Here’s the complete Insider’s guide of free things to do in Belfast.

If you haven’t been to the Ulster Museum recently, go. It’s one of the best free museums in Northern Ireland and it’s genuinely brilliant for all ages. Art, natural history, ancient Egypt- including Takabuti, a 2,500-year-old Egyptian mummy who’s been in Belfast since 1834, which is a sentence that still doesn’t feel real. You can easily lose a half-day here without trying.

📍Botanic Gardens, Belfast BT9 5AB  |  Tue–Sun: 10:00–17:00  |  Closed Mondays  |  ulstermuseum.org

Founded in 1788 and still going strong right off Donegall Square, the Linen Hall Library is the oldest library in Belfast and one of those places that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled into somewhere special. It holds the world-renowned Northern Ireland Political Collection; the most comprehensive archive of the Troubles anywhere in existence. Even if you’re not a history buff, it’s worth wandering in just for the experience.

📍17 Donegall Square North, Belfast BT1 5GB  |  Mon–Fri: 09:30–17:30  |  linenhall.com

Tucked away on Talbot Street and genuinely underrated, the NI War Memorial Museum tells the story of Northern Ireland’s role in the Second World War, including the 1941 Belfast Blitz, which devastated large parts of the city. Free to enter and well worth an hour of your time.

📍21 Talbot Street, Belfast BT1 2LD  |  Mon–Fri: 10:00–16:30  |  Sat: 12:00–16:00  |  niwarmemorial.org

Three free things in one go. The Botanic Gardens are the kind of place Belfast locals take for granted until a visitor points out how genuinely beautiful they are. Walk through for free any day from 7:30am. Inside the gardens, the Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear cast iron glasshouse in the world. And the Tropical Ravine, reopened in 2018 after a £3.8m restoration houses some of the oldest seed plants in existence. Both are free and worth seeing.

📍College Park, Botanic Ave, Belfast BT7 1LP  |  Gardens: Daily 07:30–Sunset  |  Palm House & Tropical Ravine: Daily 10:00–16:00 (last entry 15:45)

Botanic Gardens Palm House exterior - the curved cast iron glasshouse. One of Belfast’s most recognisable buildings. Photo credit: Instagram/She_Rayra

Cave Hill is the one. That distinctive basalt cliff above the city, known locally as Napoleon’s Nose, and said to have inspired Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. This iconic spot has been watching over Belfast for centuries. The hike to McArt’s Fort at the top gives you one of the best views in the whole of Belfast. From its peak, you can see the city below and the Belfast Lough stretching out in front of you, plus the Antrim hills behind. Cave Hill is Free, always open, and genuinely worth the climb.

📍Antrim Road, Belfast BT15 5GR  |  Daily: 07:30–Sunset  |  Belfast Castle on the way up: Tue–Sat 09:00–21:00, Sun–Mon 09:00–18:00 (free entry)

South Belfast’s best-loved park and one of those places that feels like the city exhaling. Good for a run, a wander, or a picnic when the weather allows. A new dedicated dog park opened here in early 2026, which tells you everything about how seriously Ormeau Park is taken around here. Also the finish line for the Belfast Marathon, and home to one of the city’s most popular parkruns (more on that below).

📍Ormeau Road, BT7, Belfast (Also accessible from Ravenhill Road) |  Daily: 07:30–Sunset  |  Free

Start at the Big Fish on Donegall Quay, one of the stops in our Colour NI colouring book. Follow the Lagan south. Past the bridges, past the Waterfront, out through the Lagan towpath towards Shaw's Bridge. From Shaw's Bridge it's a short walk to the Giant's Ring, a prehistoric henge monument built around 2700BC, older than the Pyramids of Giza, with a dolmen standing in the centre. The earthwork circle is roughly 200 metres across. Standing inside it, with the fields and trees around you and not another tourist in sight, is one of those genuinely strange and brilliant Belfast experiences that most people never find.

📍Giant’s Ring: Off Ballynahatty Road, Belfast BT8 8LE  |  Summer hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–21:00  |  Free access

Game of Thrones was filmed extensively in Northern Ireland, and Belfast has its own self-guided free trail to prove it. Six stained glass windows are dotted around the city, each depicting a different House from the show. Finding them all makes for a brilliant few hours on foot through the city centre and Titanic Quarter. No booking, no cost, just a decent map and comfortable shoes.

Most people only see the Parliament Buildings from the road, but the Stormont Estate grounds are open to the public and genuinely beautiful for a walk. The long straight driveway up to the building is one of the most recognisable sights in Belfast. Free to wander any day. And if you want to go inside, free public tours run on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 12 noon and 2pm with each one lasting about 45 minutes and covers the history and heritage of the building. Book your spot free via Eventbrite before you go.

