BELFAST: British city. Irish soul.

[Conor]

A young city with a long history.

[Conor]

Few more:

[Svartmetall]

Really nice, and wholly surprisingly pictures! I didn't expect Belfast to look like that!

[christos-greece]

Amazing, very nice Belfast, well done

[ikops]

I only was there once for one day. I wish I could have stayed a bit longer.

[Conor]

Thanks for commenting guys! How did you find the city when you visited ikops?

btw - apologies for the roadworks in some of the pics. All the major streets in the city are currently being repaved and the street furniture modernised atm.

More pics:

[ikops]

Originally Posted by Conor

Thanks for commenting guys! How did you find the city when you visited ikops?

I remember arriving there on Orangemen's Day (which was purely coincidental by-the-way). There was a very special vibe that day. Lots of exited people who watched the parade. It was quite an experience although it left me little time to explore the city.

[Bristol Mike]

Lovely shots there. Belfast looks a lot nicer and grander than I thought it would be. Some of those buildings are fantastic. Very nice!

[Conor]

Yep, would have been quite a buzzing atmosphere then ikops. Cheers for commenting Bristol Mike, you're certainly not the first person to be shocked by Belfast's appearance!

I think I'll start chucking in some wee bits of information when I post pics from now on:

This Cathedral Quarter (Also known as the cultural Quarter, aptly named after the grand Victorian St Anne's Cathedral. A modern metal spire was recently added to the cathedral, increasing the buildings total height by 70m. The cathedral was built from stone sourced from every country in Ireland (A sign of Irish unification at the time) There are numerous on-going developments in the area, including the OMAC, Northern Ireland's national art gallery. It is also the location of arguably Belfast's most luxurious hotel, the Merchant. There is a large concentration of bars and restaurants in the area, along with a major University of Ulster campus. There are plans to relocate the whole of the University to this area of the city. It would be the cities second complete university campus, after the historic Queen's University.

[Nightsky]

Looks nice and modern nowadays.

[cardiff]

Belfst showing off its industrial heritage, very beautiful in parts and great to see the investment bringing life back to the city.

[Conor]

Both Belfast and Cardiff are going through similar phases atm, with the waterfront developments and new retail quarters, tourist booms... they are very similar cities full stop anyway though. The hidden gems of the UK :P

Cheers for the comments





Victoria Square. I'm very proud of this place, designed by local architects. There is a documentary covering the complexes construction hovering about the internet for anyone interested. The view from the observation deck is great too.













89m OBEL tower looming in the distance. It has already featured on many local TV shows and advertisements.



The court buildings, old and new. The original buildings interior is stunning. No pics though. Will be some on Google images/flickr etc for anyone curious.





This is the Waterfront hall, voted the second best conference centre in the world back in '06. It is a local landmark, and it is one of the few modern buildings in the city that Belfasters show affection towards. Again, it was designed locally.



The Michelin starred, multi award winning DEANES restaurant. The place was gutted by a burst water pipe only days after I last ate there (lucky!) It has since reopened.











Japanese tourists pose at the Big Fish, another local landmark, a few days before Christmas last year.







Another new local landmark, aptly named The Boat. Was meant to have a posh restaurant at the bottom, but the plans may have fallen through. There are also 8 luxurious apartments, attracting attention from potential buyers in the USA and Middle East. For the novelty factor, The Boat has Ireland's only car lift. The tower has already appeared on local TV numerous times.



Enjoy and comment!

[DWest]

this city has a nice and lively city center.
the new modern buildings are nicely designed too.

[eastadl]

I never hear of anyone visiting Belfast, so Im pleasantly surprised also by how nice and grand it is. Looks a great city

[Jonesy55]

Nice shots of Belfast, the city centre is looking good these days.

[PortoNuts]

This city is glorious and so well kept! Lots of eye-catching buildings.

Good to know it's thriving and getting more recognition because it definitely deserves it.

[Conor]

Nice to see some people discovering Belfast for the first time, thanks for the comments I'm surprised you haven't heard of anyone visiting Belfast eastadl. Australian accents are one of the most common forgien accents I hear around the city (heard a few the other day actually!)

Will stick up another batch of pics soon btw.

[Conor]

The next set of pictures are focused around an area known as Queen's Quarter, named after the Queens University Campus that dominates the area. It is one of the most attractive expensive areas of Belfast to live in, but has a thriving young student population and local boutiques, alternative shops and cafes and the usual chain-stores, such as Starbucks and Tesco Metro.

The Belfast botanical gardens are surrounded by University buildings. Within the gardens is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear greenhouse, known as the Palm House, housing exotic plants.











I consider this building, the Ulster Museum, to be the building that first got me interested in architecture, when I was very young. It is still one of my favourite buildings in Belfast, and I personally believe that the 1960's extension is one of the best pieces of brutalist architecture in the UK & Ireland. The Museum, which houses everything from an Egyptian Mummy to dinosaur skeletons recently re-opened after a multi-million refurb. It is one of Northern Ireland's most popular visitor attraction and has won multiple prestigious awards, including most recently, this years Arts Fund prize.



















View of Stormont Parliament Buildings from the museum.



Bonus pic of St Anne's Cathedral.



Will post more pics of the main University Buildings and the surrounding area later.

[Munichpictures1970]

Nice pictures, thx for sharing!

[GM]

This building mixing classic and brutalist architectures is something to see !
Very nices pics.