Fun things to do in Belfast

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By Lagan River, near Custom House, is the Big Fish Sculpture. It is a 10 metre long printed ceramic mosaic sculpture in blue and white. When you come close you will see that the ceramic tiles are decorated with images and texts telling something about the history of Belfast. For example there are photos and texts from old newspapers and drawings made by schoolchildren.
The sculpture was made by the artist John Kindness in 1999, and it contains a time capsule.

The Belfast City Council Website gives you a good look at the council planned events, fun days and festivals throughout the year:

http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk

for example http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/parksandopenspaces/juneevents.asp

Music in the parks offers awide range of music across the various parks in Belfast from June to September with a great finale in September.

2011 events can be seen here http://www.waterfront.co.uk/whatson/familyfestivalweekend.aspx

What about watching a game of ice hockey when the weathers bad? Why not pop down the odyssey arena at queens quay, grab some dinner in one of the restaurants or a drink at one of the bars, then into the arena for a fast paced game of ice hockey?

adult - £18
concession £10.50
child £8

Massive sports and entertainment arena in Queens Quay a short walkable distance from the city center

Includes restaurants, bowling arcade, cinema, bars, clubs and the arena itself which holds 14,000 people and hosts concerts as well as the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey games.

For events check out www.odysseyarena.com

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i haven't done this, basically because im sick of the whole politics of the place, but all visitors seem to want to take the mural tour around the protestant (shankill) and catholic (falls) areas to see the wall paintings. these people are actually really talented? why cant they get a proper job instead of being in terrorist organisations? worth a look, bring the camera.

Update 2011 - increasingly we're seeing murals which are moving away from the traditional segregated political rantings. There are quite a few peace murals and if you are on the bus tour and it is heading up to Stormont you will see a few good Titanic and football related murals on the Newtownards Road

The bus tour leaves from the city center - the sales reps hang out by the city hall, or you van take a black taxi ?(similar to the london black cabs) also outside the city hall

If you came straight from Dublin to Belfast, or just landed you could be forgiven for thinking that the common perception of Ireland is just a myth. The thatched cottages, the smell of turf, the old man with a cap sitting on a wall........well no, these placed do exist but they're off the beaten track.

If your time is limited and you still want the above flavour you must get to the Ulster Folk and Transport museum for a step back in time.

Folk museum : reflection on the past - old cottages perfectly re-assembled into a village, school, 'picture house' , church, shop etc. Beautiful old Northern Ireland comes to life. Great for a photo too....

The transport museum, located on the site, has a wide range of vintage and more recent transport from all eras.

Makes for a great day out!

£8 for an adult for access to both museums, £4.50 per child/concession. Family tickets available. Kids under 5 go free!

During the day you can take the glass elevator in the Victoria Square Shopping Mall to the top for some great 360 degree views over Belfast City.

From there you can see Cave Hill, Stormont Estate in the east, the cranes in the historic shipyard and the whole of Belfast laid out below you. Awesome!