Things to do in Belfast with kids – spending time in Belfast on a family city break

We arrived at Belfast City Airport early in the morning and immediately hired a car. We didn’t feel like we could visit Belfast and not travel the additional 1hr 10mins to see the Giant’s Causeway. You can book a coach trip from the city centre but we felt that hiring a car would give us more flexibility when travelling with young children. Plus it worked out far cheaper with 6 people in our group. I didn’t rate the car seats we were provided with so I would take my own for any infant under 1.

If you are National Trust members then I have great news for you - the Giant’s Causeway is actually a National Trust site. I was pleasantly surprised to see this as it meant we could pre-book parking in the large on-site car park. It also gains you free entry to the café, visitor centre and, most importantly, the toilets. We had a pasty and a hot drink in the café to give us a chance to feed the baby before heading outside to see the world famous heritage site.

It's helpful to know that the Visitor Centre is on the clifftop and that it’s quite a steep 1km walk downhill to see the famous rock formations. There is a pavement so you could take a pushchair but if you wanted to climb around the rocks then a baby carrier is better. There is also a shuttle bus which runs people up and down the hill which was £1 or free for National Trust members. Our daughter found it lots of fun to climb all over the rocks and it was a good opportunity to stretch our legs during a travel day. If we had been child-free I would have wanted to walk more of the coastal path up to the Giant’s Organ Pipes.

Next on the itinerary, you have a choice, depending on your timings and interests. Giant’s Causeway is located in Bushmills, and if that name sounds familiar then it might be because Bushmills is also the name of the famous Irish whiskey. The distillery is just a 10 minute drive away and as it is the world's oldest licenced distillery it is worth a visit. If you want to take a tour then any children must be 8 or older, and under 18s cannot go with adults into the Tasting Room.

As we were travelling with younger children we just visited the shop and the bar. My mum and I aren’t the biggest whiskey fans but we enjoyed a delicious whiskey cocktail for just £5 whilst the men tasted a couple of drams. It was also another handy stop for feeding the baby and visiting the loos.

Alternatively, if you have no interest in Irish whiskey then you can drive 8 miles along the coast to see another National Trust site: Carrick-a-Rede. You might recognise it from photos as a swaying rope bridge joining a tiny island to the mainland. You will need to pre-book if you want to visit because numbers are limited when crossing the bridge. I fancied walking it but it’s not for those who are faint of heart and it’s not particularly good for tiny children. If you have older children then they would enjoy the adrenaline rush of crossing the bridge. We did stop briefly at Portaneevy car park and viewpoint to take a look.

If you keep driving along the Causeway Coastal Route the first town you’ll reach is Ballycastle. This is the perfect pitstop if you’ve travelled to Belfast with kids. We parked for free at the harbour and there was a large, sandy play area which provided entertainment whilst we looked around for somewhere to eat. There were public toilets and a wealth of ice cream shops too.

We chose to eat at the Marine Hotel Ballycastle and we were made to feel very welcome. There were highchairs, baby changing and a children’s food menu. The menu had a variety of dishes including some classic Irish cuisine and seafood. And of course, we had to have a drink of the famous black stuff.

Ideally we would have continued down the coastal route all the way back to Belfast city but the daylight was fading and so it made more sense to take the direct road. If visiting in the summer you’ll benefit from more daylight hours and could include the more scenic route. It was dark by the time we made it to our apartment so we settled the kids down and turned in for the night.

If you want to visit the Causeway during your Belfast trip then it makes sense to do it on the first day or last day of your stay. I’m glad we chose the first day because we didn’t feel any pressure to cut our sightseeing short in order to return to the airport.

After such a busy travel day we decided to take it easy and just spend the day exploring the city centre. We had hired the car for 24 hours and my husband just drove a few minutes in the morning to return it before walking back to our apartment which took him just 40 minutes.

Belfast is an extremely walkable city and I recommend spending a couple of hours just exploring. Sightseeing with kids isn't always the most fun but our daughter enjoyed seeing the hanging umbrellas in Commercial Court, posing on the Cathedral steps and seeing the ‘big blue fish’ which overlooks the River Lagan. I would have loved to have looked inside the cathedral but unfortunately, it was closed for a private event.

Naturally, the Northern Irish capital is home to hundreds of pubs and restaurants and the majority of them are very welcoming to families. You’ll find that pubs and bars will not allow children to be there after 9pm but we were more than happy to be back in our apartment by then. The Thirsty Goat was one of our favourite meals with a traditional Irish menu and a cosy, family atmosphere. Many of the pubs advertised lunch specials too and we always found a table at lunchtime.

For dinner, we made a same-day reservation at Yardbird (at the Dirty Onion) because it had good reviews and there was a kids menu. The food and service were excellent there but if you have a pushchair then just note that family dining is on the first floor with no lift access. If we were travelling child-free then the downstairs had a lively atmosphere if you were looking to have a few drinks and listen to some live music.

