Capital of Northern Ireland

Capital of Northern Ireland Belfast City Hall

Capital of Northern Ireland

The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.  The total population of Northern Ireland is 1.7 million people and within the greater Belfast area, there is a population of approximately 0.5 million.

So around 25% of the Northern Ireland population live in and around Belfast.  Belfast takes its name from the Farset River and was known originally as Beal Feirste (mouth of the sandy fort) and then translated to the English version which is Belfast.

Belfast City Council are responsible for looking after the day to day management of the city.  The River Lagan flows through Belfast and out to meet the Irish Sea.

The main railway station is known as Central Station and there are two main bus stations known as the Europa Bus Station and Oxford Street Bus Station.

The currency used in Belfast is the £ sterling.  There are two main shopping centres in Belfast, Castlecourt and the Victoria Shopping Centre.

Capital of Northern Ireland - Tourist Attractions

Some of the main tourist attractions in Belfast are:

• Titanic Visitor's Centre
• Ulster Museum (free admission)
• Belfast City Hall
• Linenhall Library
• Botanic Gardens
• Queen's University
• Titanic Quarter

In its industrial height Belfast was essentially a port town and was famous for it ship building, rope works and linen industries.  The Titanic was made in Belfast at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

CS Lewis also lived in Belfast and it was also home to George Best and Alex "Hurricane" Higgins. There are several posts on this website giving a detailed history of Belfast City so please have a read at those if you wish to understand more about this well known city.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief post on the capital of Northern Ireland.