Two days is enough to see the heart of Belfast: its Victorian centre, the Titanic Quarter where the ship was built, the murals and peace walls of west Belfast, and the museums and gardens of the Queen’s Quarter. This plan keeps walking and bus rides short, and uses winter opening hours, which are the shortest of the year. Check the days carefully: City Hall tours, Crumlin Road Gaol and Titanic Belfast run every day, but St George’s Market trades only Friday to Sunday, HMS Caroline opens Friday to Sunday outside school holidays, and the Ulster Museum is closed on Mondays.
Before you start
Buses are run by Translink. Tap a contactless card on Metro buses and you will never pay more than £4 a day, or buy a £4 Metro and Glider day ticket on the mLink app. Most sights in the centre are walkable. Book Titanic Belfast online the day before: it is £2 cheaper than at the door, and you pick a 10-minute entry slot. Book Crumlin Road Gaol at least a day ahead for the online discount.
Day 1: City centre and the Titanic Quarter
Morning: City Hall
Start at Belfast City Hall in Donegall Square, the hub of the city. The building opens at 9am on weekdays and 10am at weekends, and it is free to walk in. Take the 45 to 50 minute guided tour (£6 for adults, children free, card only, bought at reception on the day): in winter it runs at 11am on weekdays and 12 noon at weekends. The tour goes up the Grand Staircase into the marble Rotunda, the Robing Room and, when they are free, the council’s function rooms. Before or after, the free-to-enter grounds have the Titanic Memorial Garden, and the visitor exhibition (£4) tells the city’s story from 1613. From 14 November to 22 December the grounds are taken over by the Christmas Market.
Late morning: St George’s Market or the Cathedral Quarter
If it is Friday, Saturday or Sunday, walk east to St George’s Market, the Victorian market hall, for lunch from the food stalls and live music at weekends. It closes at 2pm on Fridays and 3pm at weekends. On other days, head north instead to the Cathedral Quarter and St Anne’s Cathedral (£5 self-guided, Monday to Saturday from 10.30am), to see the Spire of Hope from inside, the Titanic Pall and the glittering baptistery mosaic, then find lunch in the surrounding lanes.
Afternoon: Titanic Belfast
Walk 25 to 30 minutes along the river, or take the Glider G2 to the Titanic halt, to Titanic Belfast. In winter it is open 9.50am to 5pm, with last admission at 3.20pm, so aim to arrive by 1.30pm. Allow two hours or more for the ten galleries, then cross to SS Nomadic, Titanic’s tender and the last White Star Line ship, which is included in your ticket. Before it gets dark, walk down the slipway where Titanic was built and find her Promenade Deck plan set in the ground.
If it is a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and you have energy left, HMS Caroline, the last surviving ship from the Battle of Jutland, is further up Queen’s Road, with the last winter tour at 3pm. On most days, it is better to save it for another trip.
Evening: the Cathedral Quarter or Great Victoria Street
Take the Glider back to the centre. For a classic Belfast pub, the Crown Liquor Saloon on Great Victoria Street is a Victorian gin palace cared for by the National Trust, with gas lamps and ten wooden snugs. The Grand Opera House is a few doors away. Alternatively, the Cathedral Quarter is the city’s best-known area for pubs, live music and restaurants.
Day 2: History, murals and museums
Morning: Crumlin Road Gaol
Start at Crumlin Road Gaol, 1.7km north of the centre, Northern Ireland’s only surviving Victorian prison, which held prisoners until 1996. It opens at 10.30am on weekdays and 10am at weekends. Metro 57 or 12B stop outside (on Sundays take the 12A to Carlisle Circus). The self-guided route through the tunnel, C-Wing and the condemned cell takes 60 to 90 minutes. Tickets are £17.50 online or £18.50 at the door. Wear warm clothes and flat shoes.
Late morning: the murals and the Peace Wall
From the Gaol, head into the Shankill and the Falls, the neighbouring areas of west Belfast divided by the Peace Wall at Cupar Way. You can walk it with the free West Belfast Mural Map from the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, taking in the Shankill’s murals and memorial park, the Peace Wall, the Bobby Sands mural and the International Wall on Divis Street. A guide makes the history far clearer. On Fridays, Coiste’s three-hour joint Falls and Shankill walking tour starts at 10am from Divis Tower, so if you are here on a Friday, swap the order and do the Gaol in the afternoon. These are residential streets with memorials, so take photographs with care.
Afternoon: Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens
Take a Metro 8 to Queen’s University for the Botanic Gardens. See the free Palm House (until 3.30pm) and the Tropical Ravine (until 4pm) first, because they close earlier than the museum. Then spend the rest of the afternoon in the free Ulster Museum (Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm). Its Troubles and Beyond gallery on level 0 is a good way to make sense of what you saw in the morning; above it are ancient Egypt, the Spanish Armada, dinosaurs and the art galleries.
Evening: the Queen’s Quarter
Stay in the Queen’s Quarter around the university for dinner, or head back into the centre.
If you would rather leave the city
Swap day 2 for the Giant’s Causeway, about 1.5 hours by road. By public transport, take the train to Coleraine and the Ulsterbus 172. In winter the Visitor Centre opens 10am to 4pm, so leave early. Walking to the stones is free; the Visitor Experience costs £15 for adults. Game of Thrones fans can instead take the official coach from the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre to the Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Banbridge, about 30 minutes away, from £40 including admission.
Where to stay
For a two-day visit, stay in the City Centre or the Cathedral Quarter, so everything on day one is on foot and the airport buses leave from Grand Central Station. The Titanic Quarter suits a waterfront stay, and the Queen’s Quarter is quieter and handy for day two.