7 Ways To Experience Linen Quarter This Summer

With thousands of visitors set to arrive in Belfast for the Fleadh, the Linen Quarter BID is inviting festival-goers to discover one of the city centre’s most vibrant areas. From hospitality hotspots and cultural landmarks to relaxed spaces and hidden highlights, the Linen Quarter offers plenty of reasons to experience more of Belfast throughout the Summer.

Visit the tallest bar in Ireland, Observatory Bar, on the 23rd floor of the Belfast Grand Central Hotel. Enjoy drinks, afternoon tea and a panoramic view of Belfast and the crowds below.

Take a stroll by some of the city’s most iconic Murals, including the largest mural on the Island of Ireland – ‘Connected’ , by prominent Dublin based Artist Aches – on the Holiday Inn at Sandy Row as well as a ‘Living Mural’ on Great Victoria Street which has bird habitats incorporated into the design or the ‘Punk Murals’ also on Great Victoria Street at the site of local punk icon Terri Hooleys former record shop – Good Vibrations – which inspired the hit movie.

Stop by HALT at Weavers Cross, a recently opened indoor and outdoor street food market housed at Great Northern Mall in a former bus station, where you can enjoy Belfast takes on street food from around the world from over a dozen vendors including Fowl Play, a Louisiana Style Chicken and Jamaican Cuisine from ‘Taste di Island.’ This cultural hub is fitted with several bars and an almost daily events and animation programme.

People watch at one of the districts many parklets including Flaxx Outdoor Living Room at Blackstaff Square where you can bring a picnic from one of the district many outstanding hospitality venues, or order on arrival at The Dep Traditional Canadian Street food & Tuckshop which makes its home at Flaxx. The boardwalk is complete with its own stage which musicians are welcome to make use off throughout the week. Other great parklets can be found on Linen Hall Street and outside the Linen Hall Bar.

Soak up coffee and beautiful architecture outside a Victorian Bathhouse – Ormeau Labs – home of native coffee star Napoleon. Or take yours to go and have a stroll around the historic Linen Quarter which gave Belfast it’s nickname in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries as ‘Linenopolis’ as it was the linen-producing centre of the world. Today Belfast is known for its maritime history including the Titanic, but it was the export of Linen that fuelled the expansion of the port city.

Try your hand at pétanque, the classic French game that’s easy to learn and fun to master. You can borrow boules from the nearby Maldron Hotel for free, and scan the QR code on the piste to watch a short video of how to play.

Start at the Rory Gallagher Statue and Ulster Hall. The statue celebrates the Cork-born guitar hero whose bond with Belfast is still fondly remembered, while Ulster Hall is packed with musical history, including the famous first live performance of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Nearby, the Statue of the Unknown Woman Worker offers another memorable stop, honouring the contribution of women workers while reflecting the city’s often complex relationship with public art and history.