Depending on how much time you have in Belfast, you could squeeze the zoo into a sightseeing day. We prioritised a few hours at the zoo because when you’re travelling with kids a city zoo is usually guaranteed enjoyment. At the time of writing, we were annual member of our more local Marwell Zoo and the membership included one visit to Belfast Zoo (among others). Had we not been members then it would only have cost £42 for the 6 of us as under 4s go free and they have a good concession discount.

Belfast Zoo is located a little way out of the centre, on the side of Cave Hill. There is a regular bus service up the hill which stops on Antrim Road though we found it more cost-effective to call a taxi from our apartment. When we arrived we were slightly concerned that it was closed because the car park was empty. And despite it being a September Wednesday, we only saw 4 other families the entire time we were there.

It’s important to mention from an accessibility point of view that the route through all the enclosures to the top of the zoo and back is extremely steep in places. It was a hard slog pushing the pushchair up and we did take breaks to observe the animals. There was a ‘zoomobile’ like a golf buggy that you could hire but the website says this is currently unavailable. Both of the cafés are also currently closed so you would need to either take a packed lunch or just head there after lunch.

We were excited to see elephants there after seeing them on the website but sadly they had been transferred to another zoo. The website has since been updated!

I appreciate zoos aren’t everybody's cup of tea but we enjoyed seeing a variety of animals. There was a brilliant playground as well which we spent some time in despite the drizzle. And the zoo comes with excellent views over Belfast. When we were finished we just walked down to the bus stop and caught a bus into the centre; managing to spot quite a few murals on the way. In case you didn't know, Belfast is well known for its political murals since ‘the Troubles’.

If you have better weather and/or older children then I would recommend visiting Cave Hill Country Park whilst you’re in the area. There are panoramic views of the city, numerous walking trails and an adventure playground.

Once back in the city centre, we walked to the Crown pub where we had a dinner reservation. It’s one of Belfast’s most famous pubs and was originally a gin palace. We weren’t aware that our booking was actually for the restaurant so we missed out on the cool atmosphere of the enclosed booths. And it was on the 1st floor so the buggy was rather inconvenient. So learn from our mistakes and make a booking for the saloon bar, or just pop in for a drink and you might get lucky with a good table.

Just next door was Robinson’s bar which was very similar and we enjoyed a couple of drinks there. Another tip for you if you like to try the local drinks when you travel: don’t ask for an ‘Irish gin’ as you may cause unintentional offence. Instead, ask for a Belfast or local gin. Likewise if you’re after a wee dram then its (Irish) whiskey here and not whisky which is more associated with Scotland.

I’ll admit my ignorance in that up until I started to research things to do in Belfast, I was unaware of its links to the Titanic. Similar to Jane Austen, it does feel like one of those things that many cities lay a claim to, but Belfast was the city where the Titanic was actually built and so the museum here has more of a focus on the shipwrights and the build process.

The Titanic Quarter is extremely close to Belfast City airport which makes it the ideal finale to your visit. The Titanic museum has luggage storage for £1 making it really convenient to store our suitcases whilst we spent a few hours at the shipyard. There is a direct line to a taxi company who will collect you from the car park to take you to the airport as well. This service was busy and we did endure a nervous wait because we needed two cars so leave enough time to travel.

The museum is extremely popular and you’ll need to book online. We booked an early slot and were rewarded with an ‘earlybird’ discount. The first part of the museum does feel quite crowded and there is a lot of information you could read on the walls (if you aren’t travelling with young children). We did make it through with the pushchair but I had to skip the majority of the content. There was a children’s trail where you had to spot some of the historical characters which was welcomed entertainment for a short while.

There is the Shipyard Ride where you sit in a gondola and are immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the shipyard. You have to be able to sit unaided to ride this so we took it in turns to wait with the baby and my daughter rode it twice. From there the museum opens out a bit and there is more space to look around. On their website, they suggest 1.5-2.5 hours for the Titanic experience. We were happy with 90 minutes and a visit to the gift shop but if you have older children or like to read more then you’ll need longer.

If you’re travelling to Belfast with young children then a far better experience is found just around the corner at W5, the science museum. It truly was an interactive discovery centre where we spent hours and tickets offer excellent value for money. There were several floors of interactive exhibits. Our 3yr old daughter’s favourites were the animatronic dragons and unicorns, a role-play shopping area and some ball-blowing contraptions. The older members of our party had a great time playing with pulleys, lights and racing cars. The weather was horrendous yet the museum didn’t feel crowded and the only reason we left was because we had a plane to catch.

W5 is next to a food court area with a few chain restaurants like Nandos and Zizzi and fortunately these are great options for families.

Overall we thought Belfast was a great choice for a family-friendly city break. The variety of rugged coastline to cultural city was a highlight and there were enough rainy day and child-friendly activities to keep us occupied. If I were to return then I’d like to hire a car for longer to visit a few of the Game of Thrones locations and see the other half of the Causeway Coastal route.

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Sarah