Home to 120 species, Belfast Zoo has spacious enclosures set on an attractive, sloping site; the sea lion and penguin pool with its underwater viewing is particularly good. Some of the more unusual animals include golden lion tamarins, Malayan sun bears and red pandas, but the biggest attractions are the ultracute meerkats, the colony of ring-tailed lemurs and the herd of Rothschild's giraffes.
Jason McCabe / 500px
Belfast Zoo
Belfast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.55 MILES
The stunning, star-shaped Titanic Belfast is the city's number-one tourist draw. Standing majestically at the head of the slipway where the Titanic was…
4.13 MILES
Belfast's classical Renaissance-style City Hall was built in fine, white Portland stone in 1906. Highlights of the free, 45-minute guided tour include the…
5.11 MILES
You could spend hours browsing this state-of-the-art museum, but if you're pressed for time don't miss the Armada Room, with artefacts retrieved from the…
4.25 MILES
There are not many historical monuments that you can enjoy while savouring a pint of Guinness, but the National Trust's Crown Liquor Saloon is one of them…
0.65 MILES
The view from the summit of Cave Hill (368m) takes in the whole sprawl of the city, the docks, Belfast Lough and the Mourne Mountains – on a clear day you…
5.13 MILES
The showpiece of Belfast's green oasis is Charles Lanyon's beautiful Palm House, built in 1839 and completed in 1852, with its birdcage dome, a…
3.24 MILES
Guided tours of Belfast's notorious Crumlin Road Gaol take you from the tunnel beneath Crumlin Rd, built in 1850 to convey prisoners from the courthouse…
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15.46 MILES
The magnificent 18th-century Mount Stewart is one of Northern Ireland’s grandest stately homes. Entertaining tours tell the story of the house and its…
Nearby Belfast attractions
0.65 MILES
The view from the summit of Cave Hill (368m) takes in the whole sprawl of the city, the docks, Belfast Lough and the Mourne Mountains – on a clear day you…
0.92 MILES
Built in 1870 for the third Marquess of Donegall, in the Scottish Baronial style made fashionable by Queen Victoria's Balmoral, multiturreted Belfast…
3.24 MILES
Guided tours of Belfast's notorious Crumlin Road Gaol take you from the tunnel beneath Crumlin Rd, built in 1850 to convey prisoners from the courthouse…
4. Titanic's Dock & Pump House
3.3 MILES
At the far end of Queen's Rd is an impressive monument to the days of the great liners – the vast Thompson Dry Dock where the Titanic was fitted out.
3.34 MILES
The UK's last surviving WWI Royal Navy cruiser has been converted into a floating museum, docked in Titanic Quarter. Audio tours take in the captain's…
3.34 MILES
This light is one of the largest optics of its kind. It was used in Tory Island lighthouse from 1887 to 1924 and then on Mew Island until 2014. It is…
3.44 MILES
Belfast's finest surviving Georgian building is Clifton House, built in 1774 by Robert Joy (Henry Joy McCracken’s uncle) as a poorhouse. It is now used as…
3.46 MILES
Just northeast of Titanic Belfast you'll see the huge paint hall where ship component parts were painted in a climate-controlled environment. Today it's…