s colorful past and its current endeavors.
Standard tickets for adults cost £12.50 and £9 for children.
Another Victorian hallmark is St. George’s Market, built in three phases between 1890 and 1896.
The market, which is the last surviving Victorian covered market in the city, is open at the weekends only from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on a Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a Sunday.
Stop by for a coffee to soak in the atmosphere of this storied place.
Other attractions that we did not visit but I would encourage you to check out if you have more time than us include the following:
The Crumlin Road Gaol
If you’re interested in dark tourism attractions the Crumlin Road Gaol, locally known as “The Crum” is a must.
Built during the Victorian era, Crumlin Road Gaol was known as Europe’s Alcatraz.
It was constructed as a replacement for the County Gaol on Antrim Street in Carrickfergus, and accommodated around 550 prisoners.
The self-guided Crumlin Road Gaol Experience self-guided tour recounts the history of the jail, the only prison in Northern Ireland that housed women, men, and children, including Republican and Loyalist prisoners during The Troubles.
Notable prisoners who were held at Crumlin Road Gaol include the late President of Ireland, Eamonn De Valera; the late Martin McGuinness, who served as Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister and was also an IRA commander during the height of the Northern Ireland conflict; the late hunger striker Bobby Sands; Loyalist Michael Stone, as well as the late Ian Paisley, the former DUP leader for Northern Ireland.
There is a guided Crumlin Road Gaol Experience but it is not available everyday since availability is limited.
If you’d like to combine a Black Taxi Tour with the self-guided Crumlin Road Gaol Experience, that is absolutely doable.
Take the City Sightseeing Belfast Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
Belfast Castle
If you want to get out of the city center, Belfast Castle is a good attraction to visit.
In addition to the castle itself, the views here are worth the journey (about a 12-minute drive from Crumlin Road Gaol).
Perched approximately 400 feet above sea level on the slopes of Cave Hill Country Park, this area of Belfast boasts some of the best views of the city, including Belfast Lough.
There are no formal tours of the castle, although you can see some of the public rooms on the ground and first floors.
Enjoy its eco trails, beautiful gardens and walking and orienteering trails.
The area is home to lots of wildlife, including long-eared owls and sparrow hawks.
Places to Eat and Stay During Your 24 Hours in Belfast
Some of the best places to eat in Belfast include the Muddlers Club, a cool industrial-style deco eatery located in the historic Cathedral Quarter section of the city.
It is named after a society founded by the Irish revolutionary, Wolf Tone, whose members met in this very spot during the 1790s.
The restaurant features dishes that are rich in fresh local ingredients.
You can try the five-course tasting menu for £100. Add an extra £70 for wine pairing. Reservations are required. A vegetarian/vegan menu is also available.
Other popular Belfast eateries include the following: The Bar + Block Steakhouse; Deanes (the chain includes Meatlocker, mrDeanes and Deanes at Queens, all in Belfast); Ginger Bistro; Home Restaurant Belfast, and Mourne Seafood.
While there are plenty of hotels in Belfast, here are some of my suggestions for more moderately-priced accommodation during your 24 hours in the city.
The Malmaison Hotel is a boutique hotel located in Victoria Square.
Its décor is inspired by the Titanic. It is centrally located and pretty much close to everything, including shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and more.
Its nightly rates are around $205 per night for a “Club Double.”
Named “Best Budget Hotel in Ireland” in 2021, the conveniently located Ibis Hotel is perfect for budget travelers.
The hotel, part of a French brand of hotels popular in continental Europe, has 124 rooms, some with double beds and others with twin beds.
The hotel is close to some of the city’s most popular attractions including Titanic Belfast, The Cathedral Quarter, The Grand Opera House, and Belfast City Hall.
Rooms at this hotel can be as cheap as $97 per night or as expensive as $201 per night depending on the type of room you book and the time of year. Breakfast is typically not included at the Ibis.
You’ll find more information on some of my other favorite hotels in Belfast in this blog post.
