Europe’s leading publisher of locally produced city guide
ESSENTIAL CITY GUIDES
Free Download
Features
- Viva the Olympic Torch!
- April & May 2012 Titanic and 9/11 Events at Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
- Apps and Players from My Tour Talk
- Need some medical attention?
- NI's Top Spa and Golf Resorts
- An Englishman in Norn Iron
- Belfast Visitor Pass
- NI Public Holidays
- Belfast webcams
- Troubles Tourism
- Northern Ireland Facts and Figures
- Where to find Belfast In Your Pocket
- ULSTERBUS DAYTOURS - Rosapenna & Atlantic Drive, Donegal
- ULSTERBUS DAYTOURS - Devenish Island and Enniskillen
- Scenic Ireland photographic book
- ULSTERBUS DAYTOURS - Belleek, Bundoran and Sligo Town.
- Belfast In Your Pocket in iPaper
- Belfast Murals
- A Welcome from the Lord Mayor
- 31st Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon
- Haunted Belfast
- Ulster History Circle: Local legends on a wall
- NI by Railway: BELFAST - NEWRY
- How till spake Norn Iron (A guide to local phrases)
- NI by Railway: BELFAST-DERRY
- Ask us anything... seriously.
- Spending a penny
- NI by Railway: BELFAST-BANGOR
- NI by Railway: BELFAST-LARNE HARBOUR
- The Plantation of Ulster
- A Brief History of Belfast
- Ethnic Belfast
- Art In The City
- Robert Burns - the Belfast connection
- Belfast's Quarters
- On the Presidential Trail
- The Twelfth and the Orange Order
- Tracing Your Roots
- Will the real St. Patrick please stand up?
- George Best 1946-2005
- Belfast Public Art: Not a Mural in Sight
- Local Food & Gastro Tourism
- Belfast Media
- Belfast's Gay Scene
More features:
-
Ethnic Belfast
Due to our troubled past, Belfast & NI has seen a lot less immigration than other parts of Western Europe.... -
NI's Top Spa and Golf Resorts
With the successes of local boys Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy on the global golfing circuit, and the return of theIrish Open to Royal Portrush Golf Club from 28 June - 1 July 2012, there’s never been a better time to indulge in Northern Ireland’s top golf and spa resorts.... -
The Twelfth and the Orange Order
The Orange Order is Northern Ireland's largest Protestant organisation, and has around 40,000 members locally.... -
31st Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon
On Bank Holiday Mon 7 May, an estimated 20,000+ runners will take part in the 2012 Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon.... -
Belfast In Your Pocket in iPaper
... -
NI Public Holidays
N. Ireland has ten bank holidays, sharing eight with England and Wales and adding St Patrick's Day and the Anniversary of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, commonly known as The Twelfth.... -
How till spake Norn Iron (A guide to local phrases)
The local lingo can be a bit confusing for many incomers. Yes, English is our first language, but listen carefully and you'll hear all sorts of alien dialect.... -
Haunted Belfast
Everyone likes a good scare every now and again, and Belfast offers plenty of investigative opportunities for all you wannabe ghostbusters.... -
ULSTERBUS DAYTOURS - Rosapenna & Atlantic Drive, Donegal
Local travel writer COLIN McALPIN heads way out west as he continues his Ulsterbus Daytours travels. This time it's Rosapenna & Atlantic Drive, Donegal.... -
Will the real St. Patrick please stand up?
Many myths and legends surround the world's best known patron saint. But what is known about the real life of the saint they call Patrick? Patrick was from Bannavem Taberniae, a 5th Century Roman Briton settlement.... -
Belfast's Quarters
Put simply, Belfast is made up of five areas: North, East, South, West and the city centre within which cosmopolitan Quarters are emerging, providing a focus for culture, tourism and economic development.... -
Apps and Players from My Tour Talk
Destinations around the world have rolled out a plethora of interactive tours for all you info-hungry visitors.... -
Where to find Belfast In Your Pocket
The latest issue of Belfast In Your Pocket is generally available at the following fabulous locations.... -
NI by Railway: BELFAST-LARNE HARBOUR
Local writer and railway enthusiast COLIN McALPIN takes a train ride across NI and uncovers some fascinating snippets along the routes....