📍Stormont Estate, Belfast BT4 3XX  |  Grounds: Open daily  |  Parliament Buildings: Mon–Fri 09:00–16:00  |  Free tours: Wed, Thu, Fri at 12:00 and 14:00 — book via Eventbrite  |  niassembly.gov.uk

If Cave Hill feels too busy, Divis and Black Mountain give you equally spectacular views over Belfast and beyond and on a clear day, you can even see Scotland. Free shuttle buses run to the trailheads, which makes this genuinely accessible without a car. Wild, quiet, and completely free.

Free to walk into, free to look around, and with free 45-minute guided tours on a first-come, first-served basis. The grand marble interiors, the stained glass windows, and the memorial gardens outside are all genuinely impressive — and most Belfast locals have never actually done the tour. Worth fixing that.

📍Donegall Square, Belfast BT1 5GS  |  Mon–Fri: 09:30–17:00  |  Sat–Sun: 10:00–17:00  |  belfastcity.gov.uk

CS Lewis grew up in East Belfast, and the Newtownards Road now has a square in his honour with seven bronze sculptures by artist Maurice Harron — each one based on a character from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It’s a lovely half hour out in East Belfast that most people who aren’t from there never find. Free, open 24/7, and genuinely worth the trip across the city.

📍402 Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 1HH  |  Open 24/7  |  Free

he 10-metre ceramic salmon on Donegall Quay is one of Belfast’s most photographed landmarks — and most people walk straight past without stopping to look at it properly. Each scale is a tile decorated with images and text from Belfast’s history. A good starting point for a Laganside walk. Free, always there.

📍Donegall Quay, Belfast BT1 3NG  |  Open 24/7  |  Free

Most people go to Victoria Square to shop and leave without realising there’s a free public viewing platform at the top of the glass dome with 360-degree views over the city. Take the lift, walk out onto the platform, and you’ve suddenly got one of the best vantage points in Belfast for absolutely nothing. A local favourite that visitors almost never find.

Free to get in, no obligation to buy anything, and genuinely one of the best market experiences in Ireland. Built between 1890 and 1896, it’s one of the finest surviving Victorian covered markets in the UK. On a Saturday morning it fills up with local food producers, artisan traders, live music, and the kind of atmosphere that makes Belfast feel like itself. Go hungry. You will spend money — but that’s a choice, not a requirement.

Common Market is what happens when someone takes a raw Cathedral Quarter warehouse and fills it with the kind of food Belfast used to have to go to London for. Mexican, Korean, Chinese, American, Canadian — rotating local vendors, live music, a bar, and a dog-friendly door policy that tells you everything about the vibe. Worth noting: a £1 entry fee applies, introduced to cover door staff and maintenance.

16–20 Dunbar Street, Cathedral Quarter, BT1 2LH | Thu–Sun: 12:00–00:00 | commonmarketbelfast.com

Six venues under one roof after a £5 million expansion in September 2025 — and the range is genuinely unlike anything else in Belfast for a city its size. The Stock Exchange bar runs on a real fluctuating price model. The Crimson is a speakeasy cocktail lounge. Mic Drop is private karaoke. The Armoury is a simulated shooting range with food to your booth. Plus bottomless brunch, live music, and interactive darts. It's a lot — but it works.

84 Royal Avenue, BT1 1DJ | Mon–Thu: 12:00–23:00 | Fri–Sat: 12:00–01:00 | Sun: 12:00–23:00 | haymarketbelfast.com

Here’s one that not enough visitors know about: Belfast has one of the highest concentrations of parkruns of any city in the world. Every Saturday morning at 9:30am, around 1,300 people across the city lace up and run a free timed 5km. You can walk, jog, run, push a pram, or bring the dog. No entry fee, ever. Just register once at parkrun.com to get your free barcode.

There are seven parkruns to choose from across the city, all with their own personality:

Ormeau Parkrun — The biggest in Belfast, regularly 450+ runners. Two laps of Ormeau Park, mostly flat. Tea and coffee in the Ravenhill bowling pavilion afterwards.

📍Ormeau Road, Belfast BT6 8LT

Stormont Parkrun — Two laps of the Stormont Estate. Scenic, friendly, and the record holder for most parkrun participants in NI (500+ on New Year’s Day 2016).

📍Stormont Estate, Belfast BT4 3XX

Victoria Parkrun — The flattest and fastest course in Belfast. Three laps of Victoria Park, right on the waterfront. Coffee van in the car park afterwards.

📍Victoria Park, Belfast

Waterworks Parkrun — The first ever parkrun on the island of Ireland. North Belfast, two laps around the ponds. A piece of Belfast running history.

