Well worth a visit…read more On 19 May 1928, the Governor of Northern Ireland the Duke of Abercorn laid the Foundation Stone for Parliament Buildings ( Front Pillars), The building was offically opened for business with a grand opening, On 16 November 1932, The Prince of Wales, Edward Windsor, opened Parliament Buildings. Architect Sir Arnold Thornely of Liverpool designed Parliament Buildings to be 365ft wide, representing one foot for every day of the year. Representing the number of counties in Northern Ireland, Parliament Buildings has six floors and there are six pillars at the entrance to the building. To camouflage Parliament Buildings during World War II, the building's Portland stone was painted with a mixture of cow manure and bitumen. Removing the paint after the war was a huge challenge with the mixture having stained the stonework. The paint mixture took seven years to remove and the exterior façade never regained its original white colour. It is one mile from the gates at the bottom of Prince of Wales Avenue to the front steps of Parliament Buildings. The avenue leading up to Parliament Buildings is lined with 305 red-twigged lime trees which have survived since they were first planted in the 1920s. Parliament Buildings is a Grade-B listed building, designed in Greek Classical tradition.

You know you're getting old when you're scouring Belfast looking for new dog walking destinations!…read more After suggesting Stormont Park would be a nice walk with the dog for the last few weeks we finally paid it a visit. It was a mild Saturday afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky and to be fair the weather plays a big part in how you view this park. In the rain the trails would be muddy and the view over Belfast would be unclear but yesterday it was just perfect. The main features of the estate are; - Carson's mile - even if you don't like what goes on in parliament building you can't deny it's a pretty spectacular building and view from the gates. - the country trails through wooded land - the random excersise points - these are installed for joggers to break up their cardio with pull ups, press ups and various other activities. - the grounds are really well kept, cut grass, maintained flower beds and bins every 100 yards! There were also loads of other dogs and kids playing in the grounds and park making it a really nice atmosphere. All in all a really nice walk, could maybe do with a designated car park but apart from that it's top notch!

We took our toddler here today for a day in victoria park and I'm impressed by how it has changed,…read moreit looks a lot tidier and there's a lot of work has been put into the park making it great park to go to. Theres a automatic toilet unit which is 20p to get in, it self cleans as I waiting on the door to open it said wait self cleaning, pretty cool for a toilet. The toilet has a baby changing table and automatic soap dispenser, water and air and automatic flush. Also the voice inside reminds you to lock the door and to bring all your belongings with you. Handy toilet. I think you have a 15 minute time allowance in the toilet as I saw a timer display for 15 minutes. The children's park has been changed and its way better theres a massive climbing frame, baby swings, slides and spinning seats. Really good park most of the ground around the slides etc have rubber flooring which is handy if baby falls. Theres also a picnic table in the play area. This park is great for a walk or a run theres also outdoor gym equipment for adults placed around the park in different areas.

I love this park. Must be the best if not one of the best around…read more The work they have done on it over the last few years is awesome. Great wide flat path that is easy walking /cycling/wheeling for all. There is also a more sort of nature trail on the outside bank and on the inside islands. Views of Harland and Wolff are great. Also the airport to see the planes. The inside island has has outdoor gym equipment and grass pitches. They have a great kids park and also a basketball court beside it. There is a bmx track next to it. There's plenty of ducks etc to see. The parking is good also. My face thing about the park is that there is no way you can get lost as it's an easy loop to follow. There's also a gate with walking access at 2 points to the Sydenham bypass. There's another entrance via the new Sam Thompson bridge over by the docks.

We walked through the Botanical Gardens which are located adjacent to the university. As like…read moreeverything else in Ireland, the whole grounds were bright green and full of different plant species and lots and lots of flowers. I particularly liked their greenhouse. The beautiful white medal perfectly balanced the contrast between nature and industrial features while complementing the space and giving these particular plants a specific place to grow, such as succulents. The rose gardens reminded me of something from Alice in Wind with how the grass paths were weaved between the rose bushes and some of the flowers looked fake because they were so healthy and vibrant.  There are two newer greenhouses that were built specifically for tropical plants. Inside of each of these greenhouses, the temperature and humidity was set to stay at the perfect settings for these tropical plants to thrive. They were multiple stories so that the trees could grow tall and the vines could grow long and even go all the way up to the rafters. A great place to see and spend time on a sunny or partly cloudy day!!

Beautiful grounds near Queen's College in Belfast. So peaceful and sprawling. The grounds…read moremeticulously kept. The grounds included some magnificently lush green lawn for taking in the nice weather being experienced during our stay. The Ferris Wheel was well worth the nominal expense. The rose garden was beautifully laid out.

