Belfast (Irish: Béal Feirste) is a city in the United Kingdom and the capital of Northern Ireland, the largest city in Northern Ireland and the province of Ulster, and after Dublin, is the second-largest city on the island of Ireland. Belfast is the kind of get-a-way everybody needs every so often.
The name Belfast originates from the Irish Béal Feirste, or 'mouth of the Farset' (feirste is the genitive of the word fearsaid, "a spindle"), the river on which the city was built.
The river Farset has been superseded by the River Lagan as the more important river; the Farset now languishes under the High Street in obscurity. Bridge Street indicates where there was originally a bridge across the Farset.
If you are looking for a nice get-a-way weekend, with all the charm of a country town and yet all the opportunities of a thriving city, then Belfast is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy life!
The city is situated near the mouth of the River Lagan at the south-western end of Belfast Lough, a long natural inlet ideal for the shipping trade that made the city famous.
It is flanked by the Castlereagh Hills on the south and the Antrim Hills on the north. The city straddles the County Antrim and County Down boundary.
Its quaint restaurants and pubs, old town background, and the dated architecture can't help but lend a friendly atmosphere to all who enter.
The areas & districts of Belfast reflect the still divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole.
Areas tend to be highly segregated, especially in working class neighbourhoods. Many of the areas existed as separate towns and villages before the expansion of Greater Belfast.
