Don’t let bad weather stop you from having a fantastic time in Belfast! See our top suggestions for rainy day activities and attractions for all the family.

Museums

Boy Examining a Dinosaur Skeleton at Ulster Museum

Ulster Museum

A top, free attraction in Belfast, the Ulster Museum captures the imaginations of old and young visitors alike. Home to rich collections of art, history and natural sciences all set within the beautiful surroundings of Belfast’s Botanic Gardens. Don’t miss Takabuti, the Theban mummy.

Titanic Belfast Shipyard Ride

Titanic Belfast

The Titanic Experience spans 9 galleries telling the story of the Titanic through interactive special effects, dark rides, full-scale reconstructions and innovative features. Explore the shipyard, travel to the depths of the ocean and uncover the true legend of Titanic, in the city where it all began.

UTM 2

Ulster Transport Museum

Immerse yourself in majestic locomotives, horse-drawn carriages, vintage motorbikes and cars, along with exhibits of historical materials, including photographs of the Titanic. You can easily reach the museum via NI Railways on the Belfast to Bangor line, getting off at Cultra Halt which is a 2 minute walk to the museum.

Fun Activities

Prison Island

Get lost during a rainy day in Belfast! Go to Prison Island where there are 31 different prison-themed challenge cells, using a mix of physical and tactical skills where a live scoring system will let you know how you are doing against your challengers!

exploris

Exploris Aquarium & Seal Sanctuary

Exploris, Northern Ireland’s only Aquarium & Seal Sanctuary, has lots to see and do. View Asian Short Clawed Otters, Humboldt Penguins and Hector the Capybara up close! The centre also has a kids’ soft play area suitable for babies, toddlers, and juniors up to eight years old.

Airtastic Newtownabbey Inflata Park Slide

Airtastic Belfast

There’s fun for all ages at Airtastic Belfast! Why not enjoy their massive Inflata Park, a 12 lane ten pin bowling alley, space themed 18 hole adventure golf course, soft play centre or prize winning amusement arcade on your next family day out?

1920x1080   W5 £7 ticket offer

W5

W5 is Belfast’s award-winning science and discovery centre and provides a unique experience as well as fantastic fun for visitors of all ages. With exhibits and experiences covering everything from climate change and nature to film and TV production, optical illusions, built engineering, medical science and much, much more.

Xtreme Bowling

Go bowling with friends or family, the ideal activity for a rainy day. Try your hand at Xtreme Bowling at Dundonald International Ice Bowl, with glow balls and ultra violet lights for the extreme bowling experience.

high rise new images 6

High Rise Indoor Adventure Centre

High Rise is an adventure centre in Lisburn with lots of activities for all the family. Clip ‘n Climb is for kids aged 4+ (and adults!) and soft play is for little adventurers up to age 8. The centre has been designed to be inclusive and accessible to allow the whole family to enjoy outings together, and includes a Changing Places accessible toilet. Located just 10 minutes from Belfast and just off the M1 at Sprucefield, High Rise should be top of the list for anyone planning a family day out in Northern Ireland.

Airtastic Ultimate Challenges Lisburn 4

Airtastic Ultimate Challenges

Airtastic Ultimate Challenges is Northern Ireland’s unmissable, interactive and state-of-the-art team game experience, exclusive to Airtastic Lisburn. Play as a team of 2-6 people as you navigate your way through 30 unique and fun challenge rooms which involve a mix of physical, mental and skill-based tasks. You can choose the difficulty level for each challenge – the harder the difficulty level you choose, the more points there are up for grabs! The aim of the game is simple – to gain maximum points for your team and become the Ultimate Champions!

dundonalde ice skating

Dundonald International Icebowl

Get your skates on at Dundonald International Ice Bowl with public sessions 7 days a week. Northern Ireland’s only public Olympic sized ice rink, Dundonald is the training ground for the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey team. There is a 30 lane tenpin bowling centre with glow in the dark extreme sessions and Indiana Land, a wild, jungle inspired playground for under 12s.

Go Indoor Golfing

Mother's Day at The Lost City

Lost City Adventure Golf

Enjoy an epic adventure at The Lost City Adventure Golf – food, drinks and indoor fun for all ages. Open seven days a week from 10am, including Sundays, experience two indoor 18-hole jungle themed adventure golf courses, complete with incredible special effects and interactive obstacles. A great activity for the whole family on a rainy day!

Scrapyard Golf 10

Scrapyard Golf

This indoor family-run 21-hole golf course + a BONUS HOLE has been designed with only the golfer in mind. Golfers of all ages and sizes, regardless of talent, should feel like they can bring out their inner child and get that rivalry to an all-new high! This is the perfect boredom cure for a rainy day.

Colin Glen Forest Park3

Trackman Driving Range

Don’t let bad weather spoil your plans, head to Northern Ireland’s first TrackMan Driving Range at Colin Glen – complete with a state-of-the-art Indoor Suite, 15 heated outdoor bays, 27” touchscreens and elite golf simulation software. TrackMan is also jam-packed with family-friendly interactive golf games for beginner and seasoned golfers alike, so bring the kids along and enjoy a different day out! 

Go Swimming

Lagan Valley LeisurePlex

Stay out of the rain and go swimming instead! Based in the heart of Lisburn City, the Lagan Valley LeisurePlex boasts the largest leisure pool in Northern Ireland. Dominating the vast free form family fun pool area is a great sunken pirate ship complete with water cannons and mast.

Andersonstown Indoor Aqua Park

Andersonstown Indoor Aqua Park is the largest centre of its kind in Northern Ireland, offering three high speed water slides, a surf simulator and children’s adventure aqua play area. This is the home of Surf Belfast,  Ireland’s only indoor surf simulator. Experience the thrill of catching a wave, whatever the conditions outside.

Bangor Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex

Visit Bangor Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex, leisure waters with flumes and sidewinder slide and three swimming pools.

Sensory Friendly Attractions in Belfast

Belfast has many attractions that are becoming much more accommodating for families with a child who has additional needs.

Family Friendly Restaurants in Belfast

With special menus and activities for little ones, have a look at some of our suggestions for child-friendly restaurants in Belfast.

Read more

Ask Us
Ask Us

We're here to help, so if you can't find the info you're after, or you just want to ask a really odd question, then we're here for you.

Ask A Question

Ask a Question

"*" indicates required fields

Start
Choose a date
End
Choose a date
Back To Top
In order to display distances relevant to you, we'd like to be able to use your GPS location. Privacy Policy
In order to display distances relevant to your current position, we'd need to be able to use your GPS location. To find out more about how we use your location, please read our Privacy Policy
You have previously denied access to your GPS location. In order to allow access to your location, you need to update your site settings through your browser settings to allow this site access to your location.

To find out more about how we use your location, please read our Privacy Policy
Your settings have been updated. They will take effect next time you refresh the page.
By default, all distances on the site are calculated from Belfast City Centre. You can choose a different starting point here, or specify your own.

If you select a location more than 15km from the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, your location will be set to Belfast City Centre.

Open 'Ask a Question' window Close 'Ask a Question' window

Ask a Question

X

"*" indicates required fields

Hide this tool

Open 'Sign up for Newsletter' window Close 'Sign up for Newsletter' window

Visit Belfast Newsletter

X

Sign up to the Visit Belfast newsletter and receive inspiring ideas, events and offers which showcase the best of Belfast and Northern Ireland.

Sign-Up

Hide this tool