Rainy day · Belfast · United Kingdom
6 things to do in Belfast when it rains
Indoor sights that make a wet day feel planned rather than lost.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Barrykellya, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Start with Titanic Belfast, Belfast City Hall and Ulster Museum. Together the 6 picks below take roughly 8–10 hours across 4 areas; 4 are free. January is usually the wettest month, with about 15 rainy days.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 6
- Free entry
- 4
- Time to see them all
- 8–10 hours
- Areas
- Titanic Quarter, City Centre and Queen's Quarter
Belfast on a rainy day
Museum · Titanic Quarter
1.Titanic Belfast
Leave time to walk the slipways outside and look up at the Samson and Goliath cranes of the Harland & Wolff yard.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Architecture · City Centre
2.Belfast City Hall
Tours are free but limited in size; pick up a slot at reception early in the day.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Queen's Quarter
3.Ulster Museum
Pair it with a walk through the Botanic Gardens, whose gates are right beside the museum.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Art
Historic site · North Belfast
4.Crumlin Road Gaol
Tours are guided and can sell out on weekends; buy tickets online before you go.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
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Market · City Centre
5.St George's Market
Arrive hungry on a Saturday or Sunday morning for an Ulster fry bap or fresh seafood from the stalls.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Historic site · City Centre
6.Linen Hall Library
Stop at the upstairs café for a quiet cup of tea in the book-lined rooms.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Titanic Quarter | Titanic Belfast | 2–3 hours |
| City Centre | Belfast City Hall, St George's Market and Linen Hall Library | 1 hour + 1–2 hours + 45 minutes |
| Queen's Quarter | Ulster Museum | 2 hours |
| North Belfast | Crumlin Road Gaol | 1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 6, 4 free, 1 mid-priced, 1 expensive. Book ahead for Titanic Belfast. The longest visit is Titanic Belfast; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Titanic Belfast: Entry is by timed ticket and summer and weekend slots fill up; book online in advance.
How to fit them into 3 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Titanic Quarter and City Centre): Titanic Belfast → Belfast City Hall, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (City Centre and Queen's Quarter): St George's Market → Linen Hall Library → Ulster Museum, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (North Belfast): Crumlin Road Gaol, at least 2 hours.
The wettest months
- January: highs of 8°C (46°F), about 15 rainy days, very quiet crowds. Cold, wet and dark by about 4:30pm, but the lowest room rates of the year and quiet museums.
- November: highs of 10°C (50°F), about 15 rainy days, quiet crowds. Damp and grey, but the Christmas market at City Hall usually opens in mid-to-late November.
- October: highs of 14°C (57°F), about 14 rainy days, moderate crowds. Autumn colour on Cave Hill and in the parks; wetter and windier as the month goes on.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- City Centre — City Hall, Donegall Place shopping and the main bus and rail hubs
- Cathedral Quarter — Cobbled lanes, St Anne's Cathedral and pubs with live music
- Queen's Quarter — Student cafés, Botanic Avenue and the Lanyon Building
- Titanic Quarter — Former shipyard slipways, Titanic Belfast and new waterfront hotels
More of Belfast
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Belfast?
Titanic Belfast. Built on the site of the slipways where the Titanic and her sister Olympic were constructed, this angular, silver-clad building tells the story of the ship and of Belfast's industrial peak across nine interactive galleries, including a ride through a recreated shipyard.
+Which of these are free in Belfast?
Belfast City Hall, Ulster Museum, St George's Market and Linen Hall Library.