Do you know what Belfast’s symbol is? Or which famous actor made their stage debut here? Discover fun facts about Belfast’s history, maritime heritage, culture, music scene and more with our top Belfast facts.
1. Belfast is home to Ireland’s tallest building (and bar!)
Belfast’s Obel Tower is the tallest building in Ireland, standing at 85m with 27 floors. Hastings Grand Central Hotel is the second tallest building, with 23 floors and a height of 80m, making the luxurious Observatory Bar on the top floor the tallest bar in Ireland with some of the most spectacular city views you’ll ever see.
2. You can dine in a Victorian office cubicle inside the Titanic Hotel
Titanic Hotel is housed in the former headquarters of Harland and Wolff. The beautifully restored Victorian building contains the Drawing Offices where RMS Titanic was dreamed and designed, and in the Wolff Grill Restaurant you’ll find an original Victorian office cubicle that can be booked for private dining!
3. Belfast has a library that’s over 200 years old
Housed in a listed Victorian linen building, Linen Hall Library has an incredible 232 years of history. Founded in 1788, it’s the oldest library in Belfast and famous for its Irish and genealogy collections. The library’s oldest book is De Anima (1490) written by the Eastern physician, Avicenna, about health and well being. It also has a first edition copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses in its collection, and the first printing of the American Declaration of Independence outside of America.
4. CS Lewis was born in Belfast and the surrounding landscapes likely inspired The Chronicles of Narnia
Writer and theologian, Clive Staples Lewis was born in east Belfast in 1898 and later attended Campbell College, a private boys’ school that’s still open today. Among his most famous works were The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of fictional children’s books believed to have been inspired by hills, forests and castles around Belfast and across Northern Ireland.
5. Belfast has 3,000 acres of parks
The perfect city for going for a stroll – Belfast has an enormous 3,000 acres of lush green parks. From manicured gardens like Botanic Gardens to the forested Belvoir Park and Colin Glen, the city has a huge variety of green space.
6. Liam Neeson had his stage premier at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre
Actor Liam Neeson, who was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, had his stage premier in the Lyric Theatre. He joined the theatre in 1976 and performed there for two years.
7. Belfast is home to one of the largest optic lights ever made
Did you know, the Great Light on Belfast’s Maritime Mile has the largest lenses ever made, emitting what was one of the strongest lighthouse beams in the world? The light is over 130 years old, weighs 10 tonnes and is seven metres tall!
8. Led Zeppelin first played Stairway To Heaven here
The historic Ulster Hall, which dates back to 1862, is where Led Zeppelin famously took to the stage to debut Stairway to Heaven in March 1971.
9. The symbol of Belfast is a seahorse
Pointing to the city’s maritime history, the symbol of a seahorse has strong connections with Belfast. Early merchants printed the creature on their coins throughout the 17th Century, and two seahorses still feature on Belfast’s coat of arms. You’ll also spot seahorses around the city, including the seahorse sculpture at Belfast’s port and the glowing seahorse logo on the side of the lofty Grand Central Hotel.
10. Belfast was nicknamed Linenopolis
In the 1800s, industry in Belfast was booming. Among shipbuilding and the production of rope and tobacco, the city paved the way in the world’s linen industry. By the end of the 19th Century Belfast was known as the world’s linen capital and was nicknamed Linenopolis. Many of the city’s linen houses were in the district now known as the Linen Quarter.
11. Titanic was longer than the height of the world’s tallest building
Belfast was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, the world’ most famous ship which, when it was constructed in the early 1900s, was longer than the height of the world’s tallest building at 882 feet and six inches in length. Weighing 46,328 tonnes, Titanic was to be the largest manmade moveable object the world had ever seen.
12. The Beacon of Hope has a state-side connection
With a nickname like ‘Nuala with the Hula’, the Beacon of Hope sculpture might feel authentically Belfast. But the public art piece was actually based on Thanksgiving Square in Dallas, Texas – a landscaped public park in the heart of the city that features a non-denominational chapel, public art and green space.
13. The Albert Memorial Clock is Leaning
The Albert Memorial Clock is sometimes described as Belfast’s answer to Pisa’s leaning tower, its tilt caused by the fact it is constructed on reclaimed land from the River Farset and weighs over 2,000 tonnes.