This knocks the socks off Botanic Gardens any day. It's massive, wilder, nowhere near as crowded…read moreand just lovely. I used to take my spaniel Tiko here every day and he loved it - OK, dogs love anywhere they can run about, but he really did share my love of this park, as there's loads of undergrowth he could and did snuffle into and lots of space to run around. (And if the poor girl whose lunchtime Subway sandwich he scarfed is reading this, I can only apologise yet again.) I haven't been back to Ormeau Park since he died, because, well, I just don't want to at the mo, but some of my happiest memories of him are at this park and it''s probably my favourite outdoor spot in all of Belfast. I love walking past the house in the middle of it and dreaming someday of living there. I'd even give up my Melbourne yearning for that... This is a stellar spot for walking, cycling or skating, and I even saw a mini orchestra happily playing near the bandstand once as well. There are bowling greens, a basketball/netball court and tennis courts, at which I would marvel at healthy types playing vigorously there at 10am on a Sunday, as Tiko and I lurched past. (And if the poor guy whose tennis ball he neatly nipped in and stole is reading this, I can only apologise yet again.) A beautiful park that's a bit bittersweet for me at the moment, but hopefully will become a regular chilling out place for me again. Perfect.

Ormeau Park, the underrated green space of Belfast. I love this place its a little emerald in the…read moregrey concrete of the city. Well cultivated and kept with its grandiose gates and lots of little walks and trails, great for a little peace of mind walk or a wee day out for kids at the pretty awesome play park. My only negative is that I think there could be more done here events wise. It always seems botanic has the monopoly on those. Maybe a winter wonderland like they do at Hyde Park in London and a few Summer events to make use of the bandstand and nice open spaces.

Crescent Gardens Park acts as a green oasis in the otherwise bustling Queens Quarter, in between…read moreBotanic and University Street this park could easily be missed but it's tranquility is second to none. As other reviewers have said, these parks used to be occupied by city drunks but there seems to have been a concerted effort to move them on. There's a few benches, usually occupied by near by office workers at lunch, and there's plenty of bins to discard rubbish. The park, especially in the summer months, is well kept. It really does arrive out of nowhere, definitely worth a visit on a sunny day of you want to avoid busy Botanic!

This is lovely spot on a sunny day and always well maintained…read more Although close to the heart of the city centre it's actually quite peaceful and great place to spend your lunch hour or to sit and read a book

This is a beautiful well kept park with plenty of facilities for all ages. There is a lovely kids…read moreplay park, a large duck pond and an aviary with some very pretty birds. For the sporty type there is an athletics track marked during the better months and pitches for cricket and football. There are also a number of tennis courts and a bowling green. This is also where my local Saturday morning 5k park run is held with about 300 runners attending most weeks. If you just fancy a lovely walk Ward Park is the place to go with numerous paths to choose around the pond and lots to see on the way.

Ward park is a great place for all the family to enjoy . If you want a leisurely stroll with the…read morekids and dog this is the place to go. With an adventure play park for the kids and the ability to feed the ducks and geese as you walk along beside the stream. The setting is very tranquil and you can forget that you are only a stones throw from Bangor town centre. For those who are actively sporty there are tennis courts and a bowling green It is an ideal place to appreciate all the seasons of the year.

The Waterworks is a great place for an evening walk. It has great facilities for kids with a…read moreplayground floored with bark to avoid cuts and bruises. Living so close by I often walk around the grounds of The Waterworks - it's especially nice on summers evenings.

Our tour guide for the North Belfast walk bought us by this lovely park and told us some cool…read morethings about it: - Stephen Rhea (Oscar winning actor of the Crying Game movie) grew up in the house opposite the park. Look for a bright yellow door near shop called 'War on want" and that's his house. - in the early part of the century, if you are rich enough, you could buy an annual key to get into the park - glad it's free now! - this area was supposed to have been ''mistakenly" bombed instead of the ship building harbour during the first blitz but recent archives from Germany revealed that it was deliberate as they didn't want locals to have access to water for fire fighting the next round of blitz attacks. I loved the two lakes - reminded me a wee bit of the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park. It's a gorgeous bit of greenery, very calming and beautiful with the mini-waterfalls. Go visit and commune with Nature! Note: #235 of Yelp 100 challenge for 2016

Rowallane is perhaps less formal than some other National Trust gardens but it is interestingly…read morevaried in style with a particularly nice walled garden.

Great National Trust place this. We were going here for ages and it seemed nice as it was, only…read morerecently realising there was a lot more to the grounds than we had originally thought. Situated just outside Saintfield, the entrance is just off the main road and so is easy to find and accessible. The walled garden is beautiful all year round but really comes into its own in summer when the flowers are in full bloom. Christmas sees the gardens host a fair that is much more intimate and nicer to be at than the one at City Hall in Belfast. Feels like something out of a Christmas movie. There is a paved but quite short walk for those who don't want o get their shoes dirty (will only take 10- 14 mins to get round at most). Then in the other direction from the central point of the grounds there are what I suppose you might call 'meadow walks'. These are really nice but as there are no proper paths in this direction, it can all get a bit muddy in winter or after rainfall, still, it's very picturesque. The only part missing from the place that other National Trust places have (Castle Ward, Mount Stewart) is that what was the old manor house is actually used as the National Trust headquarters in Northern Ireland and so the house itself is not an attraction, having been largely converted to offices. It does home a really nice cafe though, serving good coffee and tray bakes. At certain busier times of year the cafe will serve more hot food but this isn't always available on any given weekend. Great place to spend a Sunday afternoon and just misses out on the last star by not having the house itself as a feature like other NT properties.