Like a local

Your cultural fix in Belfast

The Northern Irish capital has blossomed into a true cultural hotspot, replete with bold street art, galleries and a string of hip boutiques

Art and soul

Belfast is best explored on foot, so strike out and get your bearings in the CATHEDRAL QUARTER, a rejuvenated trade and warehousing district that today claims the best bars, restaurants and galleries in the city. Among its highlights are BELFAST EXPOSED, a pull-no-punches photography gallery with its roots in the divided city of the 1980s, and the MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre), the big fish of the city’s cultural scene, which has run a varied programme of visual art, theatre and dance since it opened in 2012. The permanent work in the MAC’s foyer is worth a nose, too; Irish artist Mark Garry’s piece sees 400 metal wires weave a spectrum of colour through the space. belfastexposed.org themaclive.com

If urban art’s your thing, a two-hour tour led by local artists shares the inside track on the city’s STREET ART SCENE. There’s an ever-changing itinerary, but pieces like Smug’s riveting portrait of a chef on High Street Court, and MTO’s ‘Son of Protagoras’, which portrays a crouching figure bearing a dove pierced by a pair of arrows, already feel iconic. seedheadarts.com

Night owl? The first Thursday of every month sees up to 20 galleries welcoming visitors for celebrations of visual art. From 18.00 to 21.00, you can visit galleries like PLATFORM or ARTISANN GALLERY, have a drink and meet some of the artists. Pick your own route or join an organised bus tour; coaches leave from Linen Hall Library. belfastarttours.co.uk platformartsbelfast.com artisann.org

Shop ’til you drop

VICTORIA SQUARE is the city’s best mall, but Belfast is a city that rewards huntergatherers. For a ladies’ fashion fix, call in at ENVOY OF BELFAST on Wellington Street, a boutique offering labels like Simone Rocha and Paul Harnden. Men should make a beeline for THE BUREAU and its stylish independent labels. envoyofbelfast.com thebureaubelfast.com

‘If you can’t get it in SAWERS, you can’t get it anywhere’, the local saying goes. Swing by Northern Ireland’s oldest deli to stock up on regional nibbles like Abernethy butter or Ewing’s smoked salmon. Cheese fiends shouldn’t miss MIKES FANCY CHEESE — its honking Young Buck is one of the best blue cheeses on the island. sawersbelfast.com mfcheese.com

Beyond the centre, the Lisburn Road is dubbed Belfast’s ‘style mile’ — but do your research to prevent the waste of a taxi fare. DEJA VU, with its designer cast-offs, is a reliable bet.

Finally, if you need a one-stop shop for local crafts, applied art and design, hit up SPACE CRAFT. The College Street hub sells everything from lampwork glass earrings to hand-painted silk scarves and tableware. dejavubelfast.co.uk facebook.com/ spacecraftNI PÓL Ó CONGHAILE