Walking Tours of Belfast
There are plenty of opportunities to walk around Belfast and learn about its history and culture, thanks to some excellent local guides. Here are my picks:
Belfast Music Walking Tour
Hear about Belfast’s rich musical heritage on a walking tour that includes stops at the city’s iconic Ulster Hall, mentioned above, traditional bars and clubs, historic buildings, open air performances spaces and more. The tour also includes a stop at the Oh Yeah Music Centre in the Cathedral Quarter, where you can browse the center’s music exhibition featuring memorabilia from Northern Irish-born musicians such as Van Morrison, Stiff Little Fingers, and Snow Patrol.
Conflicting Stories Walking Tour
Discover the real story behind The Troubles, something this tour guide says you won’t find in any history book. Listen to first-hand accounts from both sides of the conflict shared by people who were intimately involved. Explore the world-famous murals that depict the social, political and cultural history of the city, and much more. Guides include former political prisoners from both the Republican and Loyalist sides.
A History of Terror: Belfast City Centre Walking Tour
Learn how The Troubles began through stories of the people who lived through it, as well as their place in the conflict and the effect the attacks and incidents had on the city and its people. The tour is conducted from an entirely neutral, civilian perspective. It also talks about how far Belfast has progressed since the Good Friday Peace Agreement was signed in 1998.
Belfast Troubles: Walls and Bridges
Gain a more comprehensive understanding of what life was like in Belfast during The Troubles on this walking tour that explores the city’s punk rock scene, global links, the context of the conflict, and much more.
Best of Belfast Walking Tour
Explore Belfast by walking through the heart of the city where your guide will introduce you to its hidden history, street art, architecture, and fascinating stories of its natives, past and present. You’ll explore its famous pubs and restaurants too.
If Buildings Could Talk Tour
Take a walking tour through the city center and hear stories of interesting, unusual and entertaining events centered around various buildings in Belfast.
Eclectic Belfast City Center Walking Tour/Experience
Learn about the history, architecture and people of Northern Ireland on this eclectic tour. Starting from City Hall and ending in the Cathedral Quarter, you will discover some of Belfast’s iconic buildings along the way as well as hearing colorful, historical stories that shaped this region. Famous people who were born in Belfast will also be discussed.
Falls Road Troubles Tour
On this walking tour, learn about the Falls Road and Divis Street area of West Belfast, which was front and center to the beginning and the end of The Troubles from 1969 through 1994. You will explore these long-forgotten streets that were destroyed in 1969 and gain an understanding of how these events shaped almost three decades of conflict.
Belfast Pub Crawl
This pub crawl tour of Belfast includes 5 pubs, where you’ll experience live music and dance. Tours provide a light history of the city, with 30-45 minutes in each pub. Pub crawl ends at 11:30 p.m. On Saturdays only.
Belfast Trouble, Murals Street Art and Peace Wall Walking Tour
Learn about Belfast’s street art culture in a city that is known for its numerous political murals inspired by The Troubles. On this tour, you will see many of its most significant murals as well as visiting a project called Re-imagining, which helps local communities create murals of their own.
Belfast Music and Street Art: Small Group Guided Experience
On this intimate small-group tour, you’ll get to break up the time by stopping off at recommended local pubs to watch live music and soak up the atmosphere. In addition, the tour is a great way to discover the city’s street art by both local and international artists.
Best of Belfast Tour: Experience The Giant Spirit of Our City
Beginning at the iconic Big Fish on the city’s Maritime Mile, this tour retells the store of shipbuilding, rebellion and a cast of unforgettable characters that are unique to Belfast. Explore the hidden alleys of The Entries (and their scandalous past), as well as encountering stories of fierce resilience, from St. Anne’s Cathedral to the legacy of Frederick Douglass and Mary Ann McCracken. Great for history buffs.
Is spending 24 hours in Belfast something you’re planning when get to the island of Ireland? If so, let me know in the comments below.