📍Waterworks Park, North Belfast

Colin Glen Parkrun — The hilliest and most scenic. Through forest, around a lake, and properly challenging. Worth it for the views and the atmosphere.

📍Colin Glen Forest Park, West Belfast

Falls Parkrun — Smaller, welcoming crowd, 2.5 laps of Falls Park. Good views of the Belfast Hills.

📍Falls Park, West Belfast

Orangefield Parkrun — East Belfast’s hidden gem. Rarely more than 100 runners, which makes it one of the friendliest mornings out in the city.

📍Orangefield & Greenville Park, Grand Parade, Belfast BT5 5PA

Junior parkruns (2km, free, for ages 4–14) run every Sunday morning at 9:30am at Ormeau Park. Register once at parkrun.com — your barcode works at every parkrun everywhere in the world.

Belfast is genuinely good value for families. Most of the parks, museums, and walks above are great for children, but here are a few that are specifically worth knowing about if you’ve got younger ones with you.

Ulster Museum
Already covered above, but worth flagging again — the Ulster Museum is probably the single best free family activity in Belfast. The Egyptian and wildlife sections in particular tend to go down well with kids of all ages. Free, no booking required, closed Mondays.

Belfast City Libraries — Free Children’s Events
Belfast Central Library runs a free Afternoon Storytime session every Wednesday from 3:00pm to 3:30pm for younger children. Booking is advised as spaces are limited. Call 028 9050 9150 or check with your local branch for additional sessions and activities — libraries across the city run their own programmes including Lego sessions, reading groups, and craft activities, all free.
📍Belfast Central Library, Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1EA | Storytime: Every Wednesday 3:00pm–3:30pm | Booking advised: 028 9050 9150

CS Lewis Square
The seven Narnia-inspired bronze sculptures at CS Lewis Square in East Belfast are a brilliant few hours for any child who knows the books — and a good excuse to introduce them if they don’t. Free, outdoors, open 24/7.

Cave Hill and Belfast Castle
Belfast Castle at the foot of Cave Hill is free to enter and has a lovely café inside. The grounds are great for a run around, and the hike up to McArt’s Fort — while a proper climb — is manageable for older kids and genuinely rewarding at the top.

Junior Parkrun
Every Sunday at 9:30am, the free junior parkrun at Ormeau Park gives children aged 4–14 their own 2km timed run. Dogs, prams, and parents welcome. Register free at parkrun.com beforehand.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the world’s largest Irish music festival is coming to Belfast from 2–9 August 2026. It’s expected to attract 800,000 visitors and a huge amount of the outdoor festival activity will be completely free. If you’re planning a trip to Belfast this summer, that’s the week to do it.

We’ll be covering it week by week in the newsletter.

What is free to do in Belfast?
Quite a lot. The Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Palm House, Tropical Ravine, Belfast City Hall (including free guided tours), Cave Hill Country Park, CS Lewis Square, the Glass of Thrones trail, Stormont Estate grounds and free tours, the River Lagan walkway, Giant’s Ring, St George’s Market, and seven free Saturday parkruns across the city.

Is the Ulster Museum free?
Yes. The Ulster Museum is completely free to enter, Tuesday to Sunday 10am–5pm. Closed Mondays.
Are Belfast City Hall tours free?
Yes. Free 45-minute guided tours on a first-come, first-served basis. Open Monday to Friday 9:30am–5pm and weekends 10am–5pm.

Are Stormont Parliament Buildings tours free?
Yes. Free public tours run Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 12 noon and 2pm. Each tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. Book free via Eventbrite at niassembly.gov.uk before you go.

What is there to do in Belfast for free with kids?
The Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens with the Palm House and Tropical Ravine, Cave Hill, CS Lewis Square, Belfast City Libraries’ free weekly Storytime sessions (Wednesdays 3pm, booking advised), and the free junior parkrun at Ormeau Park every Sunday morning for ages 4–14.

Is St George’s Market free to enter?
Yes. Free entry Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You’ll want to bring money because the food is excellent, but walking around costs nothing.

What is the Giant’s Ring?
The Giant’s Ring is a prehistoric henge monument near Shaw’s Bridge in south Belfast, built around 2700BC — older than the Pyramids of Giza. It’s a 200-metre earthwork circle with a dolmen tomb in the centre, free to visit, and one of the most remarkable and overlooked sites in the whole of Belfast.

More Belfast Guides
→ Things to do in Belfast (/things-to-do-in-belfast)
→ Hidden gems in Belfast (/hidden-gems-belfast)
→ Best walks in Belfast (/best-walks-belfast)
→ Belfast events this weekend

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