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Belfast's art house and repertory cinema, and the main venue for the Belfast Film Festival.
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August red-brick Victorian building in Tudor style modelled on Magdalen College Oxford, with extensive grounds. On University Square note the fine Union Theological College: the Northern Ireland Parliament spent its early years here until Stormont was ready in 1932.
Excellent comprehensive museum, covering natural history, archaeology, history including the Irish conflicts, textile and fashions, and a large collection of art. The original neoclassical building was extended in the 1970s in a modern Brutalist style. It's part of the National Museums of Northern Ireland, who also run the Transport and Folk museums at Holywood, and the Ulster American Park at Omagh.
Established in 1828 and becoming a public park from 1895, this is an extensive leafy green space, popular with office workers and students from nearby QUB. The Palm House, completed in 1840, is an elegant cast-iron glasshouse by Lanyon and Turner (who went on to build similar glasshouses at Kew, London and Glasnevin, Dublin) with a cool and a tropical section. Near it is the Tropical Ravine House, where visitors walk around a raised balcony observing tropical flora and fauna. There are also extensive lawns, a herbaceous border as long as the Zambezi, a rose garden and woodlands. Presiding over the main entrance is a statue of Lord Kelvin.
Large events venue on the west bank of the river, see website for upcoming shows.
Eileen Hickey Museum
Museum in a former mill depicting the history of Republicanism in Belfast. Eileen Hickey was a Provisional IRA organiser within Armagh prison and amassed a great collection of artifacts and memorabilia relating to her side of the conflict. This is the half-history where 1200 Catholic civilians died in Belfast during the Troubles. You have to cross the city to the Orange Heritage Centre for the half-history where 600 Protestant civilians died - and both are correct.
Irish Language Cultural Centre
The hub of Irish language activities in Belfast. It's a cultural centre with visitor information, art, trad music, a cafe and a bookshop. They put on regular Irish language classes, from beginners to advanced.