Béal Feirste, meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford', is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast.

The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages.

It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest on the island of Ireland. It had a population of 343,542 as of 2019.