Belfast Public Art: Not a Mural in Sight
Salmon of Knowledge
Here is a dozen of our favourites throughout the city...
The Big Fish (aka Salmon of Knowledge): A 10m long, erm, fish whose shiny blue and white ceramic scales depict moments in Belfast's history. Find it at the Lagan Lookout, near the Titanic Boat office and departure point.
Ring of Thanksgiving: Meet Belfast's tallest resident, a 15m high steel woman standing on a bronze globe and holding a ring representing peace and reconciliation - a familiar theme throughout the city. The work is inspired by Dallas's Thanksgiving Square and towers over the River Lagan, a short walk from the Belfast Waterfront.
Waterfall of Souvenirs: A 5m high ceramic waterfall cascading down the Europa Buscentre and bypassed daily by throngs of commuters. Be one of the few to stop and contemplate its locally themed mosaic.
Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker: Outside the Great Northern Mall (front entrance to the Euiropa Buscentre) you'll find two lifesize ladies cast in bronze and brandishing ephemera representing low-paid jobs, including housework. Look for the typewriter, telephone and clothes hangar and ponder their plight.
Mapping History: 1200 ceramic tiles individually designed by Cathedral Quarter visitors and businesses and brought together by artist Eleanor Wheeler. Find it outside Taps 2 Spanish restaurant opposite the Cathedral Quarter's Merchant Hotel.
Voyage of St. Brendan: Look up at a wall on Garmoyle Street and see a sparkly mural depicting St. Brendan’s discovery of America. Its 'Sailortown' setting, once the thriving hub of the city's docklands, couldn't be more appropriate.
The Flying Angel: A gleaming bronze and stainless steel angel reaches out from the bow of a ship built at the side of the Mission to Seafarers building. The figure is the symbol of the Seafarers' Mission, a religious charity set up in the 18th Century to provide sailors with shelter and comfort. Find it at Prince's Dock Street, off Pilot Street and just north of Clarendon Dock.
The Speaker: At the front of Custom House, in an area once dubbed Belfast's Speakers' Corner, stands this aptly-named lifesize bronze statue. The Square's surrounding copper lights continue the theme with their nickname the 'Hecklers'.
Renewal: Around the corner from Custom House Square, beside the fountain and beneath the Albert Clock, is this red and silver sculpture. Commissioned by vodka brand Smirnoff, the piece is said to reflect Russian history, imperialism, Russian dolls, the sabre and Faberge’s priceless eggs.
Sheep on the Road: A flock of bronze bleeters parades outside the Belfast Waterfront and provides small children, and precarious adults, with an impromptu seating area. And for that they must thank artist Deborah Brown who was inspired by her childhood memories of Co. Antrim's Cushendun.
Spirit of Belfast: Unveiled in Sept. 2009, this large-scale steel structure looms large in Cornmarket, where a bandstand once stood. The four interlocking rings sit at the heart of the city centre's pedestrianised shopping area, and have been designed to reflect Belfast's erstwhile shipbuilding and linen industries. All good and well, but we prefer to calll it the Belfast Scribble.
Draft and Overdraft: The official title of these Ulster Bank behemoths is Flying Figures, but we much prefer this cheeky financial moniker. The larger-than-life cast aluminium creatures were installed in 1964 and can be seen at the junction of Great Victoria Street and the Dublin Road.
To see more of the city's public art, click here.
And if you do want to know more about Belfast's Murals, read here.
I nicknamed the sculpture a few years back "nuala with the hula" and asked a tour guide friend to spread the word.Gerard Doyle