Attractions and Events
Plan Your Itinerary
Belfast is an easy city to find your way around with streets steeped in history and great food and live music around every corner. So plan to stay a while and see as many of the famous sites and sounds as you can.
Music and Events
Change the color to match your brand or vision and more.
Maps and Tours
Change the color to match your brand or vision and more.
Buildings and Sights
Change the color to match your brand or vision and more.
Good Relations Week
Good Relations Week 2021 takes place from will run from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th September 2021.
This year we have re-introduced physical events, alongside an expanded virtual offering.
The theme is ‘Brighter Days Ahead’ as we shine a light on the peace building and cultural diversity efforts of young people and the challenges they are facing.
Our programme of inspiring community relations events will celebrate the work of people and communities in creating and sustaining good relations.
Huge thanks to all local groups and organisations who’ve helped us put together a dynamic programme of highly impactful events for you to enjoy
Whatever you do, don’t miss it!
Pictured with Peter Day from the Community Relations Council (front, left) and Clare Kearney (front, right) and Conor Valente (front, centre) from the Belfast Skate Collective, a local group that is providing a voice for the skating community, is local skaters Nicole Smallwood; Adam Patton, Caleb Court, James Ferris, Taylor Allen, Reuben Hughes, James Hannigan, Jake Murray and Matt McCopippin.
It s a Walk in the Park
A new ‘Civic Dollars’ mobile phone app, developed with support from Belfast City Council and the Department of Justice means that people can now earn rewards for the time they spend in their local parks and open spaces.
The Connswater Community Greenway will be the first area to go live in the free pilot scheme, followed by other parks across the city. Funded through the ‘Amazing Spaces, Smart Places’ project, the scheme is part of the council’s Smart Belfast programme, which is exploring how data and innovative technologies can create smart solutions for urban challenges and help to improve city services.
Lord Mayor Councillor Kate Nicholl said: “Exercising outside and connecting with nature really can help our mental wellbeing. So it’s fantastic that, thanks to this pilot scheme, people can now earn Civic Dollars for the time they spend in our parks and open spaces. They can enjoy rewards including Translink DayLink passes and tickets to visitor attractions or support their local community group by donating Civic Dollars to them.
“The Civic Dollars app also provides a promotional platform for local businesses, services and events - and the insights we’ll gather will help us to better understand how people use green spaces, improve park management, reduce vandalism, littering and anti-social behaviour and enhance the visitor experience.”
A number of Belfast-based community groups can benefit from donated Civic Dollars, exchanging them for various services such as business training, professional advice and activity centre sessions.
The ‘Amazing Spaces, Smart Places’ project is jointly funded by Belfast City Council and the Department of Justice via the Department for the Economy’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), which enables the public sector to tap into new ideas and technologies created by innovative local businesses. It also gives innovators a great opportunity to trial and test their prototype in a supportive real-world environment as part of their product development.
Justice Minister, Naomi Long said: “Effectively managing public open spaces is a key element in developing a safe community, where we respect the law and each other.
“The Civic Dollars pilot scheme holds the potential to deliver real benefits to local communities by using technology to improve the safe use of our parks and open spaces; something that is so important for both physical and mental health. Congratulations to all involved in this innovative pilot scheme and I look forward to hearing how it has progressed as more people use it in the coming weeks and months.”
Stephen McPeake, CEO of local company Moai Digital Ltd and creator of the Civic Dollars app, added:“It’s been fantastic to have this opportunity to apply a tech based solution to Belfast City Council’s challenge of better managing their parks and open spaces. And it’s wonderful to know that local people, businesses and community groups will all benefit as a result when people download and use the Civic Dollars app. Life these days is about so much more than just money – it’s about improving our communities, and our own health and wellbeing – Civic Dollars provides the perfect solution with a new social currency. It’s a win win all round!”
The CivicDollars app can be downloaded free from the App Store or Google Play Store. The pilot will run until the end of Summer 2021.
For more information about the project, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/amazingspaces
Keeping Belfast Clean
Windows to the World
Tourism Ireland gifts Game of Thrones® stained-glass windows to Belfast
With 70% of the production of Game of Thrones® taking place in Northern Ireland, the award winning series will be a key feature of Northern Ireland's tourism offering for years to come. The amazing scenery and the skills and services which Northern Ireland provided made the show the success it has become. It is fitting then that the windows which depict scenes from the series will have a permanent home in Belfast
Tourism Ireland has gifted its six ‘Glass of Thrones’ stained-glass windows to Maritime Belfast Trust (formerly Titanic Foundation Limited). The windows are now on permanent display in the Titanic Quarter and are part of Belfast’s Maritime Mile.
