St George’s Market is Belfast’s oldest
COMPILED BY AMANDA CANNING WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ISABEL ALBISTON. PHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES KENNEDY NI/SHUTTERSTOCK, PATRICK FRILET/AGE FOTOSTOCK,
Botanic Gardens
SIGHTS
(visitbelfast.com)
The showpiece of Belfast’s green oasis is Charles Lanyon’s beautiful Palm House, built 1839–40; and its birdcage dome, a masterpiece of cast-iron and curvilinear glass, added in 1852. Nearby is the 1889 Tropical Ravine, a huge red-brick greenhouse designed by the garden’s curator, Charles McKimm. Inside, a raised walkway overlooks a jungle of tropical ferns, orchids, lilies and banana plants growing in a sunken glen.
St George’s Market
(belfastcity.gov.uk)
Northern Ireland’s oldest continuously operating market was built in 1896. This Victorian beauty hosts a Friday Variety Market (lowers, produce, meat, ish, homewares and secondhand goods), a Saturday City Food, Craft and Garden Market (stalls to look out for include Suki Tea, Ann’s Pantry and Hillstown Farm) and a Sunday Food, Craft and Antique Market.