City Hall, Belfast

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It is a very impressive building in the heart of Belfast, very elegant.

I've been to the Christmas market in the grounds of the City Hall and it is great fun, loads of foreign foods and trinkets :)

It looks great when it is lit up at night.
AFAIK tours are available but we did not have time to do one.

The White Linen Hall once sat on the site now occupied by Belfast City Hall. Construction stated in 1898 and was completed by 1906 at the cost of 369,000 pounds. It was built for Queen Victoria’s recognition of Belfast’s thriving economy in linen, rope-making, shipbuilding and engineering industries.

The Baroque-style exterior is made from Portland stone and it covers an area of one and a half acres. The design of the building is reminiscent of the Old Bailey in London. City Hall dominates the city centre skyline; its copper-coated domes are a distinctive green. Marble was used extensively throughout the building as was stained glass windows depicting the Belfast Coat of Arms, portraits of Queen Victoria and King William III and shields of the Provinces of Ireland.

The interior includes The Porte-Cohere and Grand Entrance, The Grand Staircase, The Reception Room and The Great Hall. The Great Hall was destroyed during the Belfast blitz and subsequently rebuilt.

Memorials within the building are for Frederick Robert Chichester, Earl of Belfast, Sir Crawford and Lady McCullagh and the 36th (Ulster) Division.

Around the City Hall grounds you will see a statue of Queen Victoria by Sir Thomas Brock. There is also a granite column dedicated to the American Expeditionary Force, many of whom were based in Belfast prior to D-Day. There is also a memorial to the Titanic victims as well as of Sir Edward Harland the head of shipyard that built the ill-fated ship.

You’ll find The Garden of Remembrance, Northern Ireland’s main war memorial, and a memorial for James Magennis VC, the only Northern Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II.

The Ferris wheel that sat along the side of City Hall was construction in October of 2007 and gave passengers panoramic views 200 ft above the city. It has 42 air-conditioned capsules that each old up to six adults and two children. We were fortunate to see the wheel as it was removed in May 2010.

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If you spend any time at all in the centre of Belfast you will sooner or later come upon the City Hall. Believe me on this. It is slap bang in the middle of everything and at one end of the main shopping street (Royal Avenue), and is a terribly impressive building, at least to my slightly biased eye, remember this was where I was born and raised.

Recently refurbished at a whopping £11 million, it was opened in October 2009 by Hillary Clinton, and is even more awe-inspiring than I remember it. It is interesting to think that the refurb came in at 22 times the £500,000 the thing cost in the first place. It has also had the happy effect of making the building extremely user-friendly for disabled visitors with the textphone for information being textphone +00 44 (0)28 9027 0405 should your disability require that service.

So where did this wonderful building originate. I must admit I learnt a little something whilst researching this tip, another useful by-product of VT. I was always of the impression that in the UK, if a place had a cathedral, it was automatically a city as opposed to a town but apparently not so. It took the grant of city status by Queen Victoria on 1888 to prompt the good burghers of the place to decide that a fitting public building be erected. Land on the site of the old White Linen Hall (Belfast was renowned for it's linen industry and much of it's prosperity derived from it) was purchased for £30,000 and a local architect commissioned. The building was finally opened on the 01/08/1906 and several artefacts associated with the ceremony are to be found in the lobby on either side of the main door.

You should go up to the first floor and just have a wander round what is known as the "Whipsering Gallery", it really is quite some sight. Don't forget to look up at the remarkable work on the domed ceiling.

Free public tours take place at 1100, 1400 and 1500 (Monday to Friday) and 1400 and 1500 (Saturday).

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The impressive City Hall dominates the centre of Belfast. Building began on it in 1898 & it was finished 8 years later. The inside of the building was closed for restoration while I was there. The grounds were open though, they contain statues & monuments. All day long they were full of people taking photos & sitting in the sunshine.

That's because the city hall there was inspired by this Edwardian masterpiece.

If you have little time, then get a look at the impressive main entrance area, grand staircase and memorial to victims of the Titanic.

If you have a bit more time, then book onto one of the free guided tours - I was impressed by it. It certainly seemed a bit more lavish in it's decoration than you would expect - more like a palace !

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The gardens are often used for public events, such as operas and concerts.

In front of the Hall stands Thomas Brock's statue of Queen Victoria. In the gardens is a marble figure of Thane, erected to mark the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Other statues around the gardens commemorate various worthies, from frock-coated mayors to James Magennis, who won his Victoria Cross in WWII by placing mines from a midget submarine beneath an enemy boat.

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This magnificent building is Belfast's most popular attraction. No wonder! It's the centre of Belfast life and its commercial heart as well, imposing itself on the skyline from all angles. So, don't miss investigating it! You can find out a lot about its colourful history, learn about the many extraordinary characters who are part of its story...

The building of this masterpiece began in 1898 on the site of former White Linen Hall, and took eight years to complete.

Take a tour to see the ornate dome (rises to 53m above the centre), grand staircase, oak furnished Council Chamber, John Luke's mural illustrating the foundation of the city...The striking Great Hall has its original seven stained-glass windows, depicting three monarchs who have visited Belfast (King William III, Queen Victoria and King Edward VII) and the shields of Ireland's four provinces.

Free guided tours at 11am, 2pm and 3pm Mon-Fri, and 2.30pm Sat, Jun-Sept and 11am and 2.30pm Mon-Fri and 2.30pm Sat, Oct-May

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WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING AROUND THE STUNNING BELFAST CITY HALL MAKE SURE YOU DON'T
MISS THE MOMORIAL TO THE TITANIC VICTIMS. THE MEMORIAL STANDS IN THE GROUNDS AT THE WEST SIDE OF CITY HALL. THE TITANIC ITSELF WAS BUILT AT THE HARLAND AND WOLFF SHIPYARD WHICH IS ABOUT A FIVE MINUTE DRIVE FROM THE CITY HALL.
SO AFTER YOU HAVE DONE THE BOAT TRIP AROUND TO SEE WHERE TITANIC WAS BUILT WHY NOT CHECKOUT THE MEMORIAL AT CITY HALL...ITS A MUST SEE ON ANY TRIP TO THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE FAMOUS LINER.

You can take a free hour tour of the city hall if you would like to see the guts of the governmental heart of Northern Ireland. To me it was most interesting to hear the guide talking about Sein Finn and the IRA involved in government affairs and also to see the history of government for the region. Tours operate on the following schedule:

June-Sept: Mon-Fri: 11am, 2pm, 3pm, Sat 2.30pm
Oct-May: Mon-Fri: 11am, 2.30pm, Sat 2.30pm

The City Hall in Belfast was opened in 1906. It was built in Classical
Renaissance style in Portland stone.
The grounds of the City Hall are a very popular area for everyone to sit in or stroll through away from the nearby busy main shopping area.