City Guide - Belfast

BELFAST is the capital of Northern Ireland and its largest city by some way. More than a third of the province's population live within the Belfast conurbation and, consequently, there's a pace and bustle about the place that you'll find almost nowhere else in Northern Ireland. In appearance it closely resembles Liverpool,

Glasgow or any other industrial port across the water, and, similarly, its largely defunct docklands - in which, famously, the Titanic was built - are undergoing massive redevelopment. Though the city centre is still characterized by numerous elegant Victorian buildings, there's been an enormous transformation here, too, and the streets leading northwards from the hub of Belfast life, Donegall Square , are packed with chain stores and new shopping precincts. Yet it is not simply the city's appearance that is changing. Nowhere is the optimism engendered by the peace process more obvious than Belfast at night. Most evenings, the city's bars, clubs and restaurants, especially around the Golden Mile , are crammed to overflowing and new venues seem to spring up almost daily. It's almost as though a generation deprived of nightlife by the Troubles has decided to stage a permanent party while it has the chance. Belfast is thriving culturally too: as the tension diminishes, visiting artistes and performers are returning in large numbers and there's been a significant resurgence of homegrown talent. Music, theatre and the visual arts are all flourishing and traditional Irish culture is the subject of rapid rediscovery.

Belfast is a place for getting out and about, and has plenty to experience. This need not take more than a couple of days in the city itself, although Belfast is a good base from which to visit virtually anywhere else in the North. In the centre, concentrate on the glories that the industrial revolution brought: grandiose architecture and magnificent Victorian pubs . To the south are the lively and influential Queen's University and the extensive collections of the Ulster Museum , set in the grounds of the Botanic Gardens . A climb up Cave Hill , to the north, rewards you with marvellous views of the city spread out around the curve of the natural harbour, Belfast Lough . Security measures in the city have been considerably relaxed and many of the barriers and controls have been removed. However, the iron blockade known as the Peace Line still bisects the Catholic and Protestant communities of West Belfast , a grim physical reminder of the city's and country's sectarian divisions.

As always in Ireland, the pubs are the heart of the city. The liveliest are on Great Victoria Street and around the university, and if you start drinking at the famed Crown Liquor Saloon you can manage a substantial pub crawl without moving more than about 100 yards from where you started. In addition to the handful of places mentioned here, there are dozens of pubs around the city that double up as venues for live music of one sort or another.

Eating out is one of young Belfast's favourite evening pastimes and an astonishing number of fashionable cafés and chic restaurants have sprung up around the city centre during the last few years. Although there's an emphasis on modern Irish and European cuisine, with French and Italian especially popular, you'll find a smattering of Indian and Chinese restaurants too. Standards are generally high and often exceptionally good value for money. The choice is limited for vegetarians, and there's a real dearth of wholefood restaurants, but many more restaurants now include vegetarian dishes on their menu. Bear in mind that restaurants are often fully booked on Friday and Saturday evenings, so you need to reserve a table or be prepared either to eat early or spend a fruitless time trekking around for a free table.