Heritage Site's And Stately Home's
in Co Antrim

Situated in the Botanic Gardens it's collections include contemporary international art, Irish art, Irish furniture, glass, silver, ceramics, and costume, and a display of life in Ireland over 9,000 years. Perhaps the best known collection is the gold and silver jewelry recovered by divers in 1968 from the Spanish Armada treasure ship Girona, wrecked off the Giant's Causeway in 1588. Local chieftain

Located near City Hall, this facility was established in 1788 to improve the mind and excite a spirit of general inquiry. One of the founders was Henry Joy who was an uncle of the famous United Irishman Henry Joy McCracken. Includes an important Irish collection of over 20,000 volumes, with a Robert Burns collection. Archive material can be viewed by appointment.

Belfast's most famous pub built in the High Victorian style around 1895, the Crown Liquor Saloon, once a railway hotel, has been restored by the National Trust. It is renowned for its fine ales and wines and delicious lunchtime cuisine.

Nostalgic exhibits from World War II. The museum of the Royal Ulster Rifles, a famous regiment raised in 1793, is in the same building.

Situated on the beautifully landscaped slopes of Cave hill above the city of Belfast the zoo houses over 160 species of rare and endangered animals in enclosures which replicate their natural environment.

A visit to the zoo is a must for the family, your children will captivated by the sights, sounds and perhaps the smells of the animals, not only is it a fun experience it is a learning one also.

If you would like an almost birds eye view of Belfast, make your way to Belfast Castle park in the public car park outside the castle gates and climb the cave hill for a magnificent view.

A prominent rock at the top, known as MacArt's Fort, is where the United Irishmen who planned rebellion in 1798. met on many occasions.

The City of Belfast international rose festival is held in this beautiful park every year in July. At any time in the summer, there are always at least 100,000 blooms to be seen, often there are musicians playing adding to the ambiance of the occasion.

The park extends to 130 acres, around the Victorian house are plantings of exotic trees and a Japanese garden. There is a children's play area and a cafe.

The Palm House dates from 1839, an elegant structure of curved glass and cast iron recently renovated. In the Tropical Ravine, plants grow in a sunken glen.

The Balance House was the birthplace John Ballance in 1839 after emigrating to New Zealand he became Prime Minister 1891-1893 in the now restored farmhouse there are exhibitions, audio-visual shows and a library providing different types of information such as the impact Irish immigrants had on New Zealand's pioneer life and Maori culture.

Balance is regarded by many as the the architect of the welfare state.

This award winning museum chronicles the linen industry in Ulster. You will discover how religious upheavals in France led to the establishment of the industry in Ireland, with the establishment of water powered mills and factories along many of Ulster's streams and rivers.

You can watch damask being woven on hand looms, and experience the sights and sounds of the industry in its heyday.