Belfast

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. Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages and was overshadowed by its more prosperous neighbours Derry and Drogheda, which were granted charters in 1604 and 1610 respectively. The original walls around Belfast became dilapidated, and in 1649 rebuilding began under James Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton, who drew up plans for new fortifications around the town. Thomas Gwyther, a Scottish surveyor, was appointed to take charge of the work. The city did not greatly expand in size until the 18th century; it had only one parish church (Saint Anne's Church), two main streets and four smaller lanes by 1700. The city was surrounded by extensive farmlands and dense woods, which were strategically defended with a series of walls during the Siege of Derry in 1688. Civil war (1641-49) wreaked havoc on the town's population; it fell from a peak of 5,000 to 2569. In 1791, the first peace-time census recorded that Belfast had 14,965 inhabitants. The city began to prosper in the 18th century after it started to develop following the opening of Belfast Harbour in 1750. The harbour allowed ship traffic to travel between Belfast and cities on the English mainland; consequently industries developed along the banks of the River Lagan including shipbuilding, rope-making, tobacco and textiles. The increasing prosperity resulted in the construction of a number of grand houses such as Castle Buildings, Castlerock and Donegall Place. Belfast blossomed as a commercial centre with flourishing trade links across the Atlantic Ocean with America and Europe and became Ireland's pre-eminent city. ## Belfast as a Shipping port: Belfast harbour played a key role in the expansion of Belfast. Shipbuilding became one of the city's principal industries under the direction of Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff, who founded Harland and Wolff shipyards in 1861. By 1911, two-thirds of ships built on the River Lagan were commissioned for overseas trade. The shipyard employed experienced workers who had been attracted to Belfast by the promise of high wages and regular employment, many initially from Scotland. The RMS Titanic was built in Belfast at Harland and Wolff's Queen's Island shipyard. Launched on 31 May 1911, it is celebrated as one of the greatest ocean liners of all time. ## Belfast as a tourist attraction: The city is a popular destination for tourists. It has seen major redevelopment in the last two decades, including Victoria Square and significant work on Belfast City Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Ulster Museum and Belsonic music festival. There are numerous museums, a wide range of restaurants and West End theatre venues. The law enforcement agency OSNI has its main headquarters in Belfast and the city is home to Northern Ireland's largest brewery and biggest food processing sector. Tourism is an important aspect of the economy. ## Belfast for food and entertainment: Belfast is a multicultural city with long-standing religious, ethnic and political tensions. It has been awarded the European Capital of Culture 2018 alongside Glasgow. In 2016 Belfast was voted the UK's best city to live in by The Sunday Times newspaper. The Ulster Museum holds extensive collections covering natural history (botany and zoology), archaeology and modern art, while the Ulster American Folk Park is located on the site of an old linen mill in County Down. In summer 2006, a major programme of events and activities took place across Belfast's Waterfront to celebrate the city's 800th birthday in 17th-century style. The Cathedral Quarter's street festival has been another annual event since 2001. It involves two weeks of free music, food and entertainment. The city has hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards three times (1996, 1998 and 2002). Belfast launched its bid to become European Capital of Culture at the beginning of 2012 with an exhibition in Belfast City Hall entitled Heartlands: Art & Identity 1780–2010. The exhibition was judged the best in the competition by a panel of cultural experts. The city is home to many festivals including Culture Night which takes place annually on the first Friday of August, Tennent's Vital and Belfast Festival at Queen's both of which take place at odd-numbered years, and Belsonic music festival that used to take place on even-numbered years until 2015. The Odyssey Complex, which opened in 2013 hosts a wide variety of music concerts including Irish bands and international artists such as Taylor Swift, Madonna and The Rolling Stones. ## Belfast for foodies: Belfast has many popular restaurants situated on city centre streets such as Royal Avenue, Chichester Street, University Road and Dublin Road. Some of Northern Ireland's top chefs patronise these restaurants including Patrick Guilbaud (former head chef of the restaurant at The Dorchester in London) who owns Portaferry's in the Cathedral Quarter. Northern Ireland's only two Michelin starred restaurant, Eipic is a Belfast restaurant that serves French-inspired food. It was named Ulster Restaurant of the Year in 2014. Also in the city are many Indian restaurants which serve cuisine from all over India and Chinese, Italian and Mexican takeaways. Another favourite of tourists is 'The Golden Mile', which is the stretch of Belfast's Golden Mile from Sandy Row to Dublin Road which contains "The Crown Bar", an historic bar, said to be one of the oldest in Ireland.