ABOUT BELFAST
Belfast is the capital city for Northern Ireland (Tyrone,
Derry, Fermanagh, Armagh, Antrim and Down). Since the Belfast Agreement
was signed in 1998 paramilitary violence has largely ceased and the city
has enjoyed unparalled growth over that period.
Belfast is part of the UK and uses Sterling. Border towns i.e. Newry/Derry
etc will accept both Sterling and Euro.
UK and Irish citizens can travel freely without a passport. Northern Ireland
is a labryinth of roads, small lanes, B roads all relatively traffic free.
The ratio of cars to population is less than that of the UK leaving most
of the road network traffic free for the majority of the day.
Politics, Belfast and Northern Ireland go hand in hand, it's better understood than ignored, and a small knowledge of what has happened over the past 35 odd years may put a lot of the place into some context for you. As you travel around Belfast/NI you'll see 'peace lines', murals, flags, grafitti etc. A small knowledge of it's history will help explain the significance of it all and probably make your trip more worth while.
To get up to speed on Northern Politics visit the links below.
Click MAP top right for more details.
LINKS
GETTING AROUND
Belfast's compact city centre curls around the undulating west bank of the River Lagan. Once a foul stinking river, the Lagan Weir now keeps the water at a constant level and fish, as well as modern apartments, have returned to the river in recent years.
Most points of interest are within easy walking distance of each other, and City Hall on Donegall Square is a good central landmark to use if you lose your bearings. From City Hall, walk north along Donegall Place and Royal Ave for the shops; go northeast to reach the recently redeveloped Cathedral Quarter and pedestrianised alleyways of the pub-filled Entries; keep heading northeast a little for the Albert Memorial Clocktower, backdropped by Samson and Goliath, the Harland & Wolff cranes on the east bank of the Lagan; go south down Dublin Rd for the Golden Mile entertainment area, Queen's University, Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens; and to the east, follow Chichester St for the Waterfront Hall and Hilton Hotel. The Westlink Motorway cuts off the centre from West Belfast, home to (Catholic) Falls Rd and (Protestant) Shankill Rd.
The further reaches of the city can be explored by bike on the National Cycle Network or on the main roads. If you want to ditch the bike, use Citybus, Black Taxi or the open top Tour Buses to get a whistle stop tour of the city
BELFAST – SOME FACTS
Average Temperature – Summer 15°
Average rainfall – Feb-Jun 60mm
Sunset – summer months 11 pm
Largest Cultural Event – Queen's Festival, second only to Edinburgh in size.
Currency – UK Sterling, banks can still issue their own notes, proves difficult when returning to UK with northern irish currency, some shops refuse to accept it. Exchage notes for Bank of England variety before leaving.
Population – 280 000
Government – devolved, currently suspended due to disagreement between Nationalist and Unionist Members of The Assembly.
Pub Opening hours – 11am – 1.00am
Main political parties – UUP, SDLP, DUP Sinn Fein, PUP
County – Belfast is split between Counties Down and Antrim.
Main River — Lagan
Area – 44 sq mi
Average house price – £100 000
Leaders – Mary McAleese curent president of Ireland, Chaim Herzog Israel’s first president
Belfast Inventions – air conditioning, pneumatic tyres, the tractor, aircraft ejector seat, immersion heaters, portable defibrillator, Kelvin scale
Famous – Van Morrison, George Best, Alec Higgins, Kenneth Brannagh, Liam Nesson, James Galway, Lord Kelvin . . .