Belfast

There’s history in Belfast. In the city’s narrow alleyways that date back to the 1600s. In St George’s, the covered Victorian market built in the 1890s. And in the shipyards that launched the Titanic in 1911.

Northern Ireland’s more recent history is found in the memories of its people. In the young man who stopped and offered to take a picture of us, describing the street he knew as a boy when it was bombed and brutal. In the woman who’d worked in the Courts Precinct for most of her life, recalling her refusal to evacuate in defiance of bomb threats. And in the taxi driver calling greetings to friends in the street, then quietly remembering their brothers and fathers and neighbours who were killed.

Belfast’s history can never be overlooked, but the city today is bustling and the people are friendly and fun. They’ll stop you in the street for a chat, and tell you a joke as quick as look at you. And when they’re done, you’re sure to walk away smiling.

When we told locals we thought theirs was a 'good city' to visit, some seemed surprised

Yet it is, and tourism here is on the up; around 3 million people visit Northern Ireland each year (including many Game of Thrones fans wanting to see where the series was filmed)

The city's Cathedral District is one of the most popular with tourists and locals alike

It's an area filled with bars and restaurants, some new and trendy but many have been trading here for decades

Belfast's Queen's University was founded in 1845 by Queen Victoria, as a non-denominational alternative to Trinity College Dublin (which was controlled by the Anglican Church)

The city's Botanic Gardens were established in 1828 with the purchase of a former nursery; the aim of the Belfast Botanic and Horticultural Society was 'rational enjoyment'

And here, the gardens being 'rationally' enjoyed around the turn of the 19th century; the Palm House, completed in 1852, with its birdcage dome is one of the earliest structures to incorporate cast-iron and curvilinear glass

We timed our visit well; the spring flowers were bursting into life and the gardens were beautiful

This man has tended the gardens for forty years, but still he appreciated the offer of an extra pair of hands

St George's Market, around the corner from where we stayed, was built in the 1890s for the sale of butter and eggs

The Entries, the narrow pedestrian streets in central Belfast, were once crowded with shops and houses; this is Joy's Entry, named for Francis Joy, who founded the Belfast News Letter in 1737 (it was the British Isles' first daily newspaper and is still going strong)

Titanic Belfast, the striking museum is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage and to the ill-fated RMS Titanic

Opened in 2012, the building sits on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard where the Titanic was built

Five levels high and incorporating a range of interactive galleries, Titanic Belfast has become the city's top attraction

Aluminium panels cover the building's four pointed hulls; it was designed by Texas-born architect, Eric Kunhe

Kuhne was also responsible for Cockle Bay Wharf in Sydney

We couldn't quite get enough of this building - can you tell? 🙂

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions building and the statue of organiser and unionist, Jim Larkin

Belfast is famous for its murals; scattered throughout the city, the huge artworks depict the religious and political tensions that have plagued Northern Ireland

This one, 'Son of Protagoras', shows a dove pierced by two red arrows representing the Protestant and Catholic churches

Other murals speak more directly to The Troubles; this one is in the Protestant Shankill area

And on the other side, a tribute to Bobby Sands at the headquarters of Sinn Fein

This was the mural we liked best

It's an image of the Women's Quilt, created by the Lower Shankill Women's Group

One of the famous 'peace walls', barriers built to separate Republican and Loyalist neighbourhoods; the gates in these walls are still closed at night

On some houses built alongside the walls you can still see protective measures that were employed; the structure attached to the back of this house is known as a 'grenade cage' (the idea was that if a device was thrown over the wall, it would bounce off the cage and not explode onto the house itself)

Before we left Belfast we took the opportunity to head out and see a bit more of the region

Carrick-a-Rede is a famous rope bridge in County Antrim; it's so popular you have to buy a ticket with a specific crossing time

And this is the Giant's Causeway, an extraordinary geological formation

Some say these basalt columns were formed by an ancient volcanic eruption

We prefer the explanation that it was created by the legendary Irish giant Finn MacCool

The darkness of Belfast's history won't soon be forgotten, but there's life and laughter enough here to brighten any visitor's day