The beautifully crafted windows were installed around Belfast back in 2019 – to showcase and celebrate Northern Ireland as ‘Game of Thrones® Territory’ to millions of fans of the TV series around the world. The windows – which each depicted a key House from the show – marked a decade of filming and production in Northern Ireland and the installation was timed to coincide with the broadcast of the final season. The campaign – called ‘Glass of Thrones’ – was created by Tourism Ireland and Tourism NI, in partnership with HBO.
As travel from overseas to Northern Ireland begins to restart, the ‘Glass of Thrones’ installation will be an important new attraction for fans of the hit TV series visiting Belfast and Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland will take every opportunity to promote the ‘Glass of Thrones’ in Belfast’s Maritime Mile, as well as our Game of Thrones® filming locations, in its promotions around the world.
Shane Clarke, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Corporate Services, Policy & Northern Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce the handover of our ‘Glass of Thrones’ to Maritime Belfast Trust. It is really wonderful that these beautiful pieces of art are now permanently on display in Belfast, as part of the Maritime Mile – enhancing our ‘Game of Thrones’ offering and creating a new attraction for fans to come and visit. As overseas travel to Northern Ireland begins to restart, Tourism Ireland will continue to highlight Northern Ireland around the world, reminding people that Northern Ireland is ‘Game of Thrones® Territory’. Our aim is to spike their curiosity about the landscapes and locations featured in the series and inspire them to come and explore them for themselves.”
Kerrie Sweeney, CEO of Maritime Belfast Trust, said: “The six Glass of Thrones installations have become key features of the Maritime Mile, celebrating the role Titanic Studios played in the filming of Game of Thrones. We are delighted to work with all our partners, Belfast Harbour, Titanic Quarter Limited, Odyssey Trust and Department for Communities, to feature the landmark artworks on their respective sites, linking our key heritage assets together. Over the last year, we have had over 1,000 local people a day admiring the installations and we look forward to welcoming more visitors and local people to the area over the summer months and beyond.”
Julie McLaughlin, Experience Development Officer at Tourism NI, commented: “Game of Thrones has been transformative for tourism in Northern Ireland and our joint campaigns have captured the minds and hearts of fans around the world, showcasing Northern Ireland as a must see destination. The six Glass of Thrones were installed at tourist landmarks across Belfast and have proved a firm hit. The installations, now a permanent feature along Belfast’s Maritime Mile, give visitors another way to explore the Game of Thrones story in Northern Ireland and to delve deeper into its rich heritage.”
Tourism Ireland’s ‘Glass of Thrones’ campaign in 2019 was seen by more than 4 million GoT fans in ten markets – including Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. It delivered positive coverage for Northern Ireland worth over £30 million. The campaign was also rolled out by Tourism NI in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Earlier this week, the ‘Glass of Thrones’ campaign won a Bronze Lion award at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the outdoor category. The Cannes Lions awards are highly coveted and generally regarded as the Oscars of the advertising and marketing world.
Shane Clarke, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Corporate Services, Policy & Northern Ireland; Kerrie Sweeney, CEO, Maritime Belfast Trust; and Julie McLaughlin, Experience Development Officer, Tourism NI, at the Stark window in Belfast’s Maritime Mile.
Belfast delegation Visits China
A delegation from Belfast – including the Lord Mayor Deirdre Hargey and officials from Visit Belfast – are visiting Shenyang, a city in China’s northeast Liaoning Province which is twinned with Belfast, this week. They met local travel journalists and travel agents, at a showcase event organised by Tourism Ireland yesterday (13 September).
According to Tourism Ireland, we welcomed around 90,000 Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland in 2017, up +43% on 2016. Tourism Ireland is rolling out a busy programme of promotions in China this autumn, to continue to raise awareness of Northern Ireland and to position us well for 2019. Activity includes co-operative promotions with Hainan Airlines and Cathay Pacific to highlight ease of access to Ireland, as well as partnerships with key influencers and bloggers.
James Kenny, Tourism Ireland’s Manager China, said:
“This week’s visit by the Belfast delegation is an excellent opportunity to highlight Belfast and Northern Ireland to influential travel professionals and journalists in Shenyang.
“China is the largest outbound travel market in the world and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years. In 2017, we welcomed an estimated 90,000 Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland; the introduction of direct flights to Dublin from Beijing and Hong Kong this year is a major game-changer and offers a real opportunity for us to grow this emerging travel market over the coming years.”
Deputy Mayor of Shenyang (back, 10th left); Deirdre Hargey, Lord Mayor of Belfast (back, 11th right); Tim Losty, NI Bureau (back, centre); David Boyce (back, fifth left), Steffi Zhang (back, second left) and James Kenny (front, third left), all Tourism Ireland; Gerry Lennon (back, sixth left) and Rachel McGuickin (back, seventh left), both Visit Belfast; Laura Leonard, Belfast City Council (back, second right); Ms Zhang, Hainan Airlines (back, third left); and officials from Shenyang, at the Belfast showcase event in Shenyang organised by Tourism Ireland.