Holiday rentals and lettings in Belfast

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday letting in Belfast?
• Holiday lettings in Belfast: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Belfast: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Belfast?

• City-centre self-catering: Townhouses, apartments and small houses sit within walking distance of City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter and the Titanic Quarter, most with a kitchen, WiFi and parking.
• Quarters with character: The Titanic Quarter suits families, the Cathedral Quarter suits night owls and Queen's Quarter pairs the Botanic Gardens with the Ulster Museum.
• Highly rated hosts: Guests give Belfast lettings scores around 9.9+, praising central locations, quiet streets and easy parking.
• Best time to visit: May to September brings the longest days and the festival season; autumn and winter are quieter and cheaper.
• Sights and day trips: Titanic Belfast, St George's Market and Crumlin Road Gaol fill a weekend, with the Giant's Causeway and the Mourne Mountains within easy reach.

Belfast's stock is city stock: red-brick terraced houses off the Ormeau and Lisburn roads, converted townhouses near the university, and modern flats in the Titanic Quarter. Compact studios suit couples, while three-bedroom houses take a family or a group. Compare the choice of apartments in Belfast, bed and breakfasts or glamping near the city. Most listings share the same practical extras.

• Fully fitted kitchens for cooking with St George's Market produce
• WiFi fast enough for a working break
• Off-street parking, useful for a drive along the Antrim coast
• Small courtyards, balconies or walled gardens
• Flexible late availability for a spur-of-the-moment weekend

Book early for festival weekends, when central properties go quickly.

What are the best areas to stay in Belfast?

The city centre is the safest first choice: everything is walkable and the airport buses stop nearby. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in Belfast are consistently generous, with our best-reviewed lettings sitting at 9.9+ and above. The praise is practical rather than showy: a quiet bedroom after a night in the Cathedral Quarter, a parking space that saves a city-centre car park, a kitchen worth using and hosts who answer quickly. Walkability comes up again and again, as does the surprise of how compact the city is once you arrive.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Fully refurbished house Belfast - 9.9+: A five-guest house with parking and a private yard in Belfast, County Down, praised for its fresh refurbishment.
2. Exquisite 3 Floor Townhouse Perfect Location - Pass the Keys - 9.9+: Three floors for six guests in County Antrim, with a well-equipped kitchen and a genuinely central position.
3. Stunning 2Br Townhouse in Belfast's Best Location! - Pass the Keys - 9.9+: A two-bedroom townhouse for four in County Down, valued for its location and simple, comfortable set-up.

Belfast sits at the head of Belfast Lough, ringed by hills, with the Antrim coast to the north and the Mourne Mountains to the south.

✈️What is the best way to get to Belfast?

Flying is quickest from almost anywhere in Great Britain. Here are the most common ways to get to the city:

• Plane: George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) is barely ten minutes from the centre and takes flights from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds Bradford. Belfast International (BFS), about 30 minutes west, adds more routes and low-cost carriers. Both run frequent Airport Express coaches into the Europa Buscentre, and taxis are inexpensive.
• Ferry: Ferries cross to Belfast from Cairnryan in south-west Scotland in around two and a quarter hours, and from Liverpool overnight in about eight. Services from Douglas on the Isle of Man run seasonally. Bringing the car pays off if you plan to drive the Causeway Coastal Route or head for the Mournes afterwards.
• Train: The Enterprise service links Dublin Connolly with Belfast Grand Central in roughly two hours, running several times a day along the coast. From Great Britain you can combine a train to Cairnryan's ferry ports or fly and pick up local rail; Grand Central puts you a short walk from the city centre.

🥗Where to eat in Belfast?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, The Muddlers Club Restaurant is the best rated restaurant in Belfast. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Emma recommends the Mourne Seafood Bar in Belfast: it serves oysters and mussels from its own beds on the County Down coast, and the early-evening menu is good value before a night out.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

Belfast is a year-round city break, but May to September gives you the longest evenings, the driest spells and the festival calendar, from Belfast City Blues in June to Culture Night in the autumn. Spring is quieter and cheaper, while December brings the Christmas market around City Hall.

Spring

• Best for: Walkers and anyone wanting lower prices in the city.
• Weather: Cool and changeable, with 10-14°C and bright spells between showers.
• Atmosphere: Calm streets, easy restaurant tables and the Botanic Gardens coming into colour.

Summer

• Best for: Families, festival-goers and day trips along the coast.
• Weather: Mild at 15-19°C, with daylight lasting until close to ten in June.
• Atmosphere: Busiest of the year, with beer gardens full and cruise ships in the port.

Autumn and winter

• Best for: Museums, pubs and a low-cost city break.
• Weather: Wet and windy, around 5-12°C, with early dark afternoons.
• Atmosphere: Cosy and local, peaking with the Christmas market at City Hall.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Belfast local expert, the team at Pass the Keys of Exquisite 3 Floor Townhouse Perfect Location - Pass the Keys recommends coming to visit Cave Hill on a clear morning. The path up from Belfast Castle takes about an hour and ends at McArt's Fort, with the whole city, the lough and, on a good day, Scotland laid out below. Bring boots and come down through the country park. You can read more about local tips on the team at Pass the Keys's page.

1. Step aboard the Titanic story
2. Wander the Cathedral Quarter
3. Browse St George's Market
4. Climb Cave Hill
5. Drive the Causeway Coastal Route

1. Step aboard the Titanic story

   Titanic Belfast occupies nine galleries beside the slipways where the ship was launched, taking you from the shipyard's boom years to the wreck's discovery. Outside, the Maritime Mile walk passes the Harland & Wolff drawing offices, the Hamilton Graving Dock and the tender SS Nomadic. Nearby, W5 keeps younger visitors busy with hands-on science exhibits. Allow half a day; the quarter is a flat fifteen-minute walk from the centre or a short ride on the Glider bus.

2. Wander the Cathedral Quarter

   The cobbled entries around St Anne's Cathedral hold the city's densest run of pubs, galleries and live music, from the Duke of York's narrow alley to the Black Box. Street art covers whole gable walls, and the MAC stages theatre and contemporary art. Come early evening for a trad session, or on a Saturday afternoon for the independent shops. It is also the base for many of the city's walking tours, historical and otherwise.

3. Browse St George's Market

   Belfast's Victorian covered market has traded since 1896 and still runs Friday to Sunday. Friday is the variety market with fish, flowers and homeware; Saturday adds food and crafts; Sunday brings live music alongside the stalls. Pick up Comber potatoes, soda farls or Suki tea, then eat where you are staying, or take a breakfast bap and a coffee and listen to whoever is playing. It sits a few minutes from City Hall, so most central lettings are within easy walking distance.

4. Climb Cave Hill

   The basalt profile above the city gives Belfast its skyline. Paths from Belfast Castle lead through Cave Hill Country Park to McArt's Fort, a flat-topped promontory 368 metres up with views over the lough to the Mournes and, in clear weather, the Scottish coast. Reckon on two hours round trip on well-marked but muddy tracks. The castle's cellar restaurant is a reasonable reward, and the estate gardens are free to walk.

5. Drive the Causeway Coastal Route

   One of the great reasons to keep a car: the road north through the Glens of Antrim reaches the Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of interlocking basalt columns, in about an hour and a half. On the way sit Carrickfergus Castle, the Gobbins cliff path and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, plus filming locations used by Game of Thrones. Southwards instead, the Mourne Mountains and County Down or wider Northern Ireland make equally